Champs no place to air dirty laundry

Venisa Clarke-Lee, Guest Columnist

It's an annual event which track and field fans across Jamaica anticipate. Student athletes are able to represent their schools and compete for bragging rights. Others revel in the excitement which they might be experiencing for the first time. Coaches anticipate the actualisation of their hard work.

The excitement that fills the air is like no other! Patrons pack the National Stadium to watch these athletes entertain them through intense competition. This event has the potential to connect fans from varying social classes, races, denominations and, dare I say, sexual orientations in Jamaica. For five days, nothing else matters. Its power to unify is inexplicable, yet, one is left to wonder how unified patrons will remain if one critical issue, that of bottle throwing, is not addressed.

Years ago, it became apparent that immediate action was needed in order to stem the increase in violence that erupted among competing high schools in the Corporate Area leading up to the Boys and Girls' Championships. This resulted in the Peace for Champs Initiative. It has reaped noticeable success and must be commended for its efforts. Even during Schools' Challenge Quiz, students are heard reiterating their support for the initiative. This continued support has helped to tackle violence among high-school students.

As it gets closer to the final day of Champs, the National Stadium is usually filled. This is where the critical issue mentioned earlier rears its ugly head. The problem lies with supporters who are determined to turn Champs into a festival of bottles and a carnival of misery.

Bleachers Behaviour

Some patrons get tickets for the grandstand, while others like the excitement of the bleachers. Why should the behavioural expectations be different for a fan in one section of the stadium from the next? There is a need for an urgent remedy to the problem of fans hurling bottles maliciously from the bleachers.

Jamaicans have a right to enjoy the event without fear of injury or harm. Is this too much to ask? After all, how can peace be expected and maintained when fans who pay to enter the venue are being bottled for no reason? This treatment is not only meted out to rival fans but anyone in the area at the time the bottling begins. Throwing bottles after races seems to have become the newly accepted behaviour.

I once decided not to return to the bleachers because of horrendous experiences I had as a patron. For Gibson Relays 2014, my friends were intent on going, so I decided to rescind that decision. In the past, while sitting in the grandstand, I've witnessed bottles being hurled at police personnel and fans alike.

My visit to the bleachers for Gibson Relays sharply reminded me of the issues I had initially. For Gibson, we sat at the 250-metre mark because we felt that was an ideal location for maximum enjoyment. Thank goodness for the ban on smoking in public spaces, as that would have been another issue. For the most part, the air was breathable.

There we were enjoying the races (children and babies included) when it all began. Unbeknown to us, bottle-throwing became the order of the day. I watched as patrons, in an attempt to escape flying bottles, transformed into scenes from The Matrix. Children were busy playing, oblivious of the missiles heading their way until the impact was felt.

Police and security guards alike were forced to abandon their usually stoic stance and become as agile as cats. All this because of the unacceptable behaviour of some patrons.

Is it ignorance? Are we so caught up in our celebrating that we forget that people take children to these events? Or are we so selfish that the idea of collective enjoyment doesn't apply to us? Some patrons in the bleachers throw bottles with seeming impunity. A bottle filled with water is harmful to anyone and can even be deadly. Care for others or just plain common sense should take precedence.

Personality disorder

There was once a time when athletes and high-school students were of major concern. It now appears that some patrons suffer from narcissistic personality disorder and refuse to have the spotlight shone on the athletes who are the stars of the event. It is sad that they resort to deviant behaviour to solicit the attention they so greatly crave.

Are we to believe that the behaviour that is portrayed is indicative of the social status of patrons or their ability to be rational? I am sure it is not, but who is going to prove otherwise? At Champs, the grandstand conduct appears to have become an ideal for fans, while the bleachers reflect the real underbelly of mayhem played out for Jamaica and the international press to see. So often when violence erupts in the bleachers, fans are seen fleeing to perceived safe havens.

Jamaica is often highlighted for crime and violence. Athletics highlights another side of Jamaica that needs to be publicised more often. Canadian recruiters will be present for Champs 2014, as well as the recurrent United States recruiters. What will they leave the event with? Contacts for future Olympians and prospective student athletes or a concussion? Let us try to show Jamaicans and non-nationals alike that we know how to provide exciting and peaceful entertainment.

If the athletes and students do their part and uphold the Peace for Champs Initiative, the patrons should, too. What do we expect a paying fan to do if he/she, or his/her child is knocked out by a bottle? What will prevent retaliation and the setting off of pandemonium?

Champs is an athletic event envied by many countries in the world. It is not an arena to showcase our maladaptive behaviours. Like Vision 2030, let us make 'Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business', starting with a bottle-free 2014 Champs.

Venisa Clarke-Lee is a sociologist, human-services practitioner and athletic/academic adviser. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and venisaclarkelee@yahoo.com.