PRIVATE SECTOR support is vital to the development of sport in Jamaica, some companies spend their money at the national level; some do so at the community level, one of them is Alpart, the company is deeply involved at that level, and talking to Contributing Editor Tony Becca recently, Public Relations manager Lance Neita said the reason for it is not only the company's obligation to the community in which it operates, but also the company's belief that early involvement and early training is the key to development.
QUESTION: A lot of companies sponsor sport in Jamaica. Most do so at the national level, others at a lower level. Alpart is one that concentrates at the lower. Why is that so?
LANCE NEITA: It is simple. Alpart believes in the development of the young. Young people represent the future, sports and young people go together, sport encourages good values, and we at Alpart want to play the leading role in the development of the people in the area in which we operate. The idea is to develop the youngsters as good citizens and there is no better vehicle than sports. On top of that, we have a social responsibility and sports helps us to deal with the others, and they include education and culture.
Q: There must be more to it than that. It seems as if Alpart is everywhere in St. Elizabeth.
LN: Yes, we are everywhere, it is because we really believe in playing our part in the community, because we really believe that sport is the best way to get the people involved, and it started a long time ago with Kaiser Bauxite Company in this region.
Kaiser came here in 1953. It transferred operations to Discovery Bay in 1967 but before that Kaiser was heavily involved in sports. Kaiser played in the Junior Cup cricket competition, it almost won the trophy one year, it sponsored the Ivor Cup for parish cricket, and that evolved into the Kaiser Cup for parish cricket.
Kaiser, whose sports club was then at Port Kaiser, at Spring Ground, was also involved in tennis and athletics. In fact, it was during those years, that the Kaiser/Alpart connection got involved in youngsters. At that time, it was youth club sports.
Q: Just when did Alpart get involved?
LN: Alpart started here in 1969 as Kaiser's alumina arm - and it got into sports immediately. Alpart built the sports club at Nain, it developed a sports programme for schools in the Essex Valley the operating area of Alpart, the programme started in 1972, and it is one of, if not the longest sponsored programmes for schools in the country. The programme involved cricket, football, netball and athletics.
Alpart is also the sponsor of the St. Elizabeth Cricket Association, also for the St. Elizabeth Football Association, so it has played a dominant role in sponsoring and mothering sports.
Q: Is Essex Valley your best sponsorship?
LN: Oh, definitely so. It gives us the right blend. It allows us to assist in the development of the youngsters in both sport and education. It is well-organised because it is run by a committee of teachers and Alpart employees and they work well together. The programme involves development training as well. It focuses on character development.
Q: One of the things the youngsters look forward to every year is the Norway Cup in Oslo, Norway. How did Alpart's participation come about and how well has it gone?
LN: Alpart is a partner of North Hydro of Norway. Hydro is very involved in the Norway Cup, one of North Hydro's top executives, Jon Larsen, came here in 1997, he was very impressed with the Essex Valley programme, and he extended the invitation to us to send a team to the Norway Cup. We went in 1998 and every year since.
Q: Any idea where those players are today and what they are doing?
LN: Some of them have played in the daCosta Cup, some have represented the parish, and one of them, Copeland Lewis, has captained the Jamaica under-19 team.
Q: Do you think the money spent on sending a team of 14-year-olds to Norway every year is worth it?
LN: Yes, definitely so. Apart from football development, there is the character development and the education side of it. The exposure has done a lot for them, quite a lot. The teachers, for example, have commented on their development - their deportment, improvement, strong leadership and their discipline. They have been a good example to others.
Q: So what of the future. How long will it continue?
LN: The future is not good. This past time is probably the last time. We are not going to do it next year. We are going to watch for a few years and see how it goes but next year definitely we are out.
TB: Why?
LN: Well, is it a costly affair and the people at the head office are looking at it.
Q: One of the young players in Jamaica's cricket squad is Shawn Findlay, and I don't know if your remember, but he was a member of one of the first teams to Norway. If you do remember, how do you feel about his success and at cricket at that?
LN: We do remember, we feel great, really great, and it does not matter that it is cricket and not football. The fact that he is representing Jamaica is what is important. He came out of the Essex Valley programme, and we are proud of him. A lot of Essex Valley youngsters have represented Jamaica, including cricketers George Powell, Nigel Kennedy, Ricardo Powell and Matthew Sinclair.
Q: What are some of the other projects in the parish that Alpart has supported or are supporting?
LN: We have built several community sports centres, eight to be exact, in places like Nain, Myersville and Downs. The one at Nain is our pride and joy. It includes two basketball courts, a netball court, a volleyball court, spectator seating and lights for night games. And we don't only build we also sponsor the tournaments that are played in the communities.
In almost every community there is an Alpart Cup, an Alpart Trophy for something or the other.
