Sports help children to develop healthy bodies and a healthy body abets a productive mind. Sports present a positive alternative to crime and every child that’s involved in a team or some sort of sports, is one that is less likely to be on the street getting into trouble. Sports also do much to instill patriotism and national pride in a people and unite citizens behind a common cause.

In Belize, I grew up as part of a generation that was not very sensitive toward sports and many families like my own, came close to condemning it as being little more than just nonsense. “Where will it get you?” asked the elders and to come home sweaty and dirty after a game of football or basketball was considered almost a cardinal sin. Fortunately, that old mindset now seems passe and today, few parents will discourage their children from participating in sports. Our schools lag far behind in providing proper facilities, however, and even with the abundance of land at our disposal, many schools have little enough room for classrooms much less to accommodate sports.

With last year’s success in CARICOM and with the recent success of the semi-pro basketball season, it has become quite obvious that there is a market for professional sports in Belize. Unless we do more to encourage and prepare our children for athletics, however, like the glory years of softball, our success in basketball will also be temporary and just a fleeting fancy. The current government of course, has promised to support semi-professional sports and to their credit, there are signs that they are committed to following through on this promise. Let us hope that this commitment to sports does not end with basketball.

The sport of boxing, which was once quite popular in Belize, seems to be making a valiant effort toward a comeback and with the opening of several gyms around the country, we look forward to competitive fight cards in the not too distant future. Unfortunately, cycling seems to be going in the other direction and we can only hope that those involved will do what is required to put this very popular sport back on track. On any given morning, one can find the Western Highway cluttered with aspiring cyclists who sacrifice the comfort of sleep to prepare themselves for races that are held at different intervals throughout the year. It is unfair to these dedicated young athletes when these races are canceled and especially on very short notice. Let us hope that the Cycling Association will soon get its act together and that cycling will once again ride and rise to the prominence that it deserves.

The biggest problem with sports in Belize of course, is that apart from politics which we can never seem to get away from, it is controlled by people who are more interested in the fulfillment of their own selfish agendas than with the overall success of sports. Personal vendettas and unbridled egos have been allowed to destroy many a competition and consequently, many talented athletes are discouraged from participating. Instead of friendly rivalries we have malicious adversaries and the true benefits of sports is rarely ever realized. Until we get mature and objective people in the position of coordinating our sports, Belize will remain a distant last to the rest of the sporting world.

We view now with interest, the almost personal dispute that has developed between the Chairman of the Sports Council and the President of the Belize National Basketball Association and all at a time when our under 17 team is preparing to represent us in Guyana. The real loser of this battle of course, will be the young athletes who will be denied the adequate support necessary to ensure their success. Legendary coach of UCLA John Wooden once said that sports does not build character, it reveals it. We watch in dismay as Belizean sports reveal the true character of many who have deemed themselves respectful.