Suriname, T&T & Barbados interested in National C/Ships

Jun 03, 2021 Sports

Cash Prizes for first to third…

By Calvin Chapman

Head of the AAG, Aubrey Hutson. (Calvin Chapman photo)

Plans are afoot by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) for the hosting of the National senior athletics championships which is scheduled to run off on the weekend of June 18 to 20 at the National Track & Field Center (NTFC) at Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara.
In an interview with Kaieteur Sport, the president of the body; Aubrey Hutson, reiterated that this meet may be the last chance for Guyanese athletes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics with June 30th being the close off date for hopefuls to register Olympic Standards (OS).
Hutson confirmed that although Guyana had arguably their most successful outing at the South American Senior Championships last weekend, no athlete managed to make OS and 400m star Aliyah Abrams remains the only athlete to have qualified for the Tokyo games thus far.
It is evident that not only Guyana has been hit hard with the negative and lingering impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on sport, while some territories have managed to deal with the virus others have struggled.
Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname and Barbados have had their struggles with their athletes being unable to compete, while the AAG with the guidance of the National Covid-19 task force, and with strict guidelines, have managed to run off a few successful and incident-free meets this year.
During the interview yesterday, Hutson confirmed that the three nations have written to him seeking the participation of their elite athlete(s) at the Guyana national championships, something which the AAG and its executive will discuss.
As is customary, athletes from first to third place will be awarded prize monies in the region of $10,000, $6,000 and $4,000, respectively.
The AAG has a steep budget for the National senior championships and although it’s just over two weeks away, Hutson is calling on the support of the corporate community to help make the event a success.
He posited that, “The AAG with major help from the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) would’ve been able to send one of the largest contingents we have ever fielded at the South American seniors and the results speak for themselves with a record 5 medal haul. Guyanese athletes have proven that they can compete with the best in South America once given the opportunity so we are asking the corporate community to stand with us and our athletes that I’m certain will continue to make the nation proud.”

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