Georgetown, Guyana – (October 13, 2017) Guyana’s contingent of athletes, who represented the country in the 2nd South America Youth games in Santiago, Chile recently, were today honoured by the Minister of Social Cohesion with the responsibility of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. George Norton for their outstanding performances at the continent’s most prestigious and competitive championships. Minister Norton said that he is extremely proud of the achievements of the individuals and their coaches when he adorned each participant’s neck with the National Sports Commission (NSC) awards, today in the boardroom of the Department of Culture at Main Street.
The Minister said that Guyana is proud of the achievements of the athletes and his Ministry will commit itself in doing all that it can to support the team and other athletes in their future endeavours. “The Ministry would do all it can to support athletes particularly in regards to offsetting the expenses [for those who are] pursuing their academics would entail and in whatever way we could do to make their lives more comfortable and successful in their endeavours,” the Minister said.
Minister Norton added that the event is not only meant to honour them but to build an interpersonal relationship between the Ministry and the athletes. “This is why I decided to meet the athletes; I must know who they are and be able to recognise them… There must be a better relationship between the Minister of Sport and the athletes,” the Minister said, explaining that he was out of the jurisdiction when the team returned to Guyana on Tuesday.
Those who were present and honoured today with the National Sports Commission Award included Mr. Miguel Wong and Mr. Nickolus Romain, Mr. Keevin Alicock, Ms. Priyanna Ramdhani, Mr. Tyrese Jeffery, Ms. Annallisa Barclay and Ms. Deshana Skeete who brought home the gold medal in the 400 metre event. The coaches for athletics, boxing, table tennis, badminton and basketball, which were the disciplines in which athletes represented Guyana, were also recipients of the NSC awards.
Gold medallist Ms. Skeete, said that she was very excited to compete for Guyana internationally and is more so proud and elated when she ran and copped gold in the 400 metre event. According to the young athlete, she wishes to continue competing as she has hopes to make it to the Olympics one day.
The 2nd South America Youth Games engaged student athletes between the ages of 14-17 from 14 countries in South America. The team that represented Guyana departed for Santiago, Chile on September 26 and returned last Tuesday.
Director of Sport, Mr. Christopher Jones, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Cohesion, Mr. Steve Ninvalle and Executive member of the Guyana Olympic Association.
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