by YVETTE BEST

IN SPITE OF sometimes impossible odds, secondary schools in Barbados have been trying to make sport an attractive option for students.

And it goes way beyond preparing for the various competitive meets and the many accolades and trophies when teams are successful.

The SUNDAY SUN spoke to a number of principals, who were rooting for their teams at the recent Secondary Schools Athletics Championships, about their programmes and the importance the schools placed on sport.

It is obvious that sport has come of age at the institutions. Along with the mainstream subjects, sport is on the curriculum as a CXC subject at several of the older and newer secondary schools.

And teaching staff continue to make a point of informing students of the viable career options available in the various disciplines.

Success stories of past athletes and those who have gained athletic scholarships provide tangible evidence that sport pays.

Harrison College can boast of Olympians Obadele Thompson and Andrea Blackett and Christ Church Foundation has cyclist Barry Forde. Additionally, almost all of the schools have produced students who gained athletic scholarships and are excelling.

Vere Parris and Robert Cumberbatch, principals of Combermere and Foundation respectively, noted sports scholarships were worth more in dollar value than Government-issued scholarships.

Springer Memorial Secondary School is a towering example of what success in sport can do for boosting morale and making good use of available resources.

That school has made a habit of excelling in a number of areas, but especially track and field. Last Wednesday the Government Hill,
St Michael girls romped their way to a tenth in the girls' championship in 11 years.

According to principal Pauline Benjamin, their playing field wasn't big enough for a 100 metre, but schools have been trying to out-run them for close to a decade.

"The team of PE teachers go beyond the call of duty to make sure the limitations don't detract negatively on us," Benjamin said.

She added that it was a whole team approach and the teachers pulled their weight. Discipline and commitment are instilled in students as the means to success.

An element of pride slipped into her voice when she disclosed that Springer was one of the first secondary schools to include PE as a CXC subject and had done so with "great success". The school earned 12 grade ones last year in the discipline.

Cumberbatch said they tried to build on the talent displayed at the primary level at Foundation. He said they got information on the new intakes from primary school and those students were sought out and encouraged.

"Those students form the basis of future generations. They tend to be pretty enthusiastic because they're carrying over the successes from the primary schools," said Cumberbatch, adding that the difficulty sometimes came when students got off track as they grew older and became distracted.

Princess Margaret and St Leonard's Boys' do not have the institutional structure like most of the other schools, but they are trying to build their programmes to the stage where students could see sport as a means of further education.

The former has made a name for itself in industrial arts, and principal Wismore Butcher looks to the day when sport is seen in a similar light.

"There needs to be an attitudinal change. A lot of parents see sports as just running 'bout, but if we can get them as we did with industrial arts . . . .

"You see with industrial arts there is something tangible, you can see a table, sports is a little different. But the mindset about sports is something we have to change too," Butcher said.

These Herculean efforts and successes are continuously repeated even though in many instances schools don't have enough coaches, no playing fields or hardcourts and other necessary equipment.

All the principals praised the staff, including non-PE teachers who volunteer time to train students, and parents who lend assistance for what they have been able to achieve.

Membership in athletic clubs has assisted in the success of the programmes as well, even though there is sometimes a conflict between what is taught at the clubs and at school.