During a recent conclave hosted by the Amateur Boxing Federation of The Bahamas (ABFB) a lot of concerns were expressed. There is a big problem in Grand Bahama. The amateur boxing leaders there are not on the same page at all and the sport is suffering as a result.
At the conclave, the promise to develop an officiating program for referees, judges and timekeepers came up once again. Will there be a follow-up this time around? The New Providence Amateur Boxing Association (NPABA) is clamoring for the parent body to be more proactive in providing an environment for more tournaments.
The amateur program lost its best boxer, Valentino Knowles, to the professional ranks. This is indeed a low point for the amateur program in the country. In steps Coach Ray Minus Jr. His club, Champion Boxing, is the most vibrant in the country. Quite frankly, the argument could be made that Minus Jr. has the "one" vibrant amateur boxing club in the nation. He is speaking out and pointing directly at the amateur boxing executive group, led by Wellington Miller.
"I don't think we should have a problem at all in amateur boxing. We have the boxers. We have the clubs. Everybody wants action. This is where the federation has to do its part. I would like to see the federation stage several tournaments per year. This is what should be done. We should have these national tournaments and the clubs would become more busy and the boxers would have other goals to go after. My club has tournaments and other clubs have shows, but it's another thing when you are competing in a national tournament, staged by the federation. It's something much bigger to go after," said Minus Jr.
He is completely correct, and puts his finger on the major problem within the national sports fraternity. With few exceptions, sports administrators are not carrying their weight. They want to strut around and take credit when the hard work of athletes and the sacrifices of coaches and parents bring high caliber results. Ask about national development programs though and you see very few. This speaks to the inefficiency of sports administrators in the country, generally.
Minus Jr. is on point. I don't normally agree with the way he functions, but he gets my full support this time. Obviously, Minus Jr. understands that the new sports culture in this country must be inclusive of sports administrators who have the capacity to stay on pace with our athletes. For years now, our athletes because of resilience and natural abilities have made Bahamians proud. Unfortunately these same athletes fall under the jurisdiction of poor administrators and accordingly the national sports program is not reaching its true potential.
In the case of amateur boxing, hopefully the executives of the organization will in the immediate future recognize the need to pull themselves up to the shoulder of their president, Miller, and propel the national program by planning and staging national tournaments.
(To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at sturrup1504@gmail.com)

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