National basketball returns to high schools

Jan 20, 2009 Sports

Kumar gives programme his blessing

Director of Sport, Neil Kumar (centre) is flanked by Seon Erskine (left) and Lavern Fraser at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport yesterday.

By Edison Jefford
National Director of Sport, Neil Kumar is dissatisfied with the performance of basketball and as recourse the National Sports Commission (NSC) will undertake programmes to ensure that the sport returns to high schools.
Kaieteur Sport received confirmation from Kumar yesterday that the NSC will indeed be staging a national high school basketball championship to commemorate the upcoming Republic Day or ‘Mashramani’ celebration.
This newspaper had first reported last Friday that the tournament was in the pipelines and that a proposal was duly submitted. The document was apparently approved and plans are moving afoot to host the magnanimous event.
“We want to stimulate more schools basketball. We will take the discipline and make it an example with our programmes because we are looking at longterm development of our athletes,” Kumar explained yesterday.
He could not hold back his criticism of the inactivity that occurred in the sport last year and the need for the NSC to have a more handson approach, aimed at addressing the areas that need early attention.
“We are terribly dissatisfied with basketball in the last two years; I am really frustrated to see how basketball going. It seems as though some people only want basketball when they could make money,” Kumar claimed.
However, he added that he will be “taking the bull by the horn” and that the aim is to develop coaches, referees and players. Apart from the annual high school championship, the NSC is to also host Summer Camps.
The Director of Sport stated that systems are being put in place to accommodate schools that have registered for this year’s inaugural competition at the National Gymnasium and Sports Hall for practice sessions.
Kaieteur Sport understands that the national high school event was Kumar’s idea after the Chris Bowmanmanaged schools’ festival did not yield the desired success. He said that he was forced to change directions this year.
“I want a structured programme. Out of this, we should get our national Caricom Junior and InterGuiana Games teams. I have a very hard working team and I am very satisfied with their work,” Kumar observed.
He singled out Lavern Fraser, Seon Erskine and Inga Henry as the projects point persons and credited them with the event’s management. According to Kumar, they have done excellent work in putting together the event.
Henry and Erskine recently returned to Guyana after completing Physical Education and Sports Degrees on scholarship in Cuba while Fraser is a stalwart around basketball and is apparently spearheading the project.
Asked what motivated this move to take basketball to the schools, Kumar supposed that Queens College’s basketball programme inspired him. He said he took into consideration the other factors in approving the proposal.
After the top NSC official had discussed the idea with the named staff for the basketball event, they were asked to put together a budget and proposal that was submitted to him last Friday for approval or disapproval.
The document apparently found favour with Kumar the same day and he is now eager to advance the competition.
“We really want to wake up the associations to work with the schools,” the Director of Sport said.
He told this newspaper that the first six teams to enter the inaugural competition will get a basketball.
Up to press time yesterday, 34 schools were in possession of invitations and were reminded that registration closes Monday.

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