Sore loser? - Meet director dismisses John Mills coach's claims

Still fuming after his team lost last week's INSPORTS All-Age Athletics Championships to Windward Road by five points, Ransford Spaulding, coach of former champions John Mills, said the event was disorganised and made claims of corrupt activities plaguing the meet.

Spaulding, whose John Mills finished second to Windward Road for the fourth consecutive year, said the three-day event held at Stadium East was poorly executed and the organsier needed to find ways of improving the championships.

"The meet was like one big sports day. You don't know who to turn to when you have a complaint to make," Spaulding outlined among a litany of woes which, he said, affected the running of the meet.

However, meet director Anthony Gibbs has dismissed Spaulding's claims, stating that the John Mills coach was the only one who had a problem.

"Everything went smoothly. You can check the other schools and see if there are any complaints from them. I have received none, and so it is Spaulding alone who is complaining about the meet," Gibbs pointed out.

ALLEGATIONS

Spaulding has also alleged that Gibbs was 'corrupt"'in the way he carried out his duties in the build-up to the championships.

"Extremely corrupt. I think there is something against John Mills. This has been something since Sylvester Falconer (former meet director) died, and this man take it up.

"We wrote him about an overage boy from the previous year, and Glen Mills (national sports coordinator) told him that he should write back to the man and have a hearing. Up to this, we have not had a hearing," Spaulding said.

"We got the boy from them school (Windward Road), who ran in a different name, under a different date of birth, and we check the boy date of birth. It shows that the boy is not that age when he ran the previous year, and Gibbs knows this," he added.

EVIDENCE NEEDED

Gibbs admitted being aware of Spaulding's claims, but said a hearing could not be held until the John Mills coach produced evidence of his allegations.

"I told him to produce the evidence and then we can go forward because we cannot have a hearing and we don't know how the evidence is coming about," said Gibbs, adding that the John Mills coach could also get the recount he had requested in yesterday's STAR Sports exclusive, 'We want a Recount'.

"We are open to a recount. He can write to the organisation if he wants. Our system is computerised so we have nothing to hide."