BAD BEHAVIOUR is not to be copied – even if it being practised by the adults of this country.
Assistant director of sport at the National Sports Council, Mona Alleyne, gave that advice to children participating in this year’s Bico Primary School Football Competition and the Pine Hill Dairy Primary Schools Netball Competition.
Speaking at the National Stadium yesterday during the joint opening ceremony, Alleyne urged them not to follow in the footsteps of those who engage in unruly behaviour.
She encouraged them to play their respective sports in a disciplined manner, while using the opportunity to have some fun in the process.
“I am appealing to you at this age, in these competitions, not to follow in the footsteps of the adults you have seen playing and behaving badly.
“It will get you nowhere, and it has gotten them nowhere. As a matter of fact, some of them are not even playing the sport anymore because they have behaved badly. . . . This is your chance to show that you understand the rules of the game, that you understand that there is order, and there are officials who are responsible for directing you,” Alleyne told those on hand.
In acknowledging that although the aim was to win whenever they stepped onto the field or the court, Alleyne warned them not to let the thrill of victory come at any cost.
“Play as cleanly as possible . . . . do not take it to the stage where you are going to be fighting, quarrelling or have to be sent off or warned in any way.”
Earlier during the parade of teams, St Angela’s School captured the award for Best Attired School for the second straight year in the football competition, while St Stephen’s Primary won the equivalent in netball.
George Lamming then kicked off the season on the right note when they defeated defending champions Cuthbert Moore Primary 1-0 to cop the Reginald Haynes Football Cup, thanks to a first half-strike from Dane Knight.
