BD$1/2 Million Bill for Olympics »

BOA president Steve Stoute with Prime Minister David Thompson

SENDING A DELEGATION of athletes and officials to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics is costing the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) an estimated $500 000.

BOA president Steve Stoute said the organisation "budgeted about half-a-million Bajan dollars" to facilitate this country's participation.

He said the sum was expected to cover the cost of "preparation, outfitting, transportation . . . but it is inadequate from a perspective of preparation because you should be able to spend a lot more on actual preparation of the athletes".

Stoute explained that $500 000 was "basically what our coffers would allow at this point in time".

Even so, Barbados' swimmers were sent to a camp in the Philippines that put them a lot closer to the Chinese swimming venue and also gave them insight into Asian conditions.

Track and field athletes got a chance to travel to Europe as part of their preparations "but the bottom line is about half-a-million dollars to provide uniforms, air fares etc".

Stoute estimated that Barbados would probably send a 20-member delegation to Beijing – not including individuals like himself secretary-general Erskine Simmons who would also travel to China but to attend meetings.

The president noted that members of the public frequently criticised the number of officials who accompany the athletes to competitions like the Olympics.

"Since I've been involved in this . . . there's always been sarcastic comments about the number of officials that accompany a team.

"But when one goes and experiences the magnitude of an Olympics, Pan American or Commonwealth Games and the fact that venues are sometimes miles apart and technical meetings are going on, the athletes need certain support."

In such circumstances "the sky is not the limit where officials are concerned because you have to meet certain criteria set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). You are tightly controlled on the number of officials".

Stoute said that outside of BOA officials like him the secretary-general and perhaps the Minister of Sport, the delegation would scarcely go past 20.

Asked if there were avenues to supplement the $500 000 the BOA was outlaying, the president said: "The International Olympic Committee does provide scholarships for some athletes like Jade Bailey and Bradley Ally."

He said they would get IOC funding "over a period of time" to assist with their preparation "but it is not fully adequate".

He also noted that the IOC to a certain degree funds "training support, but apart from that it basically comes from the coffers  of the BOA".

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