Camaraderie and honesty in sports

One of the greatest characteristics of sports that has been revealed to me as I grew up in the midst of it, is the distinct ability it has to unite all its participants regardless of color, social standing and even team.

Be it as an official, player, referee, scorer, caddy, water boy or spectator, all those involved have put themselves in a position to benefit from what one could call the feeling of sportsmanship.

In my opinion, it is the wonderful camaraderie among all present that takes place in any given sport situation which makes participating in the game meaningful.

Especially for my children who needless to say come from somewhat different backgrounds and raised in different ways. I have found that it was through playing with each other that they were able to come together, have a great time and find common ground.

I find it quite amazing how a golf tournament can bring together an architect, journalist, high school dropout and lawyer who are strangers at the start of the round, to play in a foursome which lasts at least four and a half hours long.

(Regardless of one’s playing ability, all is evened out through the wonderful system called handicapping. Each player carries a handicap that is reflective of his level of play. He obtains this from his home club where he submits his scores each time he plays. It is then tabulated and from this, his handicap is formed. He carries this for an entire month.)

During the course of the day, one can’t help but begin to say a few words to each other. Unknowingly, views are exchanged and as a result, new ideas may even be planted in one’s mind at the end of the round.

This is really quite a special time, given the fact that the world today has somehow turned us all into being guarded and defensive toward each other.

Some of the greatest friendships I know have been forged on the golf course and continue on even after the game is no longer played.

What a pity that this unifying element made possible through golf that we adults have somehow come to disregard and in a lot of cases, have totally forgotten.

In many tournaments where handicapping is of prime importance in tabulating the scores of the individuals, officials of clubs where these players belong have been known to manipulate their handicapping system in an effort to benefit their players and team. In being officials of the club, they believe that it is their right to do this.

And as the tournament progresses, the players play true to form and thus their real handicaps become obvious.

At this point, the honesty of the participating team has become suspect. Sadly, we all know what happens when the question of trust comes into play in any given situation.

We may now kiss goodbye the hope of forging any kind of unity amongst the different teams and their participants. In the long run, the game and all who play it are to suffer from this ridiculous and foul play.

Some participating teams may end up actually withdrawing from the tournament and even decide never to play in it again. And rightly so if the officials of the tournament do nothing to alter the situation.

What could be even worse is that the player whose handicap was actually manipulated by his club will have to carry this as though it were the right handicap.

Do the officials of these clubs actually stop and think of what the consequences of their actions would be on their players?

From what I have gathered, it doesn’t even cross their minds.

I hate to even imagine the effect of this on the player- consciously or unconsciously- in terms of integrity and pride in himself.

It would be great if he could stand up to his official and home club and decide not to play for his club under these circumstances. The sad fact is that the club and its officials hold their players hostage given that the club pays all of his food and training expenses.

And all this is done for the sake of what?

The veracity of one’s handicap is a proof of his playing ability. In this country, people have the tendency to increase their handicaps to suit their material gain. Our present way of thinking has brought this about.

However, in my travels abroad and in the golfers whom I have met around the world, their tendency is the reverse. They take pride in their true handicaps.

The officials of golf and maybe all other sports should call for a "time out" to reflect on the responsibilities and consequences behind leading a sport. Changes have to be made. Sports and all who play it could be a place to start. It’s time.