AAG Review of 2011...Athletes show great improvements

AAG Review of 2011…Athletes show great improvements

Jan 18, 2012 Sports

As Guyana now have two Olympic qualifiers in athletics for the London 2012 Olympic Games in August, the

Colin Boyce

President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Colin Boyce in his review of the year which was revealed to the media and guests at the award ceremony made known some of the plans for the year.
With the Athletics Association of Guyana maxim being “Moulding and shaping our athletics for 2012 and beyond” Boyce, who the Parliamentary Secretary, Steve Ninvalle congratulated for taking up the baton and successfully running a productive 2011 year, said that one of the aims of the year would be to send a contingent to most meet (overseas) as athletics continues to grow in Guyana.
Advising the athletes to “Continue to strive to do better as the year progresses”, the AAG President disclosed the five major plans for athletics.
The first plan being, “Hoping to continue attending International meets thus far, giving our athletes, especially the youths and juniors that much needed exposure.” An essential required which is needed in athletics to plant Guyana on the map.
The second plan, “We wish to pursue overseas special training to our local Olympic prospects.”
Third plan, “To assist our young athletes to achieve scholarships,” which is a golden opportunity for the youths as they would be acquiring both knowledge and athletic exposure via scholarships.
Fourth plan, “Having our qualified coaches work with the schools and/ to have the physical education teachers qualified as coaches so that they can create that training base and identify our athletes.”
This plan identified by the President for the school, will become of significant uses, once employed into each educational institute as the youths are the future. Boyce recognized that the Nationals Schools’ Championship exposes a lot of talent and due to that decided to initiate that plan.
The final plan Boyce revealed was to “Decentralize track and field” in the view of recognizing new talents in the outlying districts of Guyana.
Added to the major 2012 plans, he further looked at the International performances at the meets by Guyanese athletes. The first meet was the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Trinidad and Tobago in February 19, 2011. Boyce said that this meet had Doretta Wilson, an athlete from the hinterlands who defeated Alika Morgan at the National Cross Country in the National Park. Wilson was “One of Guyana’s promising athletes that we hoped would have continued with athletics” he said.
Guyana team which attended the CARIFTA Games which was held in Jamaica over last year Easter weekend did not return with any medals, however the games saw Stephan James producing sterling performances in the 400m, his pet event.
US-based Euleen Josiah-Tanner participated in the CARICOM 10K Road Race in St. Kitts and Nevis last July along with local counterpart Morgan; both athletes medaled with Tanner winning the female category as Morgan came third.
Another US based athlete, Kadecia Baird represented Guyana in July at the IAAF World Youth Championship in France. Braid finished 5th in the semi-finals in the 200 meters.
A senior team was sent to CAC Championship in Puerto Rico during July 17-19, 2011 however no medals were acquired; Boyce stated that despite not medaling at these events, the AAG will still be sending athletes to attend these championships “…in the view that we will of course score medals from time to time.”
With the introduction of the ALBA games in Venezuela, Guyana sent its largest contingent where more than one medals were won. This meet was where Winston George ran 45.86 seconds in the 400m to place second and qualify for the 2012 Olympics in the ‘B’ standards category.
The PAN AM Juniors in Florida which had two athletes from Guyana, one for track and the other for field events concluded with long jumper, Rolyce Boston leaping to a bronze medal and James clocking one of his best timings in the 400m as he placed sixth in the finals.
Unfortunately, the IAAF World Championship was represented by one athlete, Aliann Pompey who had to withdraw from the championship due to a hamstring injury not being properly healed.
The Commonwealth Youth Games in Isle of Mann, England was not that productive but Boyce related the event to be more of a learning opportunity for the athletes (Letitia Myles, Tiffany Carto and Malcolm Walcott) to test the level of their competition.
James received his first International medal (bronze) for 2011 at the South American Junior Championship in the 400m.
The Inter-Guiana Games, which was hosted in Suriname last year, had 24 athletes representing the land of many waters. Athletics won both female and male category of the games. Boyce said he recalled being flagged by his very good friend Neil Kumar after athletics would have lost the female sector of the games in 2010 in French Guyana; “What I felt was a misconception that we would have lost the track and field which was not accurate…the track and field was divided into two categories and we lost the female and won the male”.
Boyce related the reason for the female team being defeated in French Guiana at the 2010 IGG, “The IGG clashed with the Junior CARIFTA Games, so we had to send our best to the CARIFTA Games which weakened the IGG team, however I do not want to say that we are treating CARIFTA Games as priority.”
The International calendar ended with the first leg of the South American 10k in Panama with Cleveland Forde placing second. The second leg was hosted in Guyana where Forde redeemed himself by winning the male category.
On the local meets and sanctioned meets by the AAG, athletes produced great performances which are most likely to increase tremendously this year as all Guyanese athletes strive for betterment.