Perspectives

The following story is taken from the blog of Sandra de Graaff, a SportWORKS Officer in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.  You can follow along with the adventures of Sandra and the rest of the Officers at http://sportcafe.ca/commonwealth.

In selecting “Perspectives” as the title for my blog I realized that it is somewhat redundant. A major part of the CSO placement is about gaining insight into the sporting environment of the country we are in and learning from our experiences. I’m sure we will all be able to gather lists of experiences in which we have gained a new perspective on life, sport or even work.

However, here is my most recent experience in gaining a new perspective which I will call “working within your means”.

This week I was able to take in the semi-finals and finals of the inter-secondary volleyball championships and I gained a new appreciation of what it really means to build a sport with limited access to resources.

St. Vincent is not a country fortunate enough to have a gymnasium in each of its schools in order to avoid sun, wind, or rain. All sporting activities take place outdoors on shared courts and/or fields. Although Vincentians don’t need to deal with wonderful winter weather I cannot imagine that it is very fun to spend each gym class and sport practice in the 30+ degree sunshine.

As I took in the games I found myself thinking back to my experiences as a coach or player and laughed about how frustrated I felt about having to play with a ‘shitty’ net or finding that the colour used for the lines on the court was confusing. It all seems a little bit silly now….

The Girl’s High School facility is a busy training/playing facility for various sports in Kingstown. Not only will you find secondary school games on this court, but you will also find the Youth, Junior, and National volleyball teams training here.

I can’t help but look up to the athletes (not only because of their height) and be inspired by their ability to compete at the international level against other countries who are able to train within the same environment as they would compete in. I cringe at the thought of learning to be a strong defensive player….diving or even dropping a knee on cement cannot be fun!

Fortunately there are some beautiful beaches where the teams also practice; I am very much looking forward to taking plenty of notes on ‘working within my means’ while sipping a margarita and watching them practice!