ORGANISERS of next year’s Commonwealth Youth Games in India are being lobbied by Guernsey over their choice of programme in October 2008. Three sports - athletics, swimming and table tennis - have concerns over the competition programmes put in place by the Indian hosts which could lead to Sarnian competitors missing out on the four-yearly Games.
For what is purely an under-18 event across the nine-sport programme, table tennis is one keen to send players to Pune for what is a dress rehearsal for the main Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.
GTTA president Derek Webb said that his association had earmarked two players, a boy and a girl, to compete but there was no mixed doubles in the programme.
‘If you are sending people all that way, it’s good for them to have as much table tennis as they can,’ said Webb.
In swimming, it is the long distance swimmers who are likely to miss out on the opportunity to compete in the stepping-stone event to the main Games.
There are no distance events planned, which rules out any 800m or 1,500m specialists. Nor is there a 400m individual medley.
‘It’s a shame in a way because some concentrate on distance while others sprint and middle distance,’ said Alison Frankland, the island swim team manager and also a vice-chairman of the Guernsey Common-wealth Games Association who have already made representations to the organisers. Swimming are puzzled by the choice of events as there was a full programme in Bendigo, the Australian venue of the previous Youth games, in 2005.
Athletics hope to be represented, too, but one of their short-listed competitors was shocked to see his specialist event not in the three-day track and field programme.
Of the full international recognised list of track and field, it is the only event not on the Pune programme.
‘It does seem a bit strange not to have that event in,’ said Lee Merrien, the sport’s development officer.
GCGA chairman Pete Sirett has sympathy for both sides.
‘We much regret the abbreviated programme that is adopted for the Youth Commonwealth Games but we must be aware that this is only the third Games and as such it could be said to be in its formative stages.
Previous comments on growth of the Games, or lack of, will be repeated in Sri Lanka, but full details of what Pune will actually stage are still awaited.
‘It’s not conducive to training plans and a possible source of disappointment for some would-be competitors who may find their speciality event missing from the events list.
‘The organisers now have details of our intended team and the events they will enter.
‘It is believed they are now in the process of amalgamating the entries to establish which events can proceed. We believe some clarification will be made at the General Assembly.’
Article posted on 19th October, 2007 - 12.00am
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