Furniture giant, Courts Guyana Inc, yesterday dished out sponsorship to the tune of $350,000 to the Guyana Police Force towards their annual Athletics Championships which will be held on August 24, 25 and 27 at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.
At a press conference held yesterday at the company’s Main St. branch, Courts Director of Marketing, Molly Hassan presented the cheque to Assistant Superintendent Colin Boyce.
On behalf of the company, Hassan said she was exceedingly pleased to be onboard to sponsor the event, in collaboration with the disciplined forces of Guyana. Hassan commended the organizers for the very “ardent” work they have put into pulling this meet together.
Also representing Courts was the Public Relations Officer, Zeya Nasir, who endorsed what was said by Hassan.
Nasir noted also that as part of the company’s corporate responsibility, Courts has continuously supported sports in Guyana because of the role these activities play in the development of young people and by extension the community.
Nasir said that athletics in particular would play a beneficial role in further improving the skills of the members of the GPF, which would assist them in performing their duties.
Courts will be sponsoring the champions of the ‘A’ class, ‘B’ class, female (local), and the female and male youth clubs.
In response, Boyce, who is also the president of the Athletics Association of Guyana, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Courts for this continued support, noting that this was the company’s third consecutive year of sponsoring the event.
Boyce stressed that the donation would help to take care of a major percentage of the budget for the event.
“As it relates to the sponsorship I am pleased to inform you that it has been the third consecutive year and their sponsorship has been growing and it has been going very well, and maybe some time soon they will be able to take the full budget on the GPF athletics championships.
“As it is, this is going to take a very big chunk out of the budget expenses of the Athletics Championships, I know they are one of our major sponsors and I want to say a heartfelt thank you to them for that.”
Boyce pointed out that this event will assist the GPF to perform their duties to the fullest of their capabilities.
The annual event is slated to feature some 86 track and field events spanning the three-day period, and as customary it is also expected to see the participation of several other Caribbean countries.
Boyce disclosed that a seven-man contingent from Trinidad and Tobago had already pledged their commitment to attend the event.
And with the participation of their overseas counterparts, Guyana can expect to come up against rigid competition.
“As is customary we expect to have our counterparts coming from the Caribbean, so far we are assured that we are having Trinidad – they will be coming with a contingent of about seven athletes which is very good… And with the invasion of our overseas counterparts the level of competition this year will certainly rise, which will mean that our athletes that are preparing themselves will be in for a really steep task in terms of earning prizes especially for the A Class category.”
Boyce also took the opportunity to encourage spectators to come out and support the force as they put their best to the track and field, noting that entrance to the event will be free of charge.
Moreover, Boyce said, the championships will be used as a preparatory stage for those expected to participate in Inter-Service Athletics Championships which is scheduled for September month-end.
