From the President’s Office
Dear Presidents and Secretaries General,
I continue to pray for the safety and well-being of you and your families as we, together, continue to grapple with the COVID – 19 pandemic. Amidst the fear and anxiety of the current unprecedented circumstances, we must never lose hope but have faith that this too will pass.
The Tokyo Olympic Games has been postponed with some expressing regret but with an understanding of the primacy of life and the safety and welfare of lives. But as I have always maintained, time given, if used wisely, can be the mother of opportunities and an opportune script for success. If we accept this, then defeat is not an option. We may not all agree with resultant revisions of qualification requirements and new arrangements for staging events. Whatever may be the final decisions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Federations (IFs), let us impress upon our athletes and coaches the imperative of remaining focused on getting the job done and done well.
Your national Association has invested significantly in your athletes as we simply believe that it is right to do so in inspiring them to self-actualise and in giving you, our members, some capital in developing your sport.
The historic medal haul achievements of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2018 Central America and Caribbean Games and the 2019 Pan American Games, all of which saw the most participating disciplines and largest contingencies ever, give us more reason to stay the course with you and to have greater conviction in our mutual destiny.
The journey towards the Olympic Games in 2021 is a joint family enterprise and we will continue to engage you and plan and meet with those of you whose athletes have either already qualified or are on the cusp of qualification. My Directors and I are committed to realising success for your athletes and are grateful for your continued support.
Team, we will emerge from the present adversity stronger and with a greater will to succeed. Let us, therefore, seize the opportunity which has arisen to look critically at our technical programmes in ensuring their viability and sustainability, to implement enabling policy strategies and to hammer out business plans as we seek, as best as we can, to insulate ourselves from future risks of any type.
Keep safe, blessings always and ………. cheers!
Christopher
