Latest update February 10th, 2025 7:48 AM
Sport Ministry’s pushes investment in athletics with Speed Capital Commission
Minister Charles Ramson, Coaches from the Speed Capital Commission and officials from the AAG and Sport Ministry, gather with athletes at the start of their three-day elite coaching programme. (Rawle Toney photo)
– Minister Ramson hails start of Elite Programme
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur Sports – The Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport has teamed up with Speed Capital Commission to host a three-day track and field programme as part of their Elite Athletes initiative.
Scores of athletes from around the country will gather at the National Track and Field Centre in Edinburgh, West Demerara, to undergo a series of training regimens conducted by the Speed Capital Commission, led by Luke Robinson.
Jonathan Terry, who coaches World Championship 200m Silver (2023) and Bronze (2022) medallist Erriyon Knighton, is a Senior Vice President of the club and will be one of the coaches at the event.
The other coaches include Earl Smith, Head Coach, and Shelton Guilyard, Olympic Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Speaking to the athletes at the commencement of the programme, Minister Ramson highlighted that the event marks the beginning of the final pillar for the Sport Ministry’s academy.
“We know we have a lot of raw talent; we’ve proven that, but there’s a big gap between early recognition of success, and then converting that into world-class athletes. It takes a lot, and it takes a lot of focused, very intelligent, very scientific application that we just don’t have here (in Guyana),” Minister Ramson stated.
Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle, along with other officials from the NSC with coaches from the Speed Capital Commission.
He added, “We just don’t have that experience, we just don’t have a track record…what we’re doing is making this investment on your (the athletes) behalf, to connect with people who has a track record of success, they have that technical expertise that they can then, through engagement with us, they can then impart that, guide it with our coaches.”
Minister Ramson said the three-day programme is just the start of a series of engagements between the Ministry, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) and the coaches at Speed Capital Commission.
“We have very good coaches, but we do not have elite coaches. You can make the investment where they’re doing programmes, and it’s still not enough. You have to have the exposure…we felt that it’s important, if we’re going to take the talent to the next level. You want to see our talent on the world stage. We felt that we had to bridge that gap and bring these coaches down, because they have the expertise, they have the track record,” Minister Ramson stated.
Meanwhile, Robinson thanked the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport, particularly Minister Ramson, and praised the initiative, calling it a “game changer.”
President of the AAG, Amanda Hermonstine, remarked that the initiative is timely, as track and field have been on a positive trajectory, especially at the youth level, noting their success at the CARIFTA Games and Youth Commonwealth Games.
The Speed Capital Commission was founded in 2019 by Robinson and Terry. It is presented as an organisation committed to enhancing the youth athletics experience from an event and performance perspective while educating practitioners on the importance of balancing academics and athletics.
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