Double gold medalist George pays courtesy call on Sport Minister -call made for closer collaboration

Apr 25, 2014 Sports

By Rawle Welch
After being apprised of the achievements of the Guyana team that participated in the Junior Carifta Games which ended in Martinique earlier in the week, Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony shortly after congratulating the athletes yesterday, immediately called for closer collaboration between his entity and the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG).
Dr. Anthony was at the time hosting members of the AAG and officials that accompanied the team to the event and the occasion was organised to recognise the outstanding results that the nine-member contingent was able to achieve.
Guyana through double gold medalist Cassie George and gold and silver medalist Kadecia Baird finished fourth overall in the standings, placing them ahead of countries such as the Bahamas.

Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony (centre) poses with double gold medalist Cassie George (3rd right), AAG President Aubrey Hutson (left), Team Manager Mayfield Taylor-Trim (2nd right), Head Coach Sham Johnny (2nd left), Jevina Sampson (3rd left) and Avon Samuels.

The Minister whose remarks followed that of AAG President Aubrey Hutson said he was extremely pleased with the performances of the athletes, while pointing to George and Baird’s achievements as deserving of commendation.
According to Dr. Anthony the two athletes’ performances could now inspire other females to aspire to become like them, adding that there is no doubt that there are a lot of athletes with a lot of potential, but are finding it difficult to realise their potential.
“We at the Ministry would like to work more closely with the AAG to ensure that those with the potential are afforded the opportunity to realise their potential,” Dr. Anthony stated.
He said with the completion of the synthetic track at Leonora Guyana will now have an opportunity to produce more athletes of quality who could then challenge the traditional superpowers within the Caribbean and possibly go on to compete at the international level as well.
The Minister disclosed that sometime later this year, the Ministry will be bringing in a Cuban athletics Coach to help boost whatever programmes that are currently available here.
“We will be introducing a Cuban athletic Coach later this year and this is in addition to the synthetic track that will be completed this year. We already have two other Cuban coaches here in Guyana involved in boxing and swimming,” Dr. Anthony said.
Questioned on the current policy of the Ministry’s financial support for athletes, Dr. Anthony responded by admitting that the resources for that is limited due to the Budget allocations which according to him placed more emphasis on the construction of facilities.
He pointed to the intense scrutiny that the Ministry’s budgetary allocations faced in the National Assembly, informing that the completion and renovation of sports facilities have taken up a sizeable chunk of the disbursement.
He, however, said that with the completion of facilities the Ministry could then look into more funding for athletes in the near future. The Minister made the point of developing tri-partite partnerships involving the Government, individual associations and the business community which could alleviate the stresses associated with generating funding for the travel, further development etc.
In response to the absence of an Elite Programme, Dr. Anthony said no such programme exists presently, informing that such a Policy would require substantial funding and professional coaching among other related requirements.
Hutson in his remarks congratulated all the athletes for their individual efforts along with the officials, while also recognising the assistance given by the Ministry. He urged the Minister to continue to support the AAG and athletics at large.
Also present were Team Manager Mayfield Taylor-Trim and Head Coach Sham Johnny, while the other athletes who were present included Jevina Sampson and Avon Samuels.