The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) will be convening for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) this Sunday at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) from 11am.

According to the GRFU, the AGM had been originally scheduled for January 29, but was postponed indefinitely because of the killings in Lusignan.

The union said that although they had not recovered from the recent tragedies that had occurred in the country, they still have to meet to discuss their agenda for the year.

According to the GRFU, the president’s report, the secretary’s report, union’s financial statement and the annual elections of executive members, are on the agenda for Sunday’s AGM.

President of the GRFU, Noel Adonis, said that the AGM gave the union a chance to assess its progress from the previous year and since the elections for executive members are held concurrently with the AGM, it gave the members a chance to give an account for themselves.

Apart from the annual elections and the various executive reports, Adonis said that they would be discussing the union’s Youth Development Programme which entailed placing more emphasis on rugby in secondary schools.

Adonis said that rugby at the school level provided the first stage for young players to recognize their talent and develop into senior players.

“We will be specifically focusing on our Youth Development Programme which has provided a nursery for our young players in schools developing into the game ever since it began in 2000. We realized that this programme needs to be strengthened if we hope to have continued success at the senior level,” he said.

Adonis also said that the International Rugby Board has approved their strategic development plan to take local rugby one step closer to international standards.

Adonis said that some of the initiatives in this plan will include financial planning towards building a club house, an office for the GRFU and acquiring their own playing facility.

He said that although the GRFU has occupied the National Park field for about 30 years, the fact that they do not own the ground has limited their development plans.