– lucrative Tony Chung road race off
Former chairman of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) racing committee and president of Roraima Bikers Club (RBC) Brian Allen is calling on the governing body to get its house in order.
Allen also announced yesterday that the New York-based Tony Chung Auto Repairs sponsored 40-mile road race was off.
“A request for this race was submitted to the GCF one month ago as not only the GCF but the Guyana Police Force requires two weeks notice for any event. Our submission was done on the 13th.
“The GCF also requires that all clubs submit their calendar of events for the year as early as possible.”
Allen added, “We were looking at running off this event on the 1st February but the sponsor was unable to get a flight to Guyana for that date so a renewed application was made to the GCF, along with the sanction and affiliation fees respectively.
“The secretary of the GCF acknowledged via an e-mail to me on the 16th that our renewed application seeking sanction for the race was received, but that was the only word RBC received from the GCF on this issue.”
When Stabroek Sport contacted president of the GCF Hector Edwards on the clash of dates with regards to the Tony Chung and the Carlton Wheelers Annual Mashramani cycle road race taking place simultaneously on the same date, Edwards stated that the Chairman of the GCF racing committee had suggested that the clubs make the decision, and he was in agreement with that position.
But Allen told Stabroek Sport that the president should have acted on this matter, doing so expeditiously and with a firm hand.
“He (Edwards) is aware of the circumstances, knowing especially that everything was in order with RBC’s application for this event. We were not informed by any official of the GCF of the clash of dates, until I spoke with Hassan Mohammed late one afternoon.”
Allen, raising another issue, stated that, “Also, contrary to what they are trying to imply, the sanction and affiliation fees were paid in advance by RBC so when the chairman of the GCF racing committee stated that it needs to be paid, it was evident that a loop hole does exist in the communication department of the GCF.
“The buck stops at the president who stated that he sees no problem in running the race off in the afternoon. But that is his point of view and whilst it has been done before and if the GCF wants to maintain whatever integrity they have left, as head of the federation, the president should have acted differently on this issue.”
And chiding the GCF, Allen said, “If the GCF has cycling at heart as they claim to do, they would have ensured that the cyclists don’t lose out when sponsors are willing to assist them. The negligence of the GCF has brought the sport to the stage it is in right now and they need to get their act together so that the sport can go forward.”
Chung, who is an overseas-based Guyanese and a former cyclist was pumping over $100,000 into this race. He also printed jerseys that would have been distributed to the cyclists and cycling fans, apart from flyers advertising the event as his way of giving back to the sport.
