– looking to send three athletes to CAC games

By Tamica Garnett
The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) is under a double attack from the current rainy weather and from a lack of financial support from the major stakeholders.

But while the weather pattern is expected to improve by at the latest, sometime next month, the `grey skies’ surrounding the AAG’s finances seem hardly likely to go away.

President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Colin Boyce is hopeful of stamping Guyana’s presence at several upcoming overseas meets.

Boyce has earmarked Guyana to participate at the Central American and Caribbean Games, the 13th International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Championships and the Central American and Caribbean Junior championships.

Boyce is however aware of the financial support necessary from the business community for the AAG to realize those goals.
FUNDING PROBLEMS

According to the AAG president his association is looking to send three athletes to the quadrennial CAC Games in Mayaquez, Puerto Rico from July 17-August 1 but said that this was dependent on funds being realized.

“We are looking to send a maximum of three persons, one in the under-20 category and two in the under-17.  Jevina (Straker), (Chavez) Ageday and (Curtis) Fraser are our hopefuls,” stated Boyce.

“But we have to look at funding,” he added.

Boyce said he was looking to secure sponsorship from Digicel and Banks DIH Limited.

Boyce said that while both organizations have shown an interest, only Digicel had thus far jumped onboard as a definite partial sponsor adding that they were still to receive confirmation from the beverage giants.

Boyce also disclosed that the AAG was looking to send a select few athletes to represent Guyana at  the CAC Junior championships in Santo Domingo from July 3-5 and the World Junior championships to be held in Moncton, Canada from July 19-25.

RAIN HAVOC

The weather at this time has not been good to the AAG which has been forced to postpone its national Under-23 meet until month’s end.

However the AAG was able to stage its IAAF World Athletics Day Championships yesterday at the Guyana Police Force ground, Eve Leary and Boyce disclosed that the Under-23 meet will be held on May 30 along with a take-away lunch.

He said that the AAG was still to decide a date for the National Age Group Championships which was originally scheduled for May 30 and he envisages that that event will now take place sometime in June while the local national Championships have been tentatively fixed for July.