Foreword

Might as well post this now since the conversation is already in swing anyway.  Kyron could never be distracted by any of it. He is too familiar to be distracted now.  

I have given my individual congrats but I take this opportunity again to congratulate Team BVI collectively. Actually qualifying for the World Championships in the circumstances they survive, is a whole mouthful by itself. 

Introduction

1. The BVI athletes have finished competition in Budapest and are preparing to return to their various abodes. We are still celebrating them but while we are doing that they are returning to the pain of their everyday reality. So now that the 2023 Games are over, perhaps we can examine the “games” at home! Perhaps the conversation can change their reality. 

2. I promised in an earlier post weeks ago that I would comment publicly on the BVI Government’s luke-warm (at best) approach to the support of our national athletes. My commentary is not personal or political but whomever wishes to accept or reject it that way, I’m fine with that too.  My post is made however, out of frustration, so if at points it appears disrespectful to any of the powers that be, then I apologize in advance, but only for any received, perceived disrespect the post might cause; not for the audacity to speak out. 

3. I wish to make certain things clear. I only know RIkkoi’s situation personally, so my references will be to him by way of example only; but I am 💯 percent sure, his circumstances are not endemic to him. 

The issue at hand:

1. The money which is in the Government’s Treasury is taxpayers’ money. It is not the personal assets of the elected politicians. 

2. When it comes to our athletes in particular, it should not be distributed by personal or political favour, by who they like or dislike or whose parent they like or dislike, for that matter, or according to who does and does not support them politically; or when they feel like it; but by merit only and meeting legitimate expectations as to timing. 

3. Our declared national athletes should not have to beg the BVI Government for any funding, promised or otherwise.  Rikkoi Brathwaite has been promised additional funding from the Ministry responsible for Sports since February 2023 . I was told the HOA has to approve something 🤷🏽‍♀️.  The BVIOC has been patiently waiting on the help so that they can in turn help the athletes. My understanding is that Government agreed to make a commitment to help the BVIOC. It has been months since we heard this. His season has now ended and nothing is forthcoming. I told him he is not a dog. He will not beg them anymore (neither from home or from afar): Psalm 37:25. So, whomever the money in the Government’s Treasury budgeted for sports really belongs to, let them keep holding on to it!

4. The BVI Government operates in a nauseating illogic. You cannot wait until your athletes do well to help them. That’s the approach for private sector sponsorship/endorsements. They will always have overriding commercial interests. Government should have national interest to help these athletes realize the greatness they potentialize. That’s the social responsibility of any sensible and forward thinking government. 

5. The BVI Olympic Committee has helped. They have many athletes on monthly stipends based on their annual hauling. They have pledged $1700 per month to him since last year July. Needless to say, it cannot pay his bills, so he cannot even afford an apartment on his own.  He has broken the national record since this monthly amount was set (multiple times) and never received an increase in this stipend as a gesture of encouragement or goodwill. I am reiterating here that I am speaking about the national record holder in the 60 metres and 100 metres and the fastest ever Virgin Islander in our history. He just happens to be my son. 

6. I am called upon financially very often by him and I choose to help him. But for those of you, including the BVI Government, who believe this is my responsibility, it is not. Rikkoi is not a minor and my money does not belong to him. It belongs to me and I spend it on what I choose. 

7. He is an elite national athlete as declared. Established policy grants him national assistance.  This must obtain irrespective of knowledge of his mother’s profession. I am not being petty. I am being real. I know what is said. There must be a basic formula applied for every athlete declared an elite national athlete and a minimum reasonable amount must be set for monthly expenses. $1700 is not adequate in normal economic conditions, much less in these times with increased cost of living globally; and this situation should be revisited soonest. 

8. Elite athletes need a higher level of care. They require safe and reasonable living accommodations with pool access (for recovery), they must have nutritionists, masseurs, therapists, personal trainers, they travel to meets and require hotel accommodations. They even need health insurance etc! They have to pay for all of it. Nothing is free!

9. Other countries with perhaps less boasted resources and GDP per capital than the BVI are investing in their athletes. The Minister of Sports might call her colleagues in St. Lucia to learn how they just dealt with their elite athlete, Julien Alfred and implement similar approaches.  We cannot expect them to do well on the world stage (without care) against their peers, who are receiving top of the line care. It’s oxymoronic to think the competition would be level. Let me say this also while I am calling out portfolios. While the subject minister will be in the hot seat in the current conversation, this problem did not start with her and is certainly not her problem alone as she sits with an entire Cabinet and House of Assembly. This cry has been sounded for many, many years. However, it can end with her, as she and her Government are presented with a fresh opportunity to remedy this problem once and for all. 

