Pompey, Forde, Straker tipped for National Awards

Jan 12, 2011 Sports

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– scholarships, competitions priority this year

By Edison Jefford
After dominant performances last year, athletics’ icon trio, Aliann Pompey, Cleveland Forde and Jevina Straker are set to receive the nod from the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) for the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) National Sports Awards.
President of the athletics association, Colin Boyce revealed yesterday that their final decisions as it relates to their nominees for the National Awards will be known today after Executives from the AAG meet at Olympic House on that and other subjects.
“We will be meeting to decide on the nominees for both the 2010 NSC and AAG Awards and we are hoping that our Sportswoman nominee, Pompey would be able to capture the judges’ attention and that Forde will also be a strong contender,” Boyce informed.
In addition, he indicated that Straker’s performance at the junior CARIFTA Games where the middle distance athlete retained her U-17 Girls’ gold medal should be enough to prove that the athlete must also retain her 2009 Junior Sportswoman Award.
The AAG, NSC and Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Awards Ceremonies will be separately held between the end of this month and February. The National Sports Commission through Neil Kumar has already released the judges’ panel for the National Awards.
The Commonwealth Games’ 400m silver medallist, Pompey, who also won a silver medal in the 400m at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico, last year was possibly the most successful senior female athlete for Guyana.
Pompey was the only medallist for Guyana in the Commonwealth Games that was held in Delhi, India. She also became the only Guyanese track athlete, whether male or female, to be the holder of two Commonwealth medals after her gold medal in 2002 in England.
Boyce was also optimistic about the chances of Forde, who he believes will be successful against such performances as his CAC bronze medal and his single-handed domination of the three-stage IAAF South American 10km Classic in Guyana, Suriname and Panama.
The AAG President said that he is certain that these three athletes will have resounding successes when the National Awards are announced, adding that there might even be a few surprises, as the association will attempt to fill all the categories with nominations.
Scholarships
Boyce told this newspaper that the exposure of Guyana’s leading student-athletes will be priority for the athletics association this year. He said that even with the advent of the synthetic track and field facility, it is still important to pursue scholarships for athletes.
“I am dealing with the issue of scholarships very seriously this year. I am hoping that through the GOA, more and more athletes will be able to get IOC (International Olympic Committee) funded scholarships to prepare this year and 2012,” he indicated yesterday.
In addition, Boyce said that he is currently in discussion with a United States-based affiliate, who he left anonymous, to have at least four of the top junior athletes exposed to colleges. He said the discussions are ongoing and should produce the intended outcome.
Initially, he identified Straker, quarter-miler, Carlwyn Collins and sprint aces, Ashley Tasher and Tiffany Carto as four of the athletes on the radar for scholarships. Boyce said these athletes are in a league of their own locally and have the academic background necessary for scholarships.
“The possibility exists that others could benefit from this scholarship drive, but we know for sure that we have a few athletes, who I have named, with the academic background that is required to get scholarships and we will pursue that direction,” he indicated.
Projections
The AAG President said that he anticipates the New Season that will start Sunday with the AAG Cross Country Championships at Kuru Kuru on the Linden Soesdyke Highway. He noted that an unprecedented number of track and field meets will be held this year.
“We are going to try to attend all the international and regional meets this year to ensure that we remain in good stead with the IAAF-the world governing body for athletics. Our programme will be geared at ensuring that athletes transform into better athletes,” he said.
According to Boyce, this year will have an abundance of healthy competition directed at general development of athlete and athletics. His view is that Guyana must begin to create the basis from which athletes launch into regional and international successes.
He informed that three new meets are added to the calendar this year following the addition of meets last year. Boyce believes that athletes can now boast that they have a busy season on the AAG calendar because of the continued innovative efforts to keep them active.
“We will have the Roxanna Rigby Memorial, the return of the Courts 10km Road Race and after much-anticipation, the Joint Services vs. The Rest Championships. Those will support our events that were held last year as we continue to grow and improve,” he said.
The head of the athletics association recalled that last year there was the addition of the National Under-23 Games, the President/Jefford Classic and the Ainlim 10km Road Race to the AAG list of annual events and this year there will be an additional three meets.
“Those meets in addition to those that we had on previous calendars mean that we will continue to press for more and more recognition. I am hoping that when the synthetic track is completed at Leonora, we’ll be able to bid for, and host international competitions such as the South American Championships and CARIFTA Games,” he envisioned.
Boyce said that Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony has given the AAG the mandate to create “signature events” for the synthetic facility, and as a result, the association will be proactively producing those events while the facility is still in its infancy.

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