8th Annual Caribbean Powerlifting Championships – St. Croix USVI Kaieteur Sport ‘raps’ with GAPF President Peter Green on Guyana’s performance

Jul 17, 2014 Sports

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Guyana’s six-member team to the just concluded 8th Annual Caribbean Powerlifting Championships held at the Kings Hill, St. Croix Education Complex in the United States Virgin Islands all medaled and in the process placed second overall.
The Team championship, which was held by Guyana for the previous years, was narrowly surrendered to Puerto Rico which accumulated 60 points with a full strength team (8-members) to Guyana’s 54.
The performance of the Guyanese team was phenomenal given the fact that all the athletes funded their own way as they wanted to show that they have what it takes to be the best. Guyana racked in six medals overall, 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze.

Kaieteur Sport took the opportunity to engage President of the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation, Peter Green on the performances of his charges.
Kaieteur Sport: Can you share your thoughts with us on the athletes’ exploits?
Peter Green: As President it gives us great pride when our athletes perform outstandingly especially those that made their debut at the international level.
In the absence of the senior lifters the newcomers made good use of the opportunity presented to them, which has shown the depth and level of talent that we have here. Osmand Mack and Paul Adams in the absence of Winston Stoby in the 74kg, Germain Snagg and Erwyn Smith in the absence of Randolph Morgan and Anis Ade-Thomas in 83kg, Marino Jeffrey in the absence of Kenneth Melville in 93kg and seasoned lifter Karel Mars in the 105kg all did us proud.
Had we been able to afford sending two more lifters, the likes of new comers Leon Rupertie and Ketwaroo in the 66kg, it would have allowed us to retain the team title ahead of Puerto Rico and this analysis is based on the results of the foreign lifters.
Germaine Snagg was randomly selected for drug testing and so we await the results. Kimberley Mars was unable to travel due to a mix up in her travel itinerary and opted to stay behind.
Kaieteur Sport: What do you think of the team members having to raise their own funds to represent the Golden Arrowhead?
Peter Green: Our lifters having to finance themselves was an unavoidable situation incurred mainly through the GAPF having to deal with the fines imposed on our lifter Gumendra Shewdas to the tune of Guy$562,000, IPF Dues Euros$400, NAPF Dues US$100 as well as having to meet the deadlines for the team prior to participation.
It was made clear to all the eligible lifters that the federation was in no position to fully finance attendance at the Caribbean Championships. We did hold a Bar-b-que at the Intermediate Championships which assisted in a small way. However we have been able to repay the fine in full as well as our dues on time to give the self sponsored lifters the chance to compete.
Shewdas has repaid part of the fine in the sum of $200,000 to date and we are optimistic that the lifter will fully honor his commitment to the federation as he will be returning in time for the Commonwealth Championships in December 2015.
The Lifters also benefited from Tax Waivers and Travel Departure Tax from the Ministry of Sport as well as a soft loan from the National Sports Commission.
Kaieteur Sport: What are the next steps for the federation?
Peter Green: The Next step for us this year will be to continue to expose our lifters to two more local championships as well as submit our plans with cost estimates to the National Sports Commission for the construction of a National Centre for Strength Sports which will house both Powerlifting and Weightlifting with the capacity to host Bodybuilding competitions as well.
Internationally, our hope of hosting the Caribbean Championships next year received a severe setback through the non appearance of our General Secretary who was the designated delegate as well as Manager for the team to the just concluded Caribbean Championships but he was unable to attend due to personal issues.
Nevertheless, it is my intention to continue our lobby with the South American Federation to gain the rights to host the Pan American as well as the South American Championships here in July of 2015.
Should we be successful the Federation is equally certain that the North American Federation will have a change of heart and award us the Caribbean Championships which have been awarded to Canada as they host the North American Regionals in July around the same time. One thing is certain and that is the fact that we are adamant we will not be participating in July in Canada. However we will certainly be participating in December in Canada at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships where we will take the opportunity to bid for the 2017 Commonwealth Championships.
Also locally we will be adding an unequipped championship to our calendar for lifters who do not feel comfortable lifting equipped. This will in turn give them the opportunity to participate internationally in these categories.
The GAPF would be commencing discussions with the Paralympics charter in Guyana to give those suitably qualified to participate at Powerlifting (i.e Visually Impaired and Differently Able) as the IOC has already recognized Powerlifting at the Paralympics.

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