2. Generation of Income
• Sports has become a major economic activity in the region, generation income
for many individuals, avenue for economic linkages as apart from players/team
there is need for managers, trainers, coaches, nutritionist, doctors,
administrator, ground men, hotel, vendors etc, designers/ manufacturers,
psychologists, physiotherapists and transport.
• One way that professionals sports and organized sporting associations can
contribute to development in the region is by marketing their activities to
generate increase income. This increase productive activity in the economy and
enables a particular sport to be self-sufficient. As it is, almost every sport in the
Caribbean has to rely on some form of assistance from outside its club or
association. If there is a recognized potential for drawing many spectators,
particularly from both regional and international countries, a sporting body will
usually be able to acquire government and corporate assistance to mount a
particular competition or tournament. Les popular sports receive less funding.
• However, the increase leisure time that people have is a resource that can be
tapped if attractive enough packages deals (airline, hotel and tickets to games)
are made available. Even if a sport is not as popular as, say cricket or football,
the leisure that people have in the Caribbean and elsewhere, provides an
opportunity that can be factored into its marketing strategies.
3. • As a result games are played in venues beyond the traditional
cricketing grounds of Bourda (Guyana), Queen’s Park Oval (
Trinidad and Tobago), Kensington Oval (Barbados, the Antigua
Recreation Grounds and Sabina Park (Jamaica). Aronos Vale
Sporting Grounds (St. Vincent), queen’s Park (Grenada), Warner
Park (St. Kitts-Nevis) and Beausejour Stadium (St. Lucia) are
among the additional venues enabling more Caribbean people to see
the West Indies team live. This means higher gate receipts and more
profits for the West Indian cricket Board (WICB).
4. Sports, income and the mass media
• To a large extent the profitability of sport is dependent on its links
with information and communication technology (ICTs). The mass
media dominate how professional sporting activities are portrayed
and in fact influence how successful those activities are. The mass
media publicize events across the region and among various media
houses there is competition to buy the rights to record and
broadcast live and taped broadcast of matches. For cricket, these
rights are often worth millions of dollars, which go to the WICB.
These monies can be re-invested to develop the sport further
through increase salaries for players, better prize monies and
incentives, buying the services of higher-quality coaches and
technical expertise, staging more sporting events and training
amateurs and young enthusiasts through clinics and sporting
camps.
5. • With technology and the mass media persons can now watch the
game at home, matches that are delayed telecast, or in real time only
the live event is sold out. Inadvertently, this threatens the persons
who depend on the event itself for an income-food and drinks
vendors, retailers of items with sporting logos and products
endorsed by sporting heroes, transport workers and those providing
support services (for example , those who maintain the sporting
facilities.
6. Sport, income and employment
• The growth of sports for entertainment (elite athletes, high-profile
teams) as well as for physical activity (as recreation) has contributed
to the generation of both income and employment in the region.
For example, professional players receive large salaries and
additional income from endorsement contracts, which are taxed by
their respective countries, and so too are the profits of the WICB.
• Coaches and those involved in sports management –from technical
experts, nutritionist, personal trainers and instructors to medical
personnel and other support staff- represent growing areas of
employment. This is likely to continue to grow as the idea of sport as
physical activity or recreation, important for everyone, is promoted.
More specialized areas are coming into being- sports medicine,
sports psychology and exercise psychology- contribute to a new set
of workers in the sports sector.
7. • In addition , the building and maintenance of sport stadiums and
other infrastructure and facilities provide employment for
construction workers and others; the production of sports goods
and equipment involves manufacturing, marketing and retailing;
the administration of sport and sporting facilities requires managers
and clerical workers; and advertising and sport journalism have
spawned journals, magazines and websites devoted to sports news
and issues generating a database of particular sports and sports
icons.
8. Sports as physical activity
• If the demand for sporting facilities and service s grows, the income
generated should be substantial. Today the price of gym
membership and fees for fitness clubs tend to be prohibitive, largely
because so few people have lifestyles where sport is a major form of
recreation. A policy of promoting sport as physical activity for
recreation should have health and fitness benefits for the
population, as well as generating increased income from all the
facilities, services and events that are patronized by the public.
