The Barbados Cycling Union (BCU) can’t wait to get on track.
Problem is, they’ve been playing the waiting game for a very long time, as the Randolph Field Velodrome at the National Stadium continues to fall apart before their eyes.
The cash-strapped sporting body recently released a five-year strategic plan, but empty coffers are preventing it from carrying out much needed repairs on the broken-down track.
“People keep asking about our track programme, but I have to clear the air,” a disgruntled BCU president Keith Yearwood told the WEEKEND NATION yesterday.
“We are ready to get going with our track programme but we have to wait for the track to be repaired. We have been given assurances by the National Sports Council (NSC) that those repairs will be done and they are going to pay great attention to the track, but I can’t speak to the time frame involved.”
The president noted there were at least four areas on the 500-metre track where concrete had completely broken away, and which could put riders in physical danger if used. Two years ago there was a similar problem, but this time the erosion has worsened.
“There are some riders and coaches who use the track individually, but we are not in a position to hold any kind of competition at the moment,” Yearwood bemoaned.
He said the slow reaction to repair the track, which was first opened in October 1970, had already cost the BCU, since the body was forced to cancel an international meet scheduled for May.
Yearwood said the BCU had thought about financing the repairs but it was too much in the red.
“We wanted to do it, since our riders want to get the track season going, but it would have cost almost $15 000, and we simply aren’t in a position to spend that kind of money,” he said.
The president said the BCU’s financial position is so strained at the moment that it was unable to provide even small amounts of prize money during the track and road seasons, as had been done in the past.
He said all money spent by the BCU now was for services.
“Every time we stage an event there is a cost. We have to utilize the services of the Royal Barbados Police Force, and the Ambulance Service, which are mandatory.”
“We strongly looked at the possibility of completing the repairs, but it was impossible,” Yearwood added.
He said the BCU would be in a position to earn some much needed money if an international event could be held over a weekend.
