Jamaicans love winners, no doubt about that, and nothing is wrong with that. In fact, everything is good with loving winners.

The one problem with that is if you do not produce winners, if you do not have winners, there will be no winners to love, and that is why I applaud Prime Minister Bruce Golding's words at the Courtney Walsh Award of Excellence function at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Wednesday, October 14.

At the end of a speech which was sprinkled with handclaps, Prime Minister Golding, receiving the biggest applause - but for the one which greeted the announcement that Brigitte Foster-Hylton was the winner of the prestigious annual award - and brought down the house when he promised that in future, the majority of the Government's money earmarked to funding sport will go towards development.

That was like music to my ears.

In a speech that was far from rousing but one which was honest, the PM praised the country's athletes for their performances at the Olympic Games in Beijing and at the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, and more so the performances - on both occasions - of Usain Bolt.

He talked about the sense of pride he and his fellow Jamaicans enjoyed during those heady days and, probably wishing and hoping more than prophesying, he talked about the days when instead of winning six or seven gold medals in one haul, Jamaica would win dozens of them.

focus more on communities

Prime Minister Bruce Golding presenting world 100 metres hurdles champion, Brigitte Foster-Hylton (right), with the 2009 Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence at The Jamaica Pegasus. - Contributed

"As I said last year, I believe that Jamaicans are so talented that in the rural areas there are many Courtney Walshes, many Usain Bolts. I believe that all they need is a little help and that is why I have asked Minister Grange (Olivia 'Babsy') to look at the money she has to spend on sport and to put more of it into the communities."

According to Prime Minister Golding, who assured everyone that he would not be neglecting the associations and who implored the private sector to help the national associations more than they have been doing, as good as Jamaica has being doing, things can be better if the country spends more of its resources, more of its allotment for sport in the communities.

According to the prime minister, development is key. That is where most of the talent to be developed can be found and that is where the bulk of the money should be spent.

Although I am old enough to have experienced words which came to nothing, and especially so in promises made to those in sport on occasions like the awards ceremony, when I heard the words of the prime minister, for the second time in a year, I smiled a smile of satisfaction. And the smile had nothing to do with the fact that I believed that he had spoken to Minister Grange and that he would follow up in earnest on his request.

I smiled a smile of satisfaction for four reasons.

The first reason, with all the need for the people's money to be spent on the poor and on things like health care, food, housing and education, was because I was happy that he did not promise to divert millions of dollars from those areas to sport, but instead to spend what is being spent properly - at least for the time being until things improve, or until the Government decide to turn sport into an industry where it can have an impact, a real and greater impact on the country's coffers.

The second reason was that the PM recognised that some sports have reached the stage where they have become professional, or semi-pro as they tend to say, where they pay their players, where they produce players who ply their trade on the international market, where they collect at the gates, where they are sponsored and where they can look after themselves and those in their sport.

The third reason was that the prime minister had not decided to turn his back on the bigger sports, their associations and on the players who should be able to help themselves. Instead he had asked the private sector, in this age of sponsorship and piggybacking, to get more involved with the elite sports in the country.

Reason number four, for the smile but not the satisfaction, was that I had heard all this before.

In the 1970s, the then government, which had a ministry specifically to deal with sport, formed the Sports Development Division (SDD). The SDD was formed to promote the development of sports, more so in the rural communities and there were sports development officers in every nook and cranny of this country.

Some sportsmen, past and present at the time, did no work but were paid, and some, those stationed in the country, had a grand time arranging 'curried goat' cricket matches and entertaining their friends from Kingston.

talent

And then came the Sports Development Foundation. It was funded through the national lottery and in an effort to find talent, to assist in the development of that talent, to expose talent, the purpose was to provide things like facilities, equipment, coaches, seminars and local community-type competitions.

The purpose, it was stated, was never, for example and as it is today, to fund overseas travel for participation in international events, to send large delegations to international events and to spend on professional athletes - some of whom, thank God not too many, do not even want to purchase an aspirin to ease a headache.

It was intended that participation at international events was the responsibility of the national associations which were expected, through their own efforts and with assistance from sponsors, to fund their way.

In other words, those who wanted to spread their wings were free to do so, but with their own money. In other words, even if there was need for a little top-up, no national association, strong or weak, medal prospect or not, was expected to plan to participate, to make arrangements to travel and then as so many do these days, turn to the Government with hat in hand at the last minute and expect it to be filled with the people's money - money needed to ease the pain, probably save the life of a poor Jamaican suffering from a chronic disease.

"I believe the private sector should be encouraged to deal with the high-level sport, the national level sport, the sport which I think are depending too much on state support at this stage."

Well said, Mr Prime Minister. You are on the right track. I hope Minister Grange is on the same track and despite all the telephone calls, all the visits that you may get, as difficult as it may be, I hope you both will stick with your plans.

As great as Jamaica has been in sport, as great as Jamaica can be in sport, Jamaica, financially, can only do what it can do and in an effort to produce more quality athletes and to care for its people, Jamaica must use its money skilfully and wisely for the benefit of all - for those who win, those we hope will one day win, those who cheer and those we hope will be able to cheer.