Location being sought for Guyana Sports Hall of Fame building Selectors to be named shortly

Mar 13, 2019 Sports

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By Sean Devers
Unlike most parts of the Caribbean and further afield, Guyana’s culture is not to name Sporting venues after their sports heroes or the erect statutes or monuments of past iconic Sportsmen and Women.
But establishment of the Guyana Sports Hall of Fame (GSHF) could see a change in how Sporting Greats of the past are remembered by this generation.
Outstanding Sportspersons are more recognised internationally and do more to promote their Country than Presidents and Prime Ministers do and this concept of launching a Sports Hall of Fame for Guyanese is the brainchild Raymond Williams, a former Sports Administrator and member of the Guyana Cricket Board.
GSHF Chairman, Canadian based Guyanese Williams says the Privately run GSHF, which was launched in April last year, should be fully functional by the last quarter of the year when the first batch of Inductees are named.
But presently, finding a location for their building remains their biggest worry.

Williams disclosed that discussions were held with Sports Minister Dr George Norton who promised to help with the location for the proposed Hall of fame, adding that selectors, who will be tasked with picking the inductees, will soon be known.
The Selectors is the authorized body as provided for in the constitution, to perform the task of nominating and electing eligible candidates for the Hall of Fame.
“We will start with installments of maybe 10 going back to the early days and moving forward from there,” explained Williams.
Attorney Raj Poonai, former National Senior Cricket Selector Claude Raphael, GCB’s Match Referee and Trade Unionist Grantly Culbard, Businessman Vick Insanally, Ray and Ronald Williams along with Deputy Director of Sports Mellissa Dowe-Richardson are the seven Directors of the privately incorporated Company.
For a person to be eligible they must have been born in Guyana but consideration may be given to a candidate who is a National of another Country but are of Guyanese parentage and choose to represent Guyana in Internationally recognized Sports tournaments and have performed with distinction and at a level to have achieved significant results and recognition.
Williams informed that any eligible candidate, from any sport discipline, who has a criminal record or has been charged with a felony (including spousal abuse in Guyana or overseas), will not be elected or inducted into the Guyana Hall of Fame.

To be eligible for induction, candidates must have ceased to be active participants in their sports at least five years prior to their election, but may be otherwise connected to that sport or any other sport in a capacity of Administration, Coach or Manager.
The inductions will be divided into four eras which will be from beginning to 1930, from 1930 to 1960, from 1960 to 1990 and from 1990 to 2020.
This rule may be modified or expanded as the years evolve and it defines an era as 30 years.
The candidates may be elected by performing in the following events: Olympics, World Championships, Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, Carifta Games Regional Competitions and Championships, Inter-Continental Events and Tournaments, International Sporting events and annual National tournaments and Championships.
St Lucia based Guyanese Joseph ‘Reds’ Perriera, Guyana’s internationally renowned Cricketer Commentator who has a wealth of historical knowledge, feels this a great concept.
Perriera turns 79 in May and said that the aim of the Hall of fame is to honour those who performed outstandingly for Guyana in Sports as a Player, Administrator, Match official or Media personnel.
Pereira disclosed that a Hall of Fame was established in Trinidad in 1984 and sponsored by First Citizens Bank. Hasely Crawford, Ato Boldon, Ian Bishop, Learie Constantine, Russell Latapy, Dwight York and Brian Lara are among the inductees in the Hall of Fame in Trinidad.
The former Adviser to former Sports Minister Shirley Field-Ridley during the Forbes Burnham Government said the Providence Stadium, constructed for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, is the only International cricket ground in the World that does not have names on its stands.
Both the Collation Government and PPP/C Administrations have been reluctant to name the stands after cricketers who have helped to put Guyana on the Map.
Reds, whose name could be placed on Media Centre at Providence while he is still alive, spoke of the importance of honoring Guyanese stalwarts.
“When you put up their names for the public to see it might spark the interest of this Google generation to search for those names and get know who they were and what they did to deserve such an accolade,” Reds concluded.
The Stadium has been in existence for 12 years and the stands at Providence are named Green, Red and Orange.

 

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