‘Cricket can exist with or without money’ – James

Featured Speaker at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association’s Prize Giving and Awards Ceremony, Jacintha James, believes that Cricket can exist with or without money.{{more}}

At the ceremony held at the Methodist Church Hall, Kingstown, on Saturday, December 18, James, addressing the topic “Money or no money, keep cricket alive”, proffered: “Cricket will not be kept alive if the passion, love and commitment for the game is replaced by the love for money.”

Backtracking, James pointed to the days when volunteerism was the order of the day.

Offering a pathway towards the return of cricket’s glory days, James stated that the time has come to revisit the values that made the game what it was in the past.

“The spirit of volunteerism must be encouraged and practiced, especially when there are clear signs that the economic situation cannot afford to make huge payments,” said James.

“I can recall the days when clubs/teams engaged in fundraising and depended less on sponsorship. Apart from raising their own money, these occasions helped team members to bond and build camaraderie,” said James, Manager of Training and Education of the Center for Enterprise Development (CED).

James asked to differ on the notion that some clubs and cricketers seem to think that without sponsorship there can be no cricket.

Defending her stance, she said: “I believe that while sponsorship is extremely important, it should not be the deciding factor determining if a club participates in a championship. I believe that clubs/teams have a responsibility to engage in fundraising activities of their own and so show the sponsors that they are serious about building a cricket brand.”

James advocated maximizing opportunities available to young cricketers to assist them in advancing in the sport.

“The University of the West Indies (UWI) provides cricket scholarships, but shouldn’t we as a nation ensure that within the national scholarship awards there is one for cricket?” she questioned.

“I believe the more incentives we can give to our young people to excel-the better. I may also venture to ask: what encouragement does the local association give to promising cricketers? Yes, awards and recognitions are nice, but if you want to attract and keep the youth, greater attractions would have to be provided. This does not have to cost a lot of money,” James said.

Saturday night’s ceremony was the highlight for local cricketers who had excelled during the 2010 local cricket season, under the auspices of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association. (RT)