ECYS Minister says sustainable sports support requires shared responsibility

GREAT BAY--Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs has reaffirmed her support for athletics while emphasizing that sports development must remain a shared effort between government, the private sector, and the wider community.

The Minister addressed the matter following public discussion surrounding a recent athletics-related release seeking private sector sponsorship. Gumbs said athletics officials later contacted her to clarify that it was not their intention to give the impression that they were criticizing government.

According to the Minister, sports organizations regularly submit requests for assistance and the Ministry has consistently maintained that while it cannot fund every aspect of every trip or development initiative, it remains committed to contributing where it can.

Gumbs stressed that government operates with limited funding and cannot reasonably be expected to cover every cost associated with sports participation, travel, and athlete development. She noted that this is not unique to St. Maarten and said that even in larger jurisdictions, families and communities often play a major role in supporting youth sports.

Drawing on her own experience, the Minister pointed out that while attending school in Miami, she observed that parents at private schools still made substantial financial contributions to support student participation in sports programs, including successful teams competing at high levels.

She said this reality reinforces the need to view sports development as a collective responsibility rather than one that can rest entirely on government.

“Sports development has to be seen as a community effort and can never be 100 percent government-funded,” Gumbs said. “If government were to fully fund one sport, it would leave little or nothing for others that come afterward. There has to be balance.”

The Minister added that she was pleased athletics had already been increasing its private sector sponsorship efforts, noting that such initiatives are important in building sustainable support for athletes and organizations.

Gumbs also thanked the community for continuing to support athletics and expressed appreciation to athletics official Abdul for reaching out to clarify the matter directly.

She further stated that athletics remains one of the sports she strongly supports and said she is proud of the country’s athletes and their continued development.

The Minister said she is looking forward to seeing the athletes perform at CARIFTA and in future competitions, and wished them continued success as they represent St. Maarten on the regional stage.

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