Robin Singh sees a bright future for GOA under his leadership

Mar 05, 2023 Sports

– Baseball administrator talks becoming first GOA president in almost 30 years

By Rawle Toney 

Kaieteur News – With an extensive background in sports, particularly in cricket, tennis and baseball, Robin Singh is now taking a swing at the presidency of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).

The GOA will host their elections on March 14 at their Lilliendaal headquarters, where for the first time in almost three decades, the important sports institution will have someone at the helm that is not former Chief Magistrate Kalam Juman-Yassin.

GOA presidential candidate, Robin Singh

The GOA’s general council, on June 16, 2022, after much deliberation, voted 29 – 13 to include the 70-year age limit for Executive Committee members.

The decision ultimately ended the 75-year-old Yassin’s reign as GOA president, a position he has held since 1996.

Singh will faceoff with the president of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe and during a sit-down with Kaieteur News yesterday, the local baseball administrator believes his institutional knowledge and know-how for sports and its development will give him the competitive edge to convince the GOA’s affiliates to vote in his favour.

“I don’t do things the way everyone does them, because I didn’t come from that formal background in sport. So I always say look, what’s the best way to do this thing? Whatever is in front of me,” Singh said in a candid interview.

He added, “Sport has not only benefited me financially, but it has also taught me everything, almost. I know it’s like, before sport, life was just regular. I was a computer analyst doing my own thing, but sports changed my life, and I can show people how to use sport to change your life.”

Before pitching the first ball to introduce baseball in Guyana, Singh worked with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), the West Indies Cricket Board and other notable organisations.

The GOA, which was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1948, according to Singh, should be treated and administered as a business.

“Because it’s a business,” Singh uttered. “There’s money to be made to sustain. But you’re finding a lot of associations now are returning to incorporation, of course, internationally and even locally.”

The GOA, Singh said, does not work in a vacuum, “It is a small group of people dedicated to administering sport. That group of people knows the challenges that the general public does not know how hard it is for base-level coaches to run a programme. Everybody puts their hand in their pocket. I always have respect for anybody who’s a coach because I know that person is subsidizing someone’s living, they’re giving opportunity, and they’re taking away from their kids and their own family every time.”

CHANGING THE OUTLOOK OF THE GOA

Quizzed about the perception of the GOA and how much people have been critical of its current president, Singh said if elected, his first order will be to restore confidence in the Olympic Association.

“But again, why take up this role? It is because I have perspective. I have a unique perspective to offer. First of all, let’s look at the tenure of Juman Yassin. Juman is a very seasoned administrator. He came out of times in Guyana when times were tough, and he knows the value of every dollar. He knows the value as a lawyer of every word. He knows the value of patience in making decisions and consensus building, and that worked for us for a very long time. The legacy that Juman has left in that building, the Olympic House is amazing, and it’s something to build on.”

Singh said part of the GOA’s mandate is “To produce elite athletes, to bring home medals, to bring home glory, to bring recognition to your country, and to further the lives of those athletes. That would be drastically changed by becoming superstars or whatever. And that is the aim of every organization, to get a world superstar. Whether it’s a pro sport or it’s an amateur sport, it’s the same thing. That medal, that recognition that it brings to a country to have a quality athlete, and that’s where it costs.”

“So there are two different things that government will want. The government wants a healthy population, and the Olympic Association wants an elite athlete programme, is where, yes, your association wants to grow your sport, but you also want to be good at what you do. You want to have a basketball team, but you want to have a basketball team that can win a Caribbean Championships, that a few players can get snatched up to end up in the NBA. What’s your dream as an administrator, to see this guy and say, you know what, he played with us when he was 15 or twelve,” Singh said.

LOOKING OUT FOR ATHLETES’ WELLBEING 

Meanwhile, Singh said he’s not deaf or blind to the plight of our athletes, which he says formed part of his decision to run for the position of president at the GOA.

“That’s where I have the multisport experience, and I think my experiences in sports translate well into the well-being of multiple sports. I’ve been involved in an awful lot of sports in my life, some as an administrator, some as a coach, some was just somebody playing this sport,” Singh reasoned.

Singh said contesting for the GOA presidency might be the most important sport administrative undertaking, but one which he believes he’s equipped to handle.

To the various eligible associations, Singh is asking for their support to help change the landscape of sports in Guyana.

• Chief Magistrate, headquarters, Kalam Juman-Yassin, Lilliendaal, Robin Singh