9. Health and fitness
• Sports enhances physical well being of people. Physical,
emotionally, psychological fitness, lead to awareness in healthy
lifestyle...renewed interest in exercise, diet, its improves health
means reduction in health cost to countries/region as well as a
healthier labour force( greater production)
• The health benefits of keeping physically active are widely known.
Lower rates of heart diseases, stroke, obesity and osteoporosis are
some of the benefits of being physically active. Physical movement
leads to the strengthening of bones, muscles and the cardio-vascular
system. These in turn contribute to greater endurance and physical
fitness, enabling the athlete or individual to improve performance.
To consistently improve fitness and strength, however, a dietary
regimen and lifestyle that enhances good health and well-being
must be followed. Thus, sports professionals and those whose
engage in sports for recreation tend to be vigilant about what they
eat, abstain from alcohol and smoking as well s from other drugs,
and try to organize their lives so that they get enough sleep.
10. Health and fitness, though, is a holistic condition that depends not only
on physical well-being but also involves the mental and emotional state
of the individual. On going research seems to suggest that an exercise
programme or involvement in sport helps individuals to achieve lower
rates of anxiety and lowers stress levels, perhaps by altering their
biochemistry. Emotional distress is often associated with feeling of
inadequacy and lower self-esteem. The achievement a person
experiences in even a modest exercise programme, or in playing a sport,
seems to result in a feeling of having control over one's life and a sense
of ,mastery over circumstances.
• Sports and exercise are also recommended for the aged and the disable.
Exercise diminishes the need for costly medical attention for the aged.
Medical experts say that the circulatory system and the muscles can be
trained even after the age of 70. perception that the aged should retire
gracefully from life play a large part in preventing them from living full
and active lives. They too are likely to accept the limitations that society
tends to impose on them. For similar reason the special Olympics were
introduced to popularize the idea that persons with disabilities can
improve their health, fitness and self-esteem, as well as social skills, by
active participation in sporting events
11. Educational opportunities
• Its has also enabled individuals to improve educational opportunities at
tertiary level through scholarships offered both locally to UWI, UTECH and
GCFoster) as well a s North America, avenues for upward social mobility,
world fame, status and income.
• Demonstrating excellence in a particular sport can help Caribbean students
to access higher education. On qualifying, they can attain social mobility,
earn more income and use their expertise in improving conditions in
whatever line of work they find themselves when they return home. The US
sports scholarship has emerged in recent years as an alternative path for
associate the scholarship and US universities with more prestige than local
alternatives. To this end the most talented secondary school students in
sport routinely take the SATs to be eligible for US universities and complete
as far as possible in meet where scouts from universities may be present.
• Thousands of Caribbean students are now studying at universities abroad,
whether on a full or partial sport scholarship. The US has many avenues
through which our students can access funding-grants for under
represented minorities, grants offered by Caribbean people in the diaspora
for those students resident in the Us and of Caribbean heritage, and at
certain universities grants offered by their international alumni for
disadvantaged students
12. from the Caribbean. Local organisations, too, are beginning to offer
sports scholarships. For example, the Caribbean Tourism
Organisation now provides scholarships and study grants for those
athletes wishing to study tourism hospitality and languages locally.
• A scholarship offers a rout to a professional career in a particular
sport or a career in other disciplines studied at the university. The
educational opportunities that are accessed through this means can
result in development for the Caribbean. If the athletes return to the
Caribbean, he or she adds to the cadre of professional talent, either
in sport or other areas. People achieving tertiary education are able
to earn a fairly high standard of living in the Caribbean. They are
also able to contribute to the national good through their expertise
in different fields.
• Sports scholarships exposes an athlete to training and professional
expertise as well as a level of competition that will hardly be found
in a small Caribbean country. In quite another sport can contribute
to educational opportunities for youths. An active sports programme
designed for students and out of school youth can set up alternatives
paths, especially for ‘at-risk’ youths, which help them to stay in
school, refrain from unhealthy practices and even learn marketable
skills with a sports programme. As an avenue for out of school youth
to access educational opportunities, sport thus has the potential to
contribute to national development by reducing costly risky
behaviours.
13. Sense of Caribbean Identity
• Success at sport, particularly competitive sports, is popularly seen as
a means towards achieving a common feeling of Caribbean identity.
Cricket has been able to do this as most Caribbean countries identify
with the West Indies Cricket Team. A large part of the success of
cricket in building a Caribbean identity is due to the fact that it can
draw on players from all Caribbean countries.
