Allen, Benn among standouts at GGA/Nexgen GA camp

Aug 19, 2021 Sports

Members of the Academy and participants with their prizes.

Kaieteur News – Jason Allen and Princess Benn won the Over -13 male and female categories respectively when the second Guyana Golf Academy/Nexgen Golf Academy camp concluded on Monday last at Woolford Avenue.Allen won ahead of Ilan Ramkellawan and Yamar Rodney while Benn prevailed over Adivya Charles and Kristeen Chase in that order.
Christopher Gonsalves won the boys U18 division while Elon Rickford placed second and Maxwell Viapree finished third. Amelia Gonsalves took the girls U18 title, while Ariel Bonie grabbed the runner up spot Amara Khan was third.
The boys Under 13 category was taken by Kishan Singh ahead of Kadmiel Wolfe and Jerome Blyden respectively. Jasmin Allen won the girls U13 segment, Akeala Curry placed second and Jordan Softley third.

One of the young players in action.

Phillips Alexander carted off the boys U6 segment while Alexander Gonsalves took the runner up spot and Nolan Naiku third.
The girls Under 6 title went to Kathleena Klass, Autumn Lynch placed second and Asriel Bonie third.
*Tied for Third in the Boys Under 8 was Raphael Braithwaite who lost in a playoff.
The Camp, dedicated to former Coach Colin Ming, culminated with a graduation exercise and presentation of trophies sponsored by Trophy Stall.
The event was sponsored in part by Service Guyana HVAC, Guyana’s leading air conditioning, energy services and energy solutions for businesses and residents throughout Guyana, that offers a full array of energy efficient air conditioning equipment and services from concept to completion including maintenance and repair; Ansa Mcal Distribution; Toolsie Persaud Ltd, the country’s leading supplier of all hardware and building needs; CS Worldwide Shipping & Logistics, who recently donated its shipping services to provide thousands of school children access to golf equipment; AR Printery; Chen Deo Distribution, and Trophy Stall whose owners Ramesh and Devi Sunich have been long-time supporters of golf in Guyana.
Head Coach Dr. Joaan Deo stood in for Captain Chen Deo, running the competition with assistance from Coaches Miguel Wong, Margo Seecharan and Vishal Dhanai and assistance from Mr. and Ms. Carter.
In the Longest Drive Competition, there were 12 contestants and it was highly contested with playoffs required in both the male and female categories. The results saw Ethan Gonsalves crushing a drive down the middle to best a great effort by Ilian Ramkellawan and Shania Garraway producing a clutch center drive to win over the Charles sisters who hit good shots but strayed out of bounds.
Speaking on behalf of the BV Empowerment Youth Group and PYARG, Mr. Wayne Barrow said, “This activity has given our youths an opportunity that they probably would never have been able to experience. On behalf of all the families and Mr. Ivan Bentham, we wish to thank Mr. Hussain for making their dreams come through.”
The Golf Camp featured table tennis and fitness with Coach Miguel and Colin Wong, along with Archery Coaches Anand Mangra, Narda Mohamed and their entire Team, and National Players Priyanna Rhamdhani and Akili Haynes from the Guyana Badminton Association. The concept was to provide a fun and varied setting so that the youths would stay engaged and look forward to the various activities whilst focusing on learning golf.
Parents of students for this second Camp Ronveer Rickford and Dean Viapree added, “Our youths had a fantastic experience and we saw them making new friends and really dedicating themselves to the sport. This was definitely an experience worth repeating.”
President of the GGA/Nexgen Golf Academy Aleem Hussain said it was the efforts of the coaches, staff and sponsors which included the Shafura Hussain Foundation, Anwar ‘Buddy’ Shaffie, Danny Ramnarain, Neil Jones and the Ming family plus many overseas Guyanese golfers, who along with staunch corporate sponsors such as Assuria General Insurance; Copa Airlines; Blue Life Waters; Trophy Stall; Ansa Mcal; Toolsie Persaud Ltd; Kanuku Suite & Apartments; Ramchand Auto; Kanuku Tours; Angel Seafood Restaurant & Bar; Sunshine Snacks; Ram & Mcrae; Puran Brothers; Panko Steel Construction; H. Nauth & Sons; DanCo Inc.; AR Printery; Bissessar Shipping Company; CS World Cargo & Logistics; Sterling Products; PasCargo; New Trend Auto; Maraiko Bay Resorts; the Knight family; and NexGen Global Group, who were the reason for the success of this and other efforts to develop golf in Guyana.
Hussain emphasized that without the help from Head Coach Dr. Joaan Deo, Coaches Miguel and Colin Wong, Margo, Vishal, Mr. & Ms. Carter, General Manager Philip Haynes; Niketa; Steve; Al Wilson; and Captain Chen Deo who helped to design the training programme and worked with the Academy during the past year, this Camp could not have been a success. “When one looks back at the development of Golf in Guyana, these are the names of the persons and companies that must be remembered.”