Will NSCC suffer the same fate as D' Urban Park?
Kaieteur News
January 9, 2007
It used to be the best facility locally where the Brandon and Phillips Cups were competed for during the 1960's and 70's, but now it has been left in a deplorable state due to neglect.
We are talking about the National Sports Commission Centre (NSCC) formerly Non Pariel Tennis Courts, which was one of the premier tennis locations in the country.
It was where some of the best ever locally produced players honed their skills. To see its decline from being a facility that provided such an opportunity and atmosphere to the Phillips' clan (Ivan, Cecil, Debbie), Ian McDonald, Derek Phang, Khayum Naj, Edmond Plass, Kean Gibson, Debbie Bunbury, Leon December and a host of other good players to one where even the memories have vanished is beyond one's comprehension.
At a time when so many negative distractions has gripped the attention of our youths, it seems hard to believe that the relevant stakeholders have not seen it fit to restore this academy to the spectacle it was during the glory days of sports in this country.
This article like so many others before it, attempts to highlight one of the reasons why this country has not been producing the same caliber of athletes that dominated the Caribbean region during the 1970's and 80's. Despite not being in the best shape, aspiring players still persevere on the heavily grassed and mossy courts simply because it is the only one available to the public.
Currently under the supervision of the National Sports Commission (NSC), an auxiliary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, which receives a substantial amount of money through the budgetary allocations process, it makes it even harder to understand why it has been left to reach that level of ignore.
Hope is, that at the end of Cricket World Cup 2007, the authorities will clearly understand that the development of sports and the maintenance of related facilities can do wonders for such an impoverish nation such as ours and where the spin-off can create better opportunities for the youths to improve their lives while giving positive advertisement to this country through their success.
We now wait to see if those that are charged with the responsibility of keeping sports alive will act swiftly to restore this important facility or allow it to suffer the same fate as D' Urban Park did, just be consumed by grass and trees.