Athletes have always earned respect for their show of sportsmanship and fair play. They are expected to be level-headed and composed during stressful situations. Their age should never be an excuse for rude behavior and violent outburst whether it is on the field or off it. Unfortunately, this was not the case during a recent grassroots junior track and field athletics match in Kent.

For the unversed, GrassRoots Athletics is a club that trains young athletes for a future in track and field events. They pride themselves on the training programs with expert coaches. The coaches work with the kids to teach them how to enjoy the sport and give it their best to help them achieve their goals. The trainees are encouraged to develop discipline, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. However, the recent fight that broke out during the match at Kent showed these values to be lacking and it did not go down well.

A brawl in Kent exposes the lack of values in young athletes

The UK Youth Development League is a prestigious event in the track and field world. It gives young sprinters a rare opportunity to participate against talented athletes from all around the country. The coaches urge the participants to use this race as a metric to measure their own progress. But the recent brawl that occurred during the ongoing event overshadowed all of these positive aspects of the YDL.

The fight broke out between two groups of participants from the under-20 and under-17. As a result, the match on July 30 was unceremoniously ended by the organizers. The fight began with a simple disagreement between two participants in the Southern 2B event at Dartford. It quickly transformed into a huge physical altercation when other teammates and even some adults joined in.

The organizers could not break up the fight and had to call the police. When the police arrived on the scene, they could not believe their eyes. It looked more like a gang fight than a sporting event. The fight was reported by Athletics Weekly on their official Twitter account with the words, “Grassroots junior athletics event in Kent is abandoned after fight breaks out”. One of the coaches spoke with AW saying, “In all the years I have attended athletics fixtures I have never seen such violent and shocking scenes”. His graphic description of the fight has saddened all that love the sport.

The graphic description leaves Track and Field enthusiasts heartbroken

The track and field world was seething with anger and frustration after the news of this fight became public. It had tarnished the good reputation of a special event. The coach compared the brawlers to a pack of animals and said “I have to say as I was there that those involved were like a pack of animals throwing punches and just seemed to want to get a piece of each other,” The fighters threw punches in all directions without caring about who they hit. Even the coaches were afraid to intervene, fearing injury to themselves.

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This sad turn of events ruined the chances of talented athletes from reputed clubs such as Victoria Park, Herne Hill Harriers, Dartford Harriers, and many more. This was the last match before the national finals in September. The UK Youth Development League has chosen not to say anything on the matter, but the England Athletics’ welfare team has already begun a massive investigation. Fans of the sport are demanding immediate action against the offenders. But amidst all of this, many great and hardworking young athletes lost their last golden opportunity to shine before the nation. It is yet to be known whether these athletes would get another opportunity to showcase their skills or whether there would be a harsh decision following this unforeseen incident.

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