Dear Editor,
First I must compliment the coaches who are preparing the male and female Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) team. As a concerned parent I attend most of the practice sessions at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. I know that Guyana is defending the male U19 Championship in Suriname, which will not be a walk in the park. What I noticed at all the sessions I attended was that the players had a five- gallon bottle from which they get their water, but although both males and females are training hard, there are no supplements. Come on, these kids are representing Guyana, and when they win as they did before, Guyana wins. If there is no money budgeted for the IGG then the Department of Sport should seek sponsorship, so that these kids would be given some kind of supplements, eg builders, Gator-Aid, and different kinds of juices. The out-of-town kids should be properly fed if it’s too expensive, purchase a stove and a fridge for the Gymnasium and buy raw food, so they could eat well instead of fried rice, etc.
Please Mr Minister of Sport and Director of Sport, we are defending our championship. ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.’
Finally, my son is in the squad, but to date no one from the Department of Sport has contacted me to explain anything. Someone should have a meeting with the parents of these kids especially the females, telling us what time to practice, when they are travelling, who the management team is and what happens in the event of injury. After all, they are under 19 and representing Guyana. So let’s have a meeting with parents or guardians.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
