Revisiting the club concept in SVG

11

Teams emerge everywhere in St Vincent and the Grenadines since the many youths in the nation’s population are always anxious to become involved in some sporting endeavour to occupy their time. These organisations often originate from good intentions. Good intentions do not always yield good results. This fact has emerged from the performance or lack thereof of many a team in sport.

Teams tend to disappear once the particular tournament has concluded. Their purpose for being in existence having been met there seems no reason for continuance until such time as another tournament comes around. It is for this very reason that teams find great difficulty meeting the expenses associated with engagement in national competitions. Sponsors do not take teams seriously if only because they are uncertain of who is getting the money, the use to which it is put and of issues related to accountability. As a result, sponsors are likely to commit very little funds to teams leaving the burden on the players to meet their own requirements, for the most part.

By definition teams are spontaneous.

There are examples of teams in all of the major sporting disciplines practised in the state and in almost every instance the governing body for the sport remains desirous of having these teams transformed into clubs if only because of the transient nature of the former.

Clubs

Clubs are established organisations. They are organisations that have been institutionalised in a sociological sense. These organisations have rules and regulations governing their structure, criteria for membership, meetings, discipline of members when necessary, dues and financial and administrative accountability.