WE note that the Government and Opposition will be collaborating to find “appropriate” ways to honour the athletics team which made Jamaica so proud at the recent IAAF World Championships in Beijing.

Opposition Leader Mr Andrew Holness has said he will nominate Opposition spokesman on sport Ms Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange to sit on a committee to be named by Prime Minister Mrs Portia Simpson Miller, which will determine what’s best to be done.

Of course, none of this is new. It has become customary after dazzling performances by Jamaican athletes in major championships, for the country and their leaders to rack their brains as to the best way to say “thank you”.

Parades and grand ceremonies are always in order. But is it appropriate to make cash gifts for example? Obviously there are some athletes who desperately need the cash. Their more elite colleagues — some of whom are quite wealthy — probably do not.

We have seen in the past that some well off athletes have donated their cash gifts to worthwhile charities, which serves to make everyone feel better.

The truth, though, is that other than just saying thanks from the heart, there is probably no totally satisfying way of recognising achievements such as by Jamaica’s athletes in Beijing late last month.

As Mr Holness aptly put it: “Having…athletes standing on the platform with the flag flying and the numerous interviews, and every time the name Jamaica was called on the world stage someone who never knew about this small Caribbean island is now aware, that is brand value that we cannot pay for.”

Yet, as we have heard in recent days, and indeed over many years, there are Jamaican athletes living hand-to-mouth, sometimes unable to finance basic training or to access the services of a coach.

That reality has been cited as the main reason some Jamaican athletes have chosen to change allegiance; competing for other countries which have pledged to support them economically.

The truth, though, is that the cash-strapped Jamaican Government cannot be expected to come anywhere close to matching the financial lure on offer from some of the world’s richest countries.

What’s needed it seems to this newspaper is for Jamaica to develop a formal, transparent system that will allow athletes who have achieved a set minimum standard to receive assistance from the State, preferably in partnership with the business community. As we understand it, such State-financed systems in support of athletes are practised elsewhere.

To implement such a system, Jamaica, in its current fragile economic state, would have to start small and cautiously with the expectation of expansion as the national economy grows.

That way, perhaps some time in years to come, the parades and grand ceremonies will be considered fully appropriate following a glorious campaign such as was Beijing.