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Race walkers bemoan lack of adequate sponsorship
Calls for corporate assistance
Rudolph Mitchell
Michael Benjamin
Public Relations Officer of the Cavalier Sports and Tour Club (CSTC), Michael David Kirton has bemoaned the absence of sponsorship to address the programmes of his organisation.
He said that despite the best efforts of his executives to promote race walking as a viable discipline, the paucity in corporate intervention is threatening to compromise the efforts of race walking organisers. A visibly upset Kirton said that unless this trend changes, race walkers would be denied an opportunity to showcase their skill.
The public relations officer said that notwithstanding the meager support garnered the sport is rapidly growing in popularity. He pointed out that the CSTC has been in the frontline in the promotion of race walking and has staged numerous races countrywide yet the acquisition of sponsorship is a major bugbear. He said that even though the absence of support has proven to be crippling, he plans to press on with the planned itinerary.
Speaking on the experiences of local race walkers Kirton said that 2007 had been a trying year compounded by the absence of corporate intervention. Nevertheless, the executive body of the CSTC has managed to successfully organise numerous events countrywide and will continue along this vein while hoping for a positive response from the sponsors. The CSTC has a packed programme for 2008. However, Kirton reiterated that his organisation would be unable to address their programmes in the face of meager corporate support. As such, is making a spirited appeal to corporate Guyana to support the programmes of the CSTC.
Kirton boasted that even in the face of such challenges last year, the CSTC has discovered new talent especially among junior and female participants. He said that through the persistence of his executives, Rudolph Mitchell has been able to rise into the spotlight.
Now regarded as the king of road walking, Mitchell has recently captured his 83rd consecutive local title. The veteran race walker told Kaieteur Sport that he is training very hard with an aim of achieving his golden century sometime this year.
Kirton said that in a bid to help Mitchell to achieve his objectives the CSTC has embarked on a massive development and expansion programme which will be fully executed this year and will include a number of events in all ten administrative regions. Among the projections of the CSTC are training sessions and workshops. They are also mulling increased overseas participation.
One of the strategies to be employed in the realization of this goal is the formation of race walking clubs in all the regions. The CSTC plans to incorporate the involvement of government ministries, churches, trade unions, business and other educational institutions.
Kirton is optimistic that the goal could be attained especially since Guyana has recently been able to attract the kind of international attention. There has also been an upheaval in the level of interest demonstrated by race walking clubs and associations in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean. He said that the general aim is to lift the sport to international standards.
The programmes immediately get underway next month when a team of race walkers and coaches from the USA visit Guyana to participate in local activities. “This may very well be the type of injection the sport needs to propel it forward,” Kirton said. He is optimistic that with hard work the dream of local race walkers can be realized.
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