10. Hamstring problems are a live issue for these athletes. Their legs need constant care and attention…constant. The cost of a massage is $125 at a minimum. He needs two per week to be ideal. That alone is $1,000 per month.  Sometimes he skips them because he simply cannot afford it. Skipping massages is a recipe for hamstring disaster and cramping up during competitions. 

11. I haven’t calculated food, which can easily be $500 per month at least. Rikkoi is his own nutritionist and cooks for himself. He can afford no other option. Transportation is $500-$600 per month if Adriano is there to share Uber with him. He is not yet 25, so insurance costs still makes Uber the cheaper option to car ownership. Supplements and Epsom Salt soak treatments - my Amazon account pays that price monthly. We are already at $3,000 with the cost of his trainer included. These are basic needs. No fluff. He doesn’t have a social life. He can’t afford one. 

12. To add insult to injury, I did not take the option, like many Virgin Islanders, to give birth to my children in the USA. They were both born in the BVI (a decision I regretted for the first time this year when I saw what these BVI sports ambassadors go through). In order to train in the USA, Rikkoi requires an athletic visa. Legal fees for the visa were $5,000 just to touch the application.  When help was sought to cover the costs, he was told that it was outside of the financial remit of the BVIOC. Only recently was I contacted with the suggestion of a refund of those fees. I pray it’s approved, so that he can at least get that money back in his pocket to prepare for his indoor season. 

13. I am not throwing shade. We are past that stage now. I’m laying it all out there so you can understand that these BVI athletes, by some miracle, are achieving levels internationally without proper financial support nationally. I have been watching in silence but the treatment of these athletes is nationally reckless. It’s all good to cheer them on social media when they get there but we must be more concerned about their journey to get there. 

14. I know there are some who would say, he has declared professional so he should get an endorsement/contract. I’ve heard it too. My response is that he works hard everyday to get one. He is an independent child and hates to call me for money. He is very ashamed when he has to chase Government also. He has dignity and is not accustomed of begging for anything. As a result, many times, he foregoes the weekly massages in silence and when I find out, I fly into a range and send the money to pay for them because it is better to do that than nursing a strained hamstring due to lack of care. 

15. The 100 metres event is the Marquis track event and the competition is highest all around in that space. Puma sponsors Caribbean athletes but there is obviously politics. I’ll leave that there but the statistics over the last year amongst his peers speak for themselves.  So until our athletes that turn pro can secure a contract, they should be reasonable cushioned by the BVI Government in doing so; not like the D’Moi Hodge situation recently with the big public endorsement and cheque coming after he has been signed. It is the highest form of illogic. 

16. I also understand that we cannot help everyone on the same level, as the exhibited talent levels are different but there should be a basic monthly minimum any elite athlete should be allotted in order to survive out there and I submit that $1700 cannot be that minimum amount. The threshold is too low. A World Championship/PanAm Games/Commonwealth/Olympic Games Qualifier is certainly on a different level and deserving of national investment to help them realize their full potential. Rikkoi just finished with the 24th fastest time in the World Championships out of 55 athletes. I watched him with my own eyes in Budapest run down the track neck and neck with the reigning Olympic champion, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, on legs that cannot even afford weekly massages, on a budget of $1700 per month and I wondered in frustration how much further he could really go if he really had the right financial investment to take good care of his physical and mental health. 

17. Now, RIkkoi has a “selectively” crazy woman as a mother so he knows when the abuse gets to be enough I will speak out. I am fortunate to be in a financial position that I can help him if I choose to but what about those parents with gifted children who simply can’t. Does their gift just die without the support of this country? This post is to remedy their situation too or to lay the way better for those to come after. 

18. Our athletes must really love their craft and be mentally tough. I wonder how we expect them to perform so well on the world stage with all these concerns burdening their minds daily. I have had a year experience and I’m done with being understanding about it! I take my hats completely off to them.  They continually sacrifice their mental wellness for the love of a sport and country who take their sacrifice for granted. They are truly national heroes and like many of us who put ourselves on the line for these Beautiful Virgin Islands in the different ways, they too suffer from BNS - Battered National Syndrome! We need an urgent culture shift!