• There is no single bond that unites Caribbean people so much as
cricket. It cannot be understood just as a game, it is too closely
associated with British rule and colonialism. They see the Caribbean
person as having made a commitment to things British,
subconsciously or not. Thus cricket that very British institution, was
not abandoned but rather embraced and West Indianized, making it
into something fiery and better than the British version. Besting the
British at their own beloved sport has been an important part of our
decolonization process and a performance through which we have
been able to find ourselves and develop our capabilities.
14. • Where other sports are concerned- football, track and field events
and swimming- the success of Caribbean athletes represents their
individual countries in international competition has been a source
of pride for all Caribbean people. For example, the long and
successful history of Jamaica in the track and field, second only to
the US in the amount of medals won, is an astounding feat, given
our scarce resources in promoting sport. Football or soccer is widely
popular all over the region and the qualifying matches for the World
Cup present a unique opportunity to see the many classes and social
groups in Caribbean society feeling a sense of common identity as
they cheer on their national football teams.
15. Discipline and moral
• It has led to the development of good citizens, it develops qualities
in individuals such as team spirit, loyalty, dedication, flexibility,
humility and discipline.
• One of the benefits of playing a sport is the appreciation the
participant develops for a disciplined approach to the game, as well
as the cooperation or teamwork necessary for success in many
sports. Serious athletes learn to pit themselves against their last best
performance in their high moral character by observing the spirit of
fair play, honesty and endurance that the sport demand. In
committing to excellence in performance in preparing for
competition, in winning or losing, an athlete’s main concern is how
he or she plays the game. An athlete knows that the highest form of
discipline and morale comes from the journey and not necessarily
from the finish. Sports then, have long been promoted as having
character-building potential for individuals, depending on how they
approach and play the game.
16. • Winning at all cost encourages dishonest practices such as taking
illegal drugs and engaging in tactics to destabilize a fellow
competitor or gain an unfair advantage. The emphasis on winning
and the commercialization of sport largely through the mass media
thus pose a dilemma to the school of though that promotes sports as
having the potential to nurture character-building qualities such as
discipline, honesty and fair play, as well as toleration and peaceful
co- existence. In this dilemma we witness one of the major problem
of development- the pull or lure of riches transcending moral
principles. An emphasis on material wealth, fame and glory
promotes an attitude of winning at all cost.
• Sports as a means of contributing to the moral development of
Caribbean persons, then, is being jeopardize by the increasing
importance of the foreign media in influencing how sport is
portrayed.
17. Presence on the world map
• Today sport in the Caribbean is conceived largely as competitive
sports and a means of promoting the Caribbean on the world scene,
as a source of national or regional pride. That pride comes from
winning and from world recognition of Caribbean athletes. It
enhances our presence on the world scene especially at major
sporting events such as World Netball Championship, Olympic
games, Commonwealth games, Pan- American Games, World Cup
football, Special Olympics etc.
• All nations want their country to be acknowledged as a presence on
the world scene . Football more than any other sport(even cricket)
has the potential to bring a Caribbean country into the spotlight
with the whole world as an audience. There is then this striving for
respect, to be accepted with world acclaim, overcoming the
constraints of small size, few resources, and a history mired in
bondage and oppression.
18. • For example when Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the world cup
finals in Germany in 2006. When Brian Lara scores 400 not out in
cricket, or even when Keshon Walcott won the gold medal in the
Olympics. ( insert sporting personalities that created a presence in
the world map!!!!!!)
19. Sport tourism
• Sports has contributed to the marketing of the region as a
tourist destination. Region is viewed by people around the
world when we host international competitions such as test
matches, world netball championships, world junior games
and when our team visits other regions, media coverage
includes culture of the region. This promotes sport tourism
influencing regional and international visitors to come to the
country earning foreign exchange.
• Sports tourism has shown that it has considerable potential to
generate increase income for the Caribbean countries. The
test matches and one day international in cricket are the best
examples in the region of how sports can draw spectators
from different countries and generate income. Events like the
cricket world cup 2007, which are high-profit international
companies , are likely to greatly increase revenue and have
prompted new venues to be built and old ones refurbished.
20. Thank You for your
time and attention!
Hope this
presentation was
educational and
helpful to you
