Creating Linkages Between Sports & National Global Entrepreneurship Development
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Creating Linkages Between Sports & National Development Dr. Ernest Hilaire Explains The Challenges and Solutions at SALCC’s Illumination Lecture Series If Saint Lucia is to make serious gains from its sporting potential, a major shift in how sports is viewed as a revenue generator and cure to many social ills needs to be adopted. Until then, the island’s sporting prowess will continue to lag behind regional partners despite major successes from Saint Lucian athletes from time to time. That was the general sentiment put forward by Saint Lucia’s former Permanent Secretary in the Department of Youth and Sports, Dr. Ernest Hilaire, as he delivered his speech at SALCC’s Illumination Lecture Series on November 15. The theme of Dr. Hilaire’s presentation – “Redefining The Boundaries Of National Development – Bringing In Sports As An Essential Element” – focused on both the lapses and possibilities that exist in Saint Lucia’s sporting programmes. Dr. Hilaire, who became Permanent Secretary in the Department of Youth and Sports in 1997, said that two decades ago sports in Saint Lucia was severely underdeveloped compared to other Caribbean islands. In the late 1990s, an intense focus on sports in Saint Lucia began with the creation of the Department of Youth and Sports with Dr. Hilaire becoming its first Permanent Secretary. “We set about reorganizing the school sports programme,” Dr. Hilaire said. “But the biggest issue is that we did not – and I think we still do not – have a sporting culture in Saint Lucia.” After the major transition from an agricultural economy to tourism began two decades ago to meet developmental needs, the latter has been deemed inadequate and too risky to cover all the nation’s expenses. Dr. Hilaire believes that sports and the creative sectors can fill that void if only the necessary attention and investments become priorities. Youths form Saint Lucia’s largest population with their most popular activity being sports. However, Dr. Hilaire contends that sports has remained the most under-supported activity. By not focusing on sports, he believes that all the economic and social development possibilities that exist in that global multi-billion-dollar sector are lost. The cure to correcting this phenomenon: place more emphasis on youth and sports. “By not investing in youth and sports, it means that the greatest reservoir of skills and talents is being wasted,” he said. “Youths face the high unemployment and vulnerabilities and are the highest deviants, yet their skills and talents in sports are not seen as an avenue for investment. If we say that BusinessFocus Feb / Mar
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development implies the qualitative improvement in the lives of the people of the nation, there must be an imperative for the inclusion of sports in national development.” Dr. Hilaire said benefits of sports include good physical health that leads to savings in healthcare costs, allowing athletes to gain academic scholarships, reducing crime, building cohesion Dr. Ernest Hilaire among communities, creating avenues to succeed, and showcasing a positive image for the country. By having a sports economy, other areas of development stand to benefit: more people employed in sales and marketing, event planners, coaches, physiotherapists, trainers, stadium staff, administrators, entertainment; building recreational facilities; boarding and lodging, security, restaurants. That’s why he believes that sports should be treated like a commodity to be produced, marketed and sold to the world. He added that a deliberate and conscious goal must be to produce sportspeople, market them and sell their services overseas. He noted that a sports economy must be built on a solid sports development apparatus but a major priority should first be to finance sports. “Essentially, what we need to do is to create a sports economy in Saint Lucia, that we build an entire set of economic activities around sports,” he explained. “If we can do that, it can directly affect growth and development.” Physical education in schools should be enhanced via better school sports programmes, community sports clubs, coaching development programmes, and an elite athlete programme, Dr. Hilaire told the audience. He cited Levern Spencer, Kimani Melius and Julien Alfred as being among the best in the world in their respective sports, adding that the most viable sporting disciplines for Saint Lucia for which Saint Lucia is most competitive on the global scale are cricket, track and field, netball and football.
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