Those sporting facilities now Carnival done

The merry monarch King Carnival is over, done with for the next ten months or so, so the realities of life are eye balling us.

Carnival, that annual national festival, the temporary conduit for the relief of stress and other travails of life, is also a period of socialization.{{more}}

Sports, like Carnival, is an avenue for interaction among people of all walks of life.

Both are important and do co-exist, especially with the use of our playing fields.

With the limited resources available to us, most of our playing facilities are also used for many cultural activities, not excluding Carnival, and with that comes consequences.

The Victoria Park, over the years, has taken a beating, and this year was no exception, as many rooted like animals at that venue, certainly leaving it in need of some restorative work.

Just up the road from the Victoria Park is the Richmond Hill/ Grammar School Playing Field.

This facility plays its part in the provision of parking for persons coming into Kingstown for the Monday and Tuesday activities.

So, this, too, gets a banging from the tyres from all types of motor vehicles which find parking space there.

Staying in Kingstown and its suburbs, there is the Arnos Vale Netball Complex, which, too, had its fair share of Carnival related fetes and, without a doubt, some damage.

Just across the road is the Sion Hill Playing Field, which although not a venue for Carnival is undergoing major repairs, which for some is a case of not listening and ultimately, a wastage of scarce financial resources in having to redo what could have been prevented in the first case..

Like the Kingstown facilities, which are graded above the rural sporting facilities, in terms of amenities, they, too, were at the mercies of the rural Carnival festivities.

So, now that Carnival is over, the task is to repair these facilities.

The time may come for some restrictive measures to be put to protect these facilities around this time of year, as it cannot be business as usual.

The Mash up and buy back approach which has been followed over the years must be halted.

As in the case of the Richmond Hill /Grammar School Playing Field, it may serve the authorities well to implement a park and ride system, and so prevent parking on that facility for the two days of Carnival.

Alternately, if this is not feasible, charge a fee for parking on the field, so that the funds collected could go towards the repair after the damage is done.

One has to take decisive action is this regard immediately, otherwise we may soon have another playing field not fit for use again. And, the wheel spins again, closed for repairs, then back to square one.

Additionally, the authorities, in this case again, the National Sports Council, may be required to up its charges for functions held at the Arnos Vale Complex. Does the dance pay for the light?

But what is most significant is that the two of three fields in Kingstown, i. e Victoria Park and Sion Hill will not be in use for some time.

Therefore, what are the users of those two facilities, more so Sion Hill, to do in the interim?

The Sion Hill Playing Field, a community based facility, was in the midst of Football resurgence through its annual Village Competition, a homogenous activity which was doing wonders for social coherence in the area.

Are the authorities wiling to provide alternative avenues for the youths in the area, when they need to throw off their pent energies?

Or is the onus on the community leaders to use their creative energies to make up for the fall out?

How long will the Sion Hill Playing Field be out of commission is the biggest unanswered question.

What the Sion Hill situation is teaching us the need to plan and listen to local knowledge and not necessarily always to the experts, as we will continue to be throwing hard earned money in a dark bottomless hole.

Still also unanswered, is when the Mound at the Sion Hill Playing Field will be completely removed.