Pan American Youth Weightlifting C/ships – Cancun Mexico...14-year-old Sheriah Melville achieves PB

Pan American Youth Weightlifting C/ships – Cancun Mexico…14-year-old Sheriah Melville achieves PB

Sep 12, 2013 Sports

By Franklin Wilson
It is not quite often that one would make their debut in a sport at the competitive level, overseas. But in the case of 14-year-old Sheriah Melville, she did exactly that when she represented the land of her birth at the just concluded Pan American Youth Under-17 Weightlifting Championships held in Cancun, Mexico.

Sheriah Melville

Melville, who attends Dolphin Secondary School, competing in the +69kg category achieved 48kg in the Snatch and 62kg in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 110kg, all Personal Best lifts.
Manager/Coach Deion Nurse commenting on Melville’s achievement said that he is satisfied that the young athlete give it her best shot noting that it was her first competition at any level.
“I think young Melville did us all proud, she competed among older athletes and held her own. She has a bright future in the sport and I am confident that her exposure in Mexico will serve her well as she looks to do even better at the South American Youth Games in Peru.”
Melville was slated to compete at Pan American Under-15 championships in the USA in August but had to miss that due to unforeseen circumstances.
Nurse informed that the Pan American Weightlifting Federation and the Mexican Federation were instrumental in making it possible for Melville to compete under a Development Grant.
Quizzed on what systems the Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Federation (GAWA) will be putting in place to ensure that the sport returns to its glory days, Nurse first said that the coming into being of the three teenage athletes in 15 year-old Darren Williams, 15 year-old Deniola Bristol and Sheriah Melville can be termed, “The Rebirth” of weightlifting.
“As I said some time ago, the GAWA’s focus is youth and while we are not looking past senior athletes, we are more than convinced that youth development is the way to go, we will concentrate on school age athletes.”
And assisting in this regard would be the International bodies which have already started to support, Nurse indicated.
“The International body has invited us to apply for further assistance in the areas of training of officials, gear and equipment and limited financial assistance for participation at competitions.”
One of the reasons for the decline of the sport Nurse had indicated to this newspaper sometime ago, was the association’s inability to have athletes compete overseas, that will now change for the better according to the GAWA Secretary.

Deion Nurse

The association will be hosting an exhibition on Sunday on the Seawall Tarmac close to the Bandstand with the young athletes between 16:00 and 17:00hrs, members of the public are being encouraged to come out be exposed to the fine arts of weightlifting.
A two-day Outreach Programme which will take the form of a seminar and mini-exhibition is being planned for the Ancient County of Berbice, Rose Hall Town, October 26 – 27.
The fundamentals of the sport, demonstrations on the lifts (Snatch and Clean & Jerk), will form part of the activity.