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Weightlifting set for positive turn around – GAWA
– more Reg. & Int. assistance flowing
By Franklin Wilson
Following their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 29 last, the Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association has resolved to reverse in a serious way the fortunes of the sport on the local scene.
Deion Nurse
Returning to lead the entity for another two years is President Frank Tucker, a seasoned administrator having also served at the helm of Bodybuilding. Offering the requisite support as the Secretary is Deion Nurse who was also re-elected. Tucker has held the position since 2008, while Nurse has been there ever since 2003.
The sport has endured its fair share of inactivity due to a plethora of challenges and while the new body is conscious of those challenges, they are determined to chart a new way forward for the sport to ensure that the up and coming athletes are given the necessary support to set themselves right at every level.
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport, Secretary Deion Nurse disclosed that one of the major hurdles crossed is the GAWA being able to settle its indebtedness to regional and world bodies and this has paved the way for assistance, technical and otherwise for the association.
“The fact that we’ve been able to take care of those commitments will see us now being able to tap in to aid from the bigger bodies which can only see the sport growing from here. We have had some difficult years having held our last competition back in 2011 but have resolved to set the train of progress in motion and have already began to move.”
Nurse noted that the focus will be youth but they will still be encouraging senior lifters to get back involved.
“We will be represented by three youngsters at the inaugural South American Youth Games and we will also have a representative at the Pan American Under-17 Championships in Mexico, both activities taking place next month.
These athletes will certainly motivate others and we hope that their exposure will bring the necessary fillip required to revive the sport.”
The Ancient County of Berbice has been identified for an outreach programme that will be conducted in October aimed at resuscitating the sport there. The outreach will entail a two-day workshop, training and an exhibition.
GAWA, Nurse informed, is working towards hosting their senior championships in October/November.
Among the challenges he noted that would have faced them in attracting senior athletes is migration coupled with the fact that there are no monetary rewards given the fact that it’s an amateur sport.
To counter these realities, Nurse stated that with the envisaged assistance from the regional and international bodies along with that of the Guyana Olympic Association, GAWA is hoping to make the sport much more attractive by increasing Guyana’s participation at regional and international events.
Frank Tucker
“We will also be seeking the relevant training at every level of the sport with a view of bring back interest from all. We have already been benefitting from assistance for programmes from 2013 and beyond.”
Recently returning from the USA where he attended a course on techniques on high level training among other information was Coach Sean Cozier. Nurse believes that with the new knowledge, weightlifting can only get better.
The full GAWA Executive reads: Frank Tucker (President), Sabrina Pestano (1st Vice President), Bertram Austin (2nd Vice President), Deion Nurse (Secretary), Sean Erskine (Treasurer), Sean Cozier (Assistant Secretary/Treasurer), Roberto Tiwari (Organising Secretary), Aubrey Henry (Publicity Officer).
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