About Cuban Sports

Significance

• One reason for their unusual success in sports is that Cuban officials identify talent in youngsters at an early age. The child is placed in a special school where she is "nurtured" through a rigorous training program. No athletes in the world are offered a better environment in which to develop their talents with hopes of becoming a national hero.

Effects

• The sports system has held a special place of honor in Cuban society since 1959, and this attention has paid off in both domestic and foreign policy. Sports in Cuba does pay for itself, as the $120 million-a-year machine is self-financed from prize money earned from international competition. Other countries have assisted Cuban sports financially over the years. The Italian government financed a large part of the expenses to allow the Cuban baseball team to participate in the Barcelona Olympics. And other host countries have paid for Cuban athletes to compete in international competition.
  Despite all this glowing success, the Cuban sports system is in jeopardy, as there is a striking contrast between the poverty-stricken Cuban with the relatively affluent elite Cuban athlete.
  Jose Fuentes, manager of the Cuban National baseball team, told in an interview about how the Cuban athlete is treated by the government: "Our government has an assistance policy for all people who have outstanding skills. The government tries to give a better living conditions to the most outstanding people in our country."

Function

• It seems ludicrous to speak of a small nation that conducts a foreign policy like a much larger country. But Cuba conducts itself as a leading player in the international arena without the typical domestic resources. Fidel Castro has dictated Cuba's foreign policy since 1959; he stresses clear defensive interests, and their sporting success has reinforced this image to the world.

History

• It's not an exaggeration to say that Cuba has dominated international amateur boxing; they have won more gold medals than any other country. Initially, boxing arrived in Cuba as a tourist attraction, as promoters scheduled championship bouts between North American boxers during the high tourist season in the early '30s.
  Boxing is well suited to the Cuban character, as the people are brave, selfless individuals that have strong convictions and clear definitions of their beliefs. Cubans by nature are pugnacious and like to fight. Boxing experts will tell you that Cuban fighters can smell fear in another boxer and will try to intimidate and psychologically steamroll over their opponent in the ring.
  The training technique and boxing ideology was brought to the island by the great Soviet coach Andrei Chervorenko in the early '60s. He disassociated himself with Cuba after they began defeating the Soviet boxing team in international competition. "Cuban boxing champions are tomorrow's trainers," is the creed on the island, as past champions are able to pass their years of experience to the younger generation of Cuban boxers.
  Baseball came to Cuba in the 1860s, as the game was brought by countrymen who studied the game during their time in the United States. The sport quickly spread throughout Cuba and quickly became the national sport of the island. Their record in international competition is a phenomenal 71-1, winning gold medals in the last two Pan-American Games, three Inter-Continent Cup Championships, and the first-ever Olympic Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona games.

Considerations

• Castro passed a law in 1962, The National Decree 83a, that made professional sports illegal in Cuba, and many athletes decided to leave the island. Like baseball players, boxers saw the opportunity to be well compensated by defecting to the U.S. and turning pro. But it is not an easy decision, as families and friendships are broken indefinitely by leaving Cuba.
  The Cuban athletes are treated like a rock star and worshiped by the masses. They are given good seats at restaurants and hounded for autographs wherever they attend. They also receive government perks, and some supported the Cuban revolution that made their participation possible in sports. Other athletes hated the revolution that restricted their freedom.