Revisiting the club concept in SVG

11

Generally much has been said about the virtues of developing club structures in St Vincent and the Grenadines. In some instances advocates seem to suggest that by the waving of the hand the development of clubs will automatically be a panacea for the ills that plague the development of sport in the nation.

The current situation of the existence of teams rather than clubs seems to be a bother to the leaders of the various sports associations and they all are at the point of emphasising the importance of teams being replaced by clubs on the local scene.

Teams

In the Vincentian context a team is perceived as significantly different from a club.

A team refers to a grouping of individuals who bind themselves together for the purpose of participating in a tournament of some sort. The organisation does not really have a structure of any significance nor is it underpinned by a constitution that stipulates its objectives as well as the terms and conditions of membership.

Teams often emerge around a charismatic leader of sorts. The leader commands the respect of the rest of the grouping only in so far as he/she is able to organise the unit for the particular competition. He/she is also expected to be the one to prepare and distribute the letters for sponsorship of the team, secure uniforms and register the team for the tournament. He/she may also have the responsibility for getting the team to engage in some preliminary training prior to the commencement of the competition even though the training may not be systematically organised. Beyond this the leader does not appear to have much influence or authority. He/she does not have the capacity to institute discipline among the participants and this is often highlighted when conflicts arise whether in relation to the selection of the team to take the field on any given day or the overly aggressive reaction to the decisions of officials on the field of play.