-say organizers of national schools athletics c/ships
Organizers of the annual schools nationals cycling, swimming and track and field championships are “all set to go” as it concerns preparations for hosting the event from November 9 – 12 at the Providence National Stadium.
At a press conference yesterday at the venue for the event, officials from the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) gave an updated report on the progress of the preparations for the event.
Permanent Secretary in the MoE, Pulandar Khandi and GTU President, Colin Bynoe, said that all measures to ensure the successful hosting of the event have been put in place.
Khandi said that the preparation of all the facilities and amenities…. “are very well on schedule for these championships, all arrangements have been put in place in terms of guaranteeing the safety of athletes.”
And while the swimming venue is proposed as the Castellani Swimming Pool, the track, field and cycling events will be held at the stadium, with the exception of the road races for the cycling and track divisions as these will be done along the East Coast Highway.
Bynoe affirmed that preparations at the Games Village have been coming along well and said that the athletes are expected to begin arriving as soon as Saturday to settle in before Tuesday’s opening ceremony.
As is customary, the athletes will be housed in schools in the Georgetown District, with the females scheduled to be accommodated at the Tucville Primary and Secondary Schools while the males are expected to be at the North Ruimveldt Multilateral and East Ruimveldt Secondary Schools.
Bynoe stressed that all athletes taking part in events will be required to be housed at the Games Village for the duration of the championships.
Khandi noted that there will be no fee for attending the opening ceremony but said for all other events at the stadium; patrons will be charged an admission of $400 for adults and $200 for children in school uniforms.
Bynoe stated that school children will be required to be dressed in their school uniforms so that officials will be able to better identify and manage them. Children out of school uniform will be charged a different rate.
The championships will be celebrating its 50th anniversary and GTU and MoE officials have said that this year will mark a turning point in the standard of the competition. Bynoe said that preparations are coming along well for the celebrations at the opening ceremony, which is expected to be graced by President Bharrat Jagdeo.
In addition, there is to be the launching of a magazine which will document aspects of the event’s history.
A number of sponsors are supporting the publication with Digicel pledging over four million dollars in support, while longstanding sponsor Banks DIH as well as beverage company Demerara Distillers Limited, Ansa McAl and Giftland OfficeMax have all come forward as sponsors of the event.
Representatives of the various sponsors were also present at the conference, and spoke of their pleasure to be a part of making the event a bigger and better one. They also commended the organizing bodies for their smooth preparations for the event.
Also present was MoE Head of the Physical Education Department, Nicholas Fraser, who stated that the event will be utilizing the assistance of local promoters Khashif and Shanghai who will be policing and controlling aspects relating to vending at the venue, and he urged interested persons to contact the organization.
