Steve Stoute believes he has four more years left in him.
It’s left to be seen if anyone else shares that belief.
The Barbados Olympic Association’s (BOA) long-serving president is still ready to serve at the helm, but only for one more term.
He has said that the upcoming Olympic cycle would be his swansong if he is returned for an unprecedented fifth term at next month’s elections.
Stoute revealed his intentions in a telephone interview with WEEKEND SPORT ahead of the October 17 polls, where he will be challenged for the first time in his 16 years as head by Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Browne.
“I’ve been approached by a number of federations to continue and the majority of the members of the executive board have asked me to continue, so I guess I have the support to come back,” said Stoute, a one-time high-ranking officer of the Barbados Cycling Union.
“And my aim was always to go on to 2016 once my health held up, but sometimes the pressure has gotten to me and I have thought about stepping down. However, that happens to most people who have to deal with intense pressure.”
“I welcome the challenge [from Browne], though, because competition is healthy. Just like in athletics where competition is healthy, so too it is in administration,” he added.
A retired insurance executive, Stoute has been involved in the administration of the BOA since initially serving as the secretary general since 1968 when the country’s Olympic body was first recognized as a single entity.
And the BOA has grown by leaps and bounds from those early days, with the body gaining funding through the advent of the lottery, then witnessing the country’s first and only individual Olympic medal in 2000 before culminating its growth with the construction of the Olympic Centre seven years later.
“I think that my record is there for everyone to see,” said Stoute of his lengthy tenure.
“In the last 12 years the organization has grown more than its previous 50 years, and now the BOA is recognized internationally as one of the best run small Olympic committees, if not in the world, definitely in the region.
“We’ve also established the Barbados Olympic Academy, which is one of only three in the English-speaking Caribbean and probably the most active.
“But I’d say the biggest thing is we’ve seen an increase in medal performance at regional games over that span, maybe not at the Olympics, but our presence is definitely felt at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games and the varying World Junior meets.”
However, there have been some recent disappointments, with Barbados sending its smallest ever team to this year’s Olympics following sub-par performances at the Pan Am, Commonwealth and CAC?Games.
Stoute’s challenger Browne reasons there are several deficiencies hampering the BOA, including the lack of a national strategic plan, leading him to believe that it is time for Stoute to hand over the baton.
And it’s a possibility Stoute is ready to face – but in 2016.
“Going forward within the next four years we want to strengthen the infrastructure of the various national federations so they can be more efficient in their day to day running because they are the ones that are key in the development of elite athletes,” Stoute said.
“But the major challenge we face is the whole cultural attitude towards sport, where the country views sport as more a pastime than an actual discipline and mechanism for a career.
“In our schools it is not a part of the formal curriculum like maths and English and any other subject.”
