National Schools Basketball Festival starts May 10 Digicel, Banks DIH & Edward B Beharry and Company Ltd on Board

May 04, 2014 Sports

By Sean Devers
The ninth annual National School Basketball Festival (NSBF) organized by Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) was launched on Friday at the National Resource Center on Woolford Avenue.
According to (YBG) Director Chris Bowman, the inaugural tournament attracted 18 schools and was sponsored by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) with a single round elimination tournament.
Bowman said this year the tournament, which has grown tremendously, is sponsored by Digicel, Banks DIH and Edward B Beharry & Company Limited and has about 94% of Secondary and Tertiary institutions with Basketball teams participating in five Regional Tournaments and four National Championship divisions.

Chris Bowman (4th right) speaks at the National schools Basketball launching on Friday in the presence of the various sponsors reps and officials including Sports Director Neil Kumar (centre).

The event is also being used to identify and select players for the Inter-Guiana games and is widely acknowledged as the official National schools Basketball Championships in Guyana.
The Regional Tournaments will run from May 10 – June 29 in the City at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), while the Regional Finals is scheduled for July 4 and the National Championships from July 6 – 13, also at CASH. Matches start at 15:30hrs on Fridays’ & 15:00 hrs on Saturday & Sunday.
According to the organizers, games will be played at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) and other facilities while School and community courts will be used for conference play.
It was also disclosed that a High School All star team will play at CASH on July 11 and the Regional tournaments will be used to qualify and seed teams for the National Schools Basketball Festival. Teams must participate in the ‘Regional’s’ for a chance to progress to the National Championships.
Bowman said the aims of the tournament are to develop and maintain a well coordinated national school basketball championship for boys and girls, to improve on the existing basketball infrastructure in schools and communities across Guyana, to encourage physical and mental wellness through youth sport, to emphasize leadership, citizenship, scholarship and athletic excellence in young people.
Bowman, who has a wealth of experience in organizing Basketball events, explained that among the events planned are educating youths about social issues and impart life skills called ‘Players Education Seminars’, Opportunities for socialization and friendships, Double round tournament play through zone championship and national championship in four divisions, Coaches Certification for new Coaches, High School All Star Game (Elite 24), three point shootout, free-throw and skills contest and Exposure and selection for Inter-Guiana Games and other FIBA international tournaments.
Bowman disclosed that the current Guyana Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) champion club, Ravens, is comprised of a number of players who benefited from the YBG project adding that when the idea of the YBG project was thought about, it was put to the Director of Sport Neil Kumar who readily agreed and has over the past nine years been very supportive.
Bowman promised that this year’s tournament will be of a high standard and at its conclusion 12 teams will be selected to work and build the capacity of the sport.
The YBG boss stated that the NSC uses the festival to select players to represent Guyana at the Annual Inter-Guiana Games, contested between youth teams from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
He said the YBG project is just one of the many programmes his association has initiated with an aim to develop the youths of Guyana to become student athletes, giving them a chance to become rounded individuals.
“The first National School Basketball Festival was played from June 26-30, 2006 and from its inception the NSBF has been a partnership between the National Sport Commission and Youth Basketball Guyana to develop a structured National School Basketball Championship. Today the program has grown to almost 50 teams participating first for ranking in five separate Regional (ZONE) Tournaments, in order to qualify for the National Championship. National titles are contested for under-14, 16, 19 and girls developmental. The tournament is also used to indentify players for the Junior Elite programme,” Bowman informed.
Among those present at Friday’s launching was Kumar. He congratulated Bowman and his team for organising such a Festival and reminded that the concept of the tournament came about from the Inter- Guiana Games and was happy that the Guyanese team would get the opportunity of representing their Country on home soil in this year’s Games.
The Director of Sport thanked the sponsors for their support and urged GABA president Nigel Hinds, who was also present, to further develop the sport locally.
“We want students in schools to play basketball so that they can earn a scholarship to play and study overseas,” Kumar stressed, saying that he is interested in seeing the country’s youths live a healthy lifestyle.
Anjuli Beharry-Strand, a cancer survivor, represented Edward B. Beharry and Company and disclosed that her Company was pleased to be associated with the programme and this was one way of her company giving back to the community.
Banks DIH’s Public Relations Manager Troy Peter said Banks DIH has been on board the project for the past six years and they (Banks DIH) are pleased with what has been going on.
Peters noted that the Sprite soft drink has been associated with basketball at the international level and is pleased to support something that helps to keep youths away from the social ills in Society.
Digicel’s Sponsorship and Events manager Gavin Hope told the gathering that Digicel is happy to be on board and will continue to support the project.
Hope said over the past years Digicel has seen the growth in the sport locally adding that the project has grown at rapid rate which calls for great organisational skills for it to prosper.
Hope, a former sprinter, feels Head teachers and physical education teachers should get more involved in the sport since he feels the interest for Basketball in schools is very encouraging.
GABA president Nigel Hinds congratulated Bowman and said the GABA has worked with the YBG over a number of years and will continue to work with them, despite the ups and downs they have had.
St Roses High School won the inaugural Championships, while Marian Academy are the defending Champions.