Crème de la crème of sports honoured as MCY&S hosts 2012 Sports Awards Ceremony

Mar 25, 2013 Sports

By Michael Benjamin
During the year 2012, Guyanese sports men and women defied abnormal vicissitudes; from poor infrastructure to unavailability of adequate funding, to attend international events and register glorious accomplishments that defined this country’s qualities as a rising force in the sporting world. Government and sports officials, cognizant of the challenges faced by these sports personnel, lauded their achievements and tangibly acknowledged their feats when the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports hosted the 2012 Sports Awards Ceremony at the National Convention Centre, Lilliendaal ECD Saturday evening last.

Awardees or their representatives display the trophies received at the NSC sports awards presentation in the presence of several government and other sporting officials.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Nicolette Fernandes were adjudged Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year (2012), respectively. They were both unable to attend the ceremony because of sports engagements overseas but Nicolette’s mother collected her award on her behalf, while sports journalist, Avenash Ramzan, collected Chanderpaul’s prize. Earlier, Ramzan had collected a beautiful trophy after he was pronounced sports journalist of the year in the non-print category. Two other sports journalists, Calvin Roberts (print) and Orlando Charles (photography) also received awards.
Gibran Hussein Sarfaraz might be a bit incapacitated physically but that certainly did not deter him from giving his best. His efforts were noticed and he was voted the best achiever in his category –the person with disability. The phenomenal achievements of local squash players also came in for high praise and aided the Guyana Squash Association in acquiring the award for the most improved association. The Guyana Amateur Power lifting Association copped the award for the best sports association while swimming official, Stephanie Fraser, received the top female sports official award.
Guyana Boxing Board of Control President, Peter Abdool’s contribution to the fortunes of local boxers (amateur and professional) did not go unnoticed and he was duly declared the best male sports official. Squash coach, Carl Ince, is the key figure in the success story of sportswoman of the year, Nicolette Fernandes as well as droves of other squash players. His efforts also did not go unnoticed and he received the sports coach of the year award.
Other sportspersons and entities receiving awards are Guyana Junior Squash team (sports team of the year), Runner-up junior sportsman (Gumendra Shewdas). The runner-up junior sportswoman was jointly shared by Priyanna Ramdhani and Mary Fung-a-Fat while the junior sportsman award went to Paul DeNobrega. The junior sportswoman is Chelsea Edghill and her runner-up is Dawn McCammon Barker. The runner-up sportsman award went to Winston Frank Stoby.
Additionally, several other sports personalities of various regions also received awards for their contribution to the sports sector. Among them are Muniram Persaud (3), E Baksh (2), Yadram Latchman (4), Leslie Black (4), David Black (5), Kenrick Lewis (9), Jimmy Mclean (10) and Omeshwar Suresh Kissoon.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCY&S), Frank Anthony, delivered a stirring address which underlined Government’s commitment to sports development. He firstly commended the respective awardees while noting that their efforts are acknowledged from a national perspective, “You have all done Guyana proud by surpassing your previous best efforts and you have told the world that Guyana has a plethora of quality sports personalities,” said Mr. Anthony. He implored those in attendance to adopt healthy living habits while engaging in at least 30 minutes of daily exercise. He said that Government has invested over $200M in community grounds in support of the benefits derived from exercise and play. “We need to start a fitness revolution and we need your help to accomplish this,” the Sports Minister implored. He stressed that sports at the community level is of tremendous value to communities and by extension, the nation. “We need to see sports as the glue that unites our communities,” exhorted the Sports Minister.
Mr. Anthony also spoke on a wide range of issues including accountability of sports organizations, the establishment of a data base for local athletes and coaches as well as the need for local sports personnel to utilize the Sports Research Centre in Homestretch Avenue. “We must realize that we could no longer depend on traditional methods for sports development and we wish to see the Sports Resource Centre evolve into a National Sports Institute,” said the Sports Minister. He concluded by citing Jamaica saying that that Government has injected more than 350 sports personnel in the school system to facilitate every strata of sports development. “Sports is a huge sector and improves health while creating wealth; we have to invest in the requisite resources to facilitate such development,” said Mr. Anthony.
The forum was also graced by the presence of Director of Youth and Sports, Neil Kumar, Permanent Secretary (MCY&S), Alfred King, his deputy, Steve Ninvalle and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Conrad Plummer. Attorney-at-Law, Vidushi Persaud chaired the proceedings while Mary Fung-a-Fat responded on behalf of the recipients of prizes. Mr. Gervy C Harry delivered the vote of thanks. Shortly after the formal sessions had concluded, the awardees and invitees convened in the lobby in a social setting.