AS tragic as it was, the fatal crash at Southside’s motor speedway on Sunday shouldn’t have come as an enormous shock.

Thirty-four year-old Marvin (Skinny) Robinson died doing what he loved doing most — riding a motorbike.

And while that will be small consolation for the friends and family who this week mourned his death, it’s likely that both they and he knew the risks associated with this kind of sport.

Safety regulations and other precautionary measures on the track can go a long way to preventing accidents, and so far as we can gather organisers of Sunday’s meet had rigorously followed international safety standards.

But when man and machine push themselves to the limit, accidents are inevitable.

In Bermuda alone we’ve seen it on the water, in go-karts and on motorbikes . . . all in the last few years.

Whether investigations eventually reveal mechanical failure or human error, the fact remains that by their very nature these sports are life-threateningly dangerous.

The need for speed can come at a terrible price.

Another lost life will serve as a grim reminder to all those who partake in motor sports that the stakes can be an awful lot higher than in other sporting activities.

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CONTROVERSY over whether local golfers would be risking their amateur status by playing in the upcoming Peugeot Challenge Cup appears to have been resolved.

Yes, they can play, and yes they can accept the top prize of an all-expenses paid trip to Paris even though it exceeds the $500 limit to which amateurs are restricted.

On this occasion, Bermuda Golf Association president Bob Legere, in warning players who had entered the tournament that they might be risking suspension from all future amateur events, seems to have got it wrong, although he can be excused for being misled by the wording of the tournament advertisements.

As organiser Alex Madeiros explained: “Under the rules of amateur status, a player is allowed to enter any competition where the prize on offer is being paid for by a recognised national governing body,” as is the case with the Peugeot Cup.

But in this day and age, isn’t the whole issue farcical?

Isn’t it high time the ruling R&A scrap the $500 limit and bring golf in line with just about every other sport where the difference between amateur and professional can only be determined by whether or not a competitor earns a living from the sport?

When a single golf club these days can exceed $500 in price, isn’t it rather mean-spirited to put a limit on the value of prizes for those players already heavily invested in the sport?

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SALEEM Mukuddem has been charged by Bermuda Cricket Board for bringing the game into disrepute after labelling the governing body “incompetent and inconsistent” in their handling of his World Cup ban.

When he appears before a disciplinary committee next Wednesday, he should have no worries.

The truth is a very good defence.

— ADRIAN ROBSON