BFA cliques betray the youngDear Sir,

$15 million will not solve the problems of Bermuda football. Infighting and favouritism are rampant due to different cliques within and outside the BFA.

National Under-13, Under-14, and Under-15 teams have been training for over two months in preparation for the inaugural Clyde Best International Youth Tournament - a youth football tournament being held in Bermuda in honour of one of our living sporting heroes.

However, the assistance from the BFA has been nearly none.

The coaches have had to find their own fields to train as well as get sponsors for training gear and training facilities including the National Sports Centre. Some representatives within the BFA have done their utmost to give our teams a good chance to prepare for this tournament.

Others within the BFA appear to have systematically orchestrated barricade after barricade to undermine the team’s changes of success. The latest is denying our boys the opportunity to stay together in a local hotel for two nights at $99. The other ten teams who will be coming to our shores will all be lodged in hotels together and transported by chartered buses. Our boys will be asked to come from as far a field Somerset and St. George’s in time for a 9 a.m. kick off. Why are boys cannot be afforded the opportunity to bond together as do our guests I don’t know. There’s 15 million reasons why they should.

I suggest the reason why is that the tournament has been organised by a rival clique headed by Richard and Robert Calderon. Some within the BFA appear determined to see the tournament is not a success.

They won’t provide the referees and refuse to postpone the normal weekend senior league games. Can you imagine an international tournament in Bermuda to honour one of local heroes with almost nobody there?

There’s also talk that these three teams have been entered in and will continue training in preparation for the Dallas Cup in April However, I hear a certain clique within the BFA is not for that either and won’t put forward the funds.

The nonsense must stop now! Our children deserve much more than this.

Concerned parent

What is going on with NSC pitch?

Dear Sir,To everyone interested in cricket development in Bermuda.

Subject: To have an ICC certified ODI wicket at the National Sports Centre.

First let me share some comments with you.

I have done this exercise before and it is most important that I do it again, because it appears that no one is listening. Our cricketers are flying out of here at great cost to play matches because they don’t have an ICC certified wicket to play on and the public cannot watch our boys play at home — mainly because those responsible for putting a suitable wicket at the Sports Centre are not doing all they can>(the words of the NSC chairman). We could have a good wicket if those in charge would give in to the people who know what is needed and to what makes better sense.

The Under-19 players need to play international games at the Centre this year. The artificial wicket that was at the centre has been removed leaving our national teams with no field to have open field cricket practise. Why would the national cricket field be left with absolutely no wicket to play on? The BCB are building cricket programs and the NSC is putting up barriers to prevent cricket from progressing. There appears to be a communication gap between the two. This cannot continue.

In The Royal Gazette on February 7, national cricket coach Gus Logie said for the next four years Bermuda has ODI status, giving players plenty of opportunity to show commitment and to advance.

On the same day, in the Bermuda Sun, national team player Lionel Cann said, after seeing the grounds in Kenya, compared to what we have in Bermuda, makes him want a one-day international status wicket even more.

During the past two years, since Bermuda has qualified for the World Cup, the Caribbean has laid many new wickets and has been playing on then since last summer.

I have visited the National Sports Centre cricket field on many occasions and have noticed that there are soil mounds from worms all over the field but there are none on the bating wicket. Is this because the worms (that helps the wicket by naturally irrigation of the soil which in turn helps the grass to grow and knit) were sifted from the soil as well?

Was too much taken from the soil? If so, it seems that this could be part of the problem. We may need to replace the soil with fresh soil from the government quarry or from anywhere else on the island. Soil does not have to come from overseas. The soil wicket on every field in Bermuda did not come from anywhere special and did not get any special treatment and they last for two days because of regular use and proper maintenance. Another part of the problem is that the wicket is not being used. The wicket at the Centre was played on once in two years and it apparently stood up because of a PVC sealant that was used on it. Using a wicket once in two years is not enough to get a good wicket. A wicket must be played on weekly and prepared for the next game. Last years domestic two day cricket saw the wickets being prepared twice a week. It helps the wicket to mature and also helps the grounds men to get more experience and to know their wicket. If you personally know the groundsmen in Bermuda, they did not study rocket science and are noU>experts <$>but they know their wickets. Ittakes experience to lay, prepare, and repair a wicket but it takes regular usage and time to mature it.

Once again I am asking the Sports Minister (who, by the way is having a Sports Conference next week which should include the future of our cricket) and the NSC Trustees to get the wicket saga, not the soil saga sorted out. The time is n

Gerald L. Bean

Paget