GOA President intensifies pleas for reinstatement of NSC

Mar 17, 2013 Sports

By Michael Benjamin
President of the Guyana Olympics Association, KA Juman Yassin has intensified calls for the re-establishment of a National Sports Commission (NSC) while pointing out that the absence of such an entity is compromising the development of sports locally. He was speaking at the Appreciation and Awards ceremony hosted by officials of the GOA at the Georgetown Club Inc, Camp Street, Georgetown, Friday evening last.

GOA boss, Juman Yassin (4th left sitting) poses for a photo op with the respective awardees. Noel Adonis is sitting 2nd left while guest speaker Michael Scott is at Yassin’s left.

Mr. Yassin further reminded the audience that despite his ardent pleas at a similar function, one year ago, for the re-commission of such an entity, another year has expired and the situation remains unchanged. “We need to work in tandem if we are to achieve that coveted Olympic gold medal,” asserted the GOA boss. He feels that administrators should take note of the timely caveat that ‘a current of consistent action becomes powerful and generates dividends of success.’
In what was dubbed as a nostalgic and memorable occasion, the cream of the country’s sports personalities were honoured for their past and present contributions and subsequently treated to a sumptuous dinner.
The occasion was attended by the who’s who in the local sports fraternity and chaired by Vice President of the GOA, Noel Adonis. Sports stalwarts, past and present, were also reminded of their valued contributions to the foundation of the local sports front with tokens of commendation. Senior Lecturer of the University of Guyana, Dr Michael Scott delivered the keynote address while President of the GOA, KA Juman Yassin, reminisced on the participation of local sports stalwarts at the 2012 London Olympics.
Dr. Scott was introduced by GOA Vice President, Karen Pilgrim and said that he felt privileged to have been selected for the feature presentation; conveying such thoughts to the organizers of the event. He admitted that he was more noted for his academic accomplishments but disclosed that he was once an athlete during the early seventies. “I have participated in the Inter-County Games in the 400m event and had registered a timing of 52.3secs,” informed Mr. Scott. He said that the fact that he completed the event devoid of footwear was in itself a meritorious task. He said that he had nurtured hopes of competing at the Olympics but was forced to change his vocation and opt for academic exploits because of economic considerations.
He further extended congratulations to the awardees even as he noted that it was an obligatory act to acknowledge the input of the various stalwarts in tangible ways. Dr. Scott also warned of those skeptics that hovered around with the sole aim of vindicating themselves while ignoring the input of the athletes. He further lauded the efforts of the officials of the GOA who braved the vicissitudes and managed to stay on track.
Mr. Yassin extended gratitude to those that had earlier re-elected him to the post of President (GOA) even as he congratulated the recipients of awards. He also lauded the maturity demonstrated by recently elected President of the Amateur Athletic Association, Aubrey Hudson and his predecessor, Colin Boyce, in retracting a court order questioning the authenticity of the former individual’s installation to that position. The GOA boss also noted that while it is wise advice to start a new day devoid of the former day’s trials, it is apt to understand the reasons for those trials in the first place. He was referring to what he termed the scathing remarks of a certain government official over the general performance of local athletes at the just concluded London Olympics. “Those comments were utterly unfair,” lamented Mr. Yassin. He feels that despite the fact that local athletes failed to procure medals they had turned in credible performances when all of the variables are taken into consideration.
While pointing out that all expenses for the trip to the Olympics were borne by the GOA, Mr. Yassin bemoaned the fact that local athletes are faced with unique challenges where most of them are required to seek a living even as they attempt to hone their athletic skills, a total contrast to their international counterparts.
“The critics have frowned on our decision to accept a wild card but I maintain that once such an opportunity becomes available we should take full advantage,” exhorted the GOA boss. He feels that local athletes have performed credibly despite the adverse prognosis even as he highlighted the realities. “Two hundred and four individuals participated in the Olympics but merely 85 of them won medals,” disclosed Mr. Yassin. He further noted that out of the 41 participating countries only three out of South America-Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina-were able to clinch any sort of medals. “We need to work in tandem if we are to achieve that coveted Olympic gold medal,” asserted the GOA boss.
Meanwhile, former Secretary of the GOA, Ivor O’Brien was singled out for his yeoman service as a member of the council while Guyana Times sports journalist, Avenash Ramzan, was voted journalist of the year and received a monetary award and a beautiful trophy. Several other notable sports personalities were also tangibly acknowledged for their unselfish contribution to the sports fraternity including Frank Tucker (weightlifting), Richard Fields (rifle shooting), Beni Sankar (table tennis), Amir Khouri (karate), Linden Johnson (table tennis), Donald Sinclair (bodybuilding), Gregory Rambarran, Maurice Amres, O’Brian’s Secretary, Desiree Blackman, Marva Patterson, Shanomae Blackmore, Margaret Ince, wife of squash trainer, Carl Ince, Priya Ramdhani and Carmen Pertab.
Rifleshooter, Richard Fields expressed gratitude on behalf of the recipients while president of the Guyana Cycling Federation and GOA Council Member, Cheryl Thompson delivered the vote of thanks. Earlier, Mr. Yassin had requested that the audience join him in ten seconds reverence in honour of three fallen sports stalwarts-Laurie Lewis, George Bishop and Joseph Lee Lam, who have all contributed to sports development and have passed away recently. Further, the Buxton Youth Committee, under the tutelage of Robin Phillips and Lenny Shuffler, received a special award for their efforts in promoting positive change within the Buxton community.
Several notable personalities introduced the awardees and gave brief summaries of their resumes including Lennox Shuffler, Deion Nurse, Garfield Wiltshire, Ivor O’Brian, Charles Corbin, Cheryl Matthews and Kevon Bess.