BARBADOS CRICKET ASSOCIATION (BCA) PRESIDENT?Joel?Garner says if re-elected, he intends to place the BCA in the vanguard of the change needed to promote and sustain excellence in the game.
Garner will be seeking his fourth successive term when elections are held on Wednesday at the 11th special?meeting of members.
In an interview with the SUNSPORTS, Garner, the former Barbados and West?Indies pacer, noted over the past two decades, cricket in Barbados and the West Indies had changed dramatically.
“The BCA intends not only to be responsive to the changes, but given the fact that Barbados and the BCA have played and continue to play a pivotal role in West Indies cricket, the BCA to be in the vanguard of the organizational and structural changes that are required to promote and sustain excellence on and off the field of play,” he said.
Implementation
“In that regard, success will be determined not only by the production of lofty and attractive plans and projects but the effective and efficient implementation of those plans.”
Garner, who was first elected for a two-year term in 2007, said the BCA’s board of management has, within the last five years, embarked on a systematic programme of development for the organization.
“A cricket development plan has been put in place and considerable resources have been devoted to member clubs, players, coaches, facilities and all areas of cricket development with the ultimate objective of improving Barbados cricket and by extension, West Indies cricket,” he noted.
“The vision of the BCA can no longer be ‘to make Barbados cricket strong again’ but should more accurately be ‘to become the premier cricket organization providing world-class products, services for stakeholders’.”
Garner said the new mission would be to create a sustainable environment for the holistic development of Barbados cricket for the benefit and enjoyment of all.
“The board of management of the BCA recognizes that the secretariat has, in addition to an advisory role, a very critical supporting role to play by implementing in a timely manner the policies formulated by the board,” he added. “Special attention is therefore given to equipping the secretariat to face the new challenges confronting the organization.”
He said the first goal was to restructure the BCA in line with modern management practices.
“To this end, we have had a human resource audit within the BCA which should bring us more in line with the stated goal.
Code of conduct
“We already have a code of conduct for players and officials, but there is a crying need for a similar code of conduct for members of the board of management.
“From the 1990s the BCA should have been reformed to deal with the changes that would have taken place in the world around us. Right now, with the impending strategic plan which should guide the path of the BCA for the next three years and which has to be taken to the stakeholders, it is only fitting that one of the pillars of the plan speaks to governance and this is the time that it should be foremost on the burner.”
Five critical areas are identified in the plan, he said: governance and organizational development, cricket development, outreach and engagement, innovation and technology, and advocacy.
“The governance plan will also set out the rules which govern the behaviour, roles and responsibilities of the board members, committees and staff of the BCA, which sets the high standards that must be followed in such an honourable and distinguished organization,” Garner said.
