GSA only managed two Tournaments before Pandemic struck Guyana

Dec 24, 2020 Sports

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‘Biggest challenge was not being able to train’ – GCA head David Fernandes

By Sean Devers

Kaieteur News – On January 28, 2020, the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) under the leadership of David Fernandes started the year in auspicious fashion with the staging of the inaugural BCQS Master Squash Tournament in Guyana.
When the dust had settled Guyana’s Dennis Dias had won the Men’s over-65, Guyana’s Narendra Singh won over-55, Bajan Mark Sealy won the over-45, and Shaun Simpson of Barbados took the over-35, while Guyanese Lydia Frazer won the Women’s over-35 Division. BCQS Director Sanjay Amin lost to Singh (8-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-9) in the over 55-final.However, after the staging of the Bounty Farm Handicap tournament which concluded on February 16, Guyana confirmed its first case of the coronavirus when a 52-year-old Guyanese woman traveling from New York on March 5, died on March 11, bringing a halt to all sports, including Squash, that month.
It’s been 10 months since no Squash tournament has been played in Guyana, with the 83,000sq mile South America Country which is bordered by Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela, being locked down in March.
This was done to combat the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus in which the positive cases have now surpassed the Spanish flu, a pandemic which devastated the World back in 1920, the Cholera outbreak which occurred a hundred years earlier and the Plague in 1720.

Only Cricket, Cycling, Athletics and (Lawn) Tennis have been given the green light to resume competition. The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) staged the National Over-40 T20 last month, while the Demerara Inter-Association 50 –over U-19 tournament ended last week Saturday. Both Cricket tournaments were played without spectators and adhered to Covid-19 regulations set out by the WHO, the Ministry of Health and Covid-19 Task Force.
Cycling stared last month with the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) running off a series of time trial events in the City, Berbice and Linden with the Cyclists lining up six feet apart as they awaited their turn to start.
Athletics re-started last month with Cross Country run and South American 10-K without any foreign Athletics, while Tennis was given approval to re-start last month with GTA ‘Safe Tennis’ Tournament at the Le Ressouvenir Tennis Court at the residence of the GTA President Samuel Barakat.
But due to the Pandemic, the GSA was only able to have two Tournaments prior to March and none since then.
“We had for the first time an International Masters Tournament sponsored by BCQS which was held here in Guyana where we had representatives from all over the Caribbean coming to play. Then we had the Bounty Farm Handicap which was a fantastic tournament.
The highlight of the year was the BCQS International Masters Guyana 2020 where we got the senior members of the Squash Fraternity in the Caribbean coming together to participate in a tournament of this magnitude. It was well run and the participants seemed to have enjoyed themselves immensely,” informed David Fernandes who was re-elected as President of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) on March 11, 2019.
“The Covid-19 Pandemic affected us significantly and once the Country was locked down in March we were unable to restart any Event going forward from there.
The biggest Challenge, not only for Squash but for every sporting discipline was not being able to have any training since March stated Fernandes.
The two facilities for Squash were closed because of the Covid-19 guidelines, rightfully implemented by the Covid Task force so we did not have any activity.
Both facilities remain closed and we have written to the Georgetown Club and the Ministry of Sport and we are also awaiting some guidance from the Covid Task Force to stage Events,” Informed Fernandes.
“Probable the biggest disappointment for me was that the intention was to have Guyana’s Junior Boys team participate in the Junior Pan Am Championships this year and they were training very well.
The team would have been led by Shomari Wilshire, then we have had Samuel Ince Carvahal, Mikey Alphonso and Nicholas Verwey would have been on the team.
I think they would have done us proud so that was the biggest disappointment for me. I think this year we would have been able to regain the Junior Caribbean Team title with the tournament scheduled to be held in Bermuda, so those were the two biggest disappointments for me. I believe we could have dethroned defending Champions Barbados after finishing second for the past two years,” posited the GASA top man.
This year the GSA had planned a packed programme but the Pandemic derailed them.
“We should have had the Junior and Senior National tournaments, Junior CASA tournament in Bermuda, the Senior CASA tournament in Jamaica; we had plans of attending the Junior Pan Am Games in Uruguay. We also planned for our senior players going to Poland for the World’s Masters Tournament, we had junior players going to the US and Canadian Open.
So it was disappointing that we never got the chance to participate in these tournaments. However, we have to look on the bright side and all the members of our fraternity are healthy for that we are thankful,” stated the hard working Fernandes who was first elected GSA head in February 2013 when he took over from Andrew Arjoon.
“We are using the WSF guidelines as well as looking at the other Caribbean Country’s guidelines and how they started and the protocols they have in place and so we would use those rules to manage our facilities and protect our players if we are given the green light to fully restart our programmes. In terms of the Caribbean, only two Countries…Guyana and Jamaica… have not re-started their programmes,” continued Fernandes.
“For this year we still have hopes of World Masters being staged. In 2021 we have about 10 Events, at least six of them being local… In terms of Caribbean Championships, Barbados will now be the host for Junior CASA maybe at the end of July, while Senior CASA is fixed for November. Both of these championships have been held back to give us the best chance of these tournaments being held.
One of the big problems with these tournaments is that if there is a five-day quarantine period before the Event it will mean that teams will have an extra five days of accommodation and meals at their own expense in addition to the seven days of Competition and that will make it difficult for these competitions to take place.
If we get to a point where the Vaccines are working well and the situation of Covid actually changes positively in the first half of the year, we could see these Events take place easily. Locally, once we get approval to host tournaments then the protocols of social distancing and with the players who are not involved in the matches not at the venue, then tournaments could be held,” Fernandes added.
“On behalf of the Guyana Squash Association we would like to thank the players and their parents for their patience in braving this out. We know it’s been challenging and everyone wants to get back on the Court but being realistic the Covid situation has not gotten better, in fact it has gotten worse so we have to be realistic in our hopes of things getting back to normality soon,” the businessman cautioned.
Fernandes also thanked the Media for its support over the year and the sponsors who have supported the GSA as well and the Minister of Culture, Youth & Sport Charles Ramson who has held several favourable discussions with the GSA.
Fernandes hoped the two entities can continue to work together and also thanked the GOA for its support and concluded by saying he hoped that 2021 could see a little bit of improvement in terms of us being allowed to continue one of the sports that help to keep the kids grounded, focused, fit, healthy and strive to become the best that they could be.

 

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