Colvin Heath-London Inter Secondary Schools T20 Cricket Competition set for this month

Jan 05, 2020 Sports

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Former National Youth Cricketer and sports fanatic, Colvin Heath -London has indicated that he will be establishing a national Inter Secondary School T20 Cricket competition.
The inaugural competition, which will get underwa

y later this month, is being organised primarily to commemorate Guyana’s 50tn Republic Anniversary celebrations in February. It will also create an avenue to advance sports development among youths. He said that with cricket being a national sport involving all the races he is confident that through the sport cohesion and sports development can be further enhanced.
“There is need for continued social cohesion among the nation youths, while getting more students actively and passionately involved in sports at the secondary level and that is what this competition seeks to do as it will afford the players an opportunity to interact, while competing competitively with students from various regions,” Heath -London said.
The Acting CEO of NICIL/SPU stressed that along with NICIL/SPU, they have teamed up with a number of individuals and companies to make this competition a reality. He assured that the Inter Secondary School T20 Cricket Competition will be one that every aspiring Guyana and West Indian cricketer will look forward to. He disclosed that while he intends to have such competitions involving both male and female teams, this year’s competition will only be for male teams.
He pointed out that the competition is expected to span some five regions, which include Regions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10, noting that some 72 teams will be involved. He disclosed that the Regional Winners will meet for a national play off.
“This competition is expected to showcase some of our most talented and future cricketing stars and will serve as a platform for clubs and other cricketing officials to spot some of the hidden talented players. As such, I intend to make this competition an annual event while demonstrating my interest and passion for sports development in a holistic manner,” he said.
The NICIL/SPU acting CEO, who played three different sports at the national level, said that if the talent and skills of our young sportsmen and women is going to be further developed and enhanced, then there must be a platform for them to showcase their skills and ability. He said that there are several students who are talented but because of their varying challenges and difficulties are unable to have their talent recognised. He however noted that he remains committed with several other partners to playing a pivotal role in advancing youth development through sports.
The competition which will be known as the Colvin Heath-London Inter Secondary Schools T20 Cricket will see the national semi-finals played in Region Six with the grand finals taking place at the LBI Cricket ground in Region Four.
Heath-London expressed the view that the response from the regions will increase as a result of the important role and positive impact of the competition. He declared that he would love to see all ten administrative regions participating, noting that because of time and logistic reasons aided with financial constraints they are unable to have all ten regions participating in this inaugural competition.
He stressed that in next year’s competition he would like to have at least another two new regions joining in the competition. He said that the competition is expected to bowl off in the third week of this month. “I am very elated with the response thus far and would like to assure that all the required arrangements and systems are being put in place to get this competition off the ground smoothly. The responses also from several of the secondary schools are heartening as the excitement is already there as several of the schools have been training and preparing since last year for this competition,” he said.
He added, “This competition affords each school to use it as a yard stick in determining the level and quality of talent that they have within their school. Further, it will provide our young men with the required platform to be more engaged and involved in positive things.”
He pointed out that the matches will be played at various cricket grounds on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. According to Heath-London he selected cricket because it is a sport that is played and loved generally by all Guyanese, adding that it has a very close relationship with the sugar estates. Therefore, he felt that it was the ideal sport to support significantly in channelling positive behaviours and attitudes among young people.

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