19. Rikkoi’s coach is so shocked with our treatment of our national elite athletes, he told RIkkoi and me that if certain matters aren’t rectified quickly, he will find a club in the UK for Rikkoi to run with. He will then seek to get him to run for Great Britain before his track career dies suited up in BVI paraphernalia; and perhaps he can become the BVI’s version of Anguilla’s Zharnel Hughes: Psalm 37:25. 

20. Do you know that our national athletes do not even have a health insurance package?   I ask these questions, as I am trained to think on when things go wrong while I’m enjoying what’s going right. I have personally written to Colonial Insurance (sanctioned by the BVIOC and BVIAA as their representative in this regard and with follow-up emails) for a quote and contributive sponsor and to date I have received no response.  Nagico, however has indicated interest to assist as best they can, through sponsorship. Fortunately for me, RIkkoi is a part of a Club with his coach and through USATF, they provide up to $15 million in injury coverage. I know other elite athletes who have no such coverage. These athletes do get injured seriously and it is their parents that have to find the money for their surgeries. But when they are out there competing, they do not really carry Malone, McMaster, Brathwaite or Hodge on their chest. Their family names and parents get no credit, just the bills. It is only the British Virgin Islands or as the Spanish say, Las  Islas Virgenes Brtitannicas, that receive the credit! We have to do better corporately by our athletes as well. 

21. Momentarily, I will resume the cause we started last year for a national sports support fund, so that the funding of our elite athletes can be a public/private partnership with the BVIAA leading it. The BVIAA tries but it lacks reliable funding sources. I am committed to helping the BVIAA with development funding for those who are now classified elite and those who are coming. It is desperately needed. This initiative will take some financial pressure off of the Government also. It is a matter of national interest.  Our elite athletes have the talent to go further than usual BVI limits or expectations. They have proven it but even the Bible says, money answereth all things! Ecclesiastes 10:19 says: a feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.  That really means, we can celebrate them all we want but they need money to do the things which cause us to celebrate them! 

Money. is. A. strong. Defence!

22. Finally, I posted the photos of the Ritz Carlton hotel in Budapest also, not to be cocky. I know my people, so let me explain.  I posted them because when I was checking out of the hotel, a swarm of black Mercedes was outside the hotel and the road was heavily blocked off with high level security. When I inquired, I was told that the Prime Ministers of Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia, Qatar, some of the central Asian countries and others I can’t even remember, were staying there. They were in Budapest to show support of the host country of the World Championships and their athletes (and of course some politics!). I didn’t get photos of the convoy, as at the time I didn’t know what it was, so by the time I understood what was going on, I could only capture why I had to be escorted  by hotel porters two blocks with my luggage to get my taxi to the airport.  I pondered that moment deeply in the absence of any BVI Government representation and I said to myself, no wonder we treat those athletes so poorly, we simply do not believe these events really matter. Yet, the rest of the world do! Both sides of the beliefs are self-evident!

In the words of Daniel Blyden, “Are we cares?”

Conclusion and Recommendations 

1. My expressions above are well resounded by the BVI athletes, parents of BVI athletes and other stakeholders in BVI track and field. So, although I write alone and in Rikkoi’s situation , I am not alone and he does not suffer alone. Not everyone will stick their necks out to articulate it but my pen is ever ready to write for justice. 

2. We have a dysfunctional political system in the BVI that has turned the electorate into beggars. The COI is my witness. We should be ashamed to have that deplorable system stretch across to our national athletes. They are not beggars and should not be reduced to coming cap in hand for national assistance. 

3. To avoid this, inevitable it seems, cultural trap, one suggestion would be to  establish a program where you declare your sports ambassadors on an annual or biennial basis and pay them a fee as a sports ambassador. Set the figure and the frequency of the payment and when the time comes for the payment, pay it. Do not have them chasing up and down for money. There is nothing sophisticated about that.  Some years ago, my understanding was that the Tourist Board was planning to implement such a program and then as the players changed, it appears that the initiative flatlined. It needs to be revived, whether as sports tourism or otherwise. 

4. I took the time to say all of the above not to offend anyone but to speak from the heart of a mother of an elite BVI athlete. We must do better by all of them. We must re-align our individual in-look if we really expect to change our national outlook. It is time!

Ayana Hull..