Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony has described 2010 as “successful” while Director of Sport Neil Kumar has described it as “excellent.”
The minister has identified the staging of several international events including the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup competition and the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) and the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) rugby competitions and government’s erection of a 50m Olympic swimming pool and a synthetic track as reasons to support his description.
Kumar has pointed to an increase in the staging of tournaments by a number of national associations and the fact that the long-awaited National Sports Policy is finally finished as cause for his rose-tinted optimism.
Lukewarm, though, would probably be the word that best described Guyana’s performances in 2010.
In cricket, apart from the Twenty20 triumph there was not much to shout about. Neither has there been any significant wins in football with the Golden Jaguars football team unable to win any gold on the international scene.
Rifle shooting, squash, table tennis, cycling, you name the sport and look at the results internationally and you will see that Guyana still has a far way to go.
What seems to be lacking is a plan on how to get there. What sports disciplines to develop in a structured way which could lead to an improvement and possibly (more) medals at major sporting games.
Sportswise, this country is not as hot as we would like to be but we are getting there. We believe our athletes are on the threshold of great things once those in charge of the nation’s sports, continue along this present path of development.
From a government standpoint things seem to be looking up. The 50m, Olympic-size swimming pool is almost completed, the Squash Racquets Centre is a work in progress and work has commenced on the synthetic track for athletics and, come next year, with the National Sports Policy now completed, one is eager to see what benefits there will be for the nation and the nation’s athletes.
From an association standpoint, there has been some progress while others appear to be marking time. For example, the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) is making moves to have its own facility but the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Goal Project is still in limbo after more than a decade.
Individually and in team sports, local athletes continued to give of their best which, in some instances, was enough to make this country proud.
Among the outstanding individual performances were Hugh Ross’ Mr. Universe triumph, Aliann Pompey’s silver medal 400m run at the Commonwealth Games in India and Gwendolyn O’ Neil’s and Shondell Alfred’s World title triumphs.
In squash, Nicolette Fernandes continues to forge her way up the world rankings after a two year lay-off from injury.
Team wise nothing stood out like the Guyana cricket team’s Twenty20 win.
There was also the success of the junior girls squash team at the annual Caribbean championships and the national rugby team’s gold medal win at the CAC games in the inaugural competition and the male and female teams triumph at the NACRA competitions.
But the year 2010 will largely be remembered for the come-from-behind win by the national Twenty20 team in the inaugural WICB tournament that galvanised and unified this country like only sports can.
Below we review the year in sports by the respective disciplines.
Cricket
As stated previously, Guyana’s win in the inaugural West Indies Cricket Board’s T20 tournament was the highlight of what was a challenging year for the sport and for a while pushed the off-field issues on the back burner.
The win was as unexpected as it was overdue and the prospects of the team’s qualification and subsequent participation in the Airtel Champions League tournament was the talking point at home and abroad.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) managed to secure much needed revenue in support of the team’s participation in South Africa including a Twenty million dollars donation from the Guyana government yet the team lost all of its matches in South Africa which was not utterly unexpected.
After winning the Twenty20 tournament with a come from behind triumph against Barbados in the final courtesy of a masterclass of an innings from the young and unheralded Jonathan Foo, a dispute arose over the distribution of the Champions League participation fee of US$500,000 and the image rights of the players.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had indicated that they were taking 33 per cent of the US$500,000 (or US$165,000) with the GCB to get 17 per cent (or US$85,000 and the remaining 50 per cent (or US$285,000) to go to the players.
The WICB went to great lengths to indicate that it was them and not the GCB which was to be paid the participation fee by the Champions League Twenty20 organisers of US$500 000.
“This Participation Fee is for the WICB to nominate a team from the West Indies to participate in the Airtel Champions League,” the WICB stated in a release.
The sought to justify taking 33 per cent by stating that they had incurred costs of approximately US$2 million to stage the inaugural tournament.
“Having borne such a significant cost to stage the Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament – from which the winner was nominated to participate in the Airtel Champions League – the WICB has decided to retain one third of the US$500,000 to help in offsetting costs for hosting the Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament,” it stated.
But, Guyana captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and the rest of the players were seemingly reluctant to sign contracts with the GCB probably at the direction of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the team’s participation in the Airtel tournament at one point looked in jeopardy.
The situation prompted the GCB to take the
unprecedented move of filing an injunction against WIPA, preventing the players’ association from interfering in the GCB’s contract with the organizers of the tournament.
That, and the intervention of the Guyana government, paved the way for the contracts to be signed and the Guyana team duly participated in the tournament.
In South Africa the South American Amazons lost all four of their games.
Against Royal Challengers Bangalore they slumped to 75/7 and never recovered being dismissed for 103 with Jacques Kallis picking up 3/16 and Praveen Kumar 2/22.
Kallis crowned a fine all-round match by slamming an unbeaten 43 while Robin Uthappha was unbeaten on 25 as RCB reached the target for the loss of only one wicket.
Against Mumbai it was not an Indian but a fellow West Indian that put paid to the Guyanese hopes.
Trinidadian Keiron Pollard bludgeoned nine sixes in scoring an unbeaten 72 off only 30 balls as Mumbai Indians racked up a challenging 184-4.
Guyana tried with Ramnaresh Sarwan playing a captain’s knock of 46 but lost by 31 runs.
In their remaining two matches the Guyanese lost to Lions by nine wickets and to South Australia by 15 runs.
The GCB’s Champions League participation relegated for the time being, the issue of an orchestrated attack against outspoken assistant treasurer of the GCB, Pretipaul Jaigobin.
Jaigobin was doused with acid in May, the incident, sending shock waves throughout the sporting fraternity and raising serious questions about the finances of the board.
Jaigobin, also treasurer of the East Coast and Demerara Cricket Boards, in subsequent interviews, said he felt the attack stemmed from his work in the respective area boards.
“They have some men dealing with a lot of nonsense and I just raise the thing and I don’t know if that is what happened. I have a strong feeling it is that, because the man said, ‘why you don’t leave me friends them alone’. I know where it’s coming from. I’m positive.”
The incident brought home forcibly the existing rift in the GCB and the latent power struggle as persons began positioning themselves to become GCB president at this year’s annual general meeting and subsequent elections.
It also forced longstanding president Chetram Singh to examine his own role as GCB president and it was not surprising that after about two decades Singh has decided to call it a day an announcement he made at the end of year GCB awards ceremony in December.
In the regional four day competition Guyana and the Windward Islands occupied the cellar position with 22 points while the senior team continued its poor showing in the regional one-dayers held in October by failing to reach the semi-finals.
The Under19 and Under 15 teams fared little better with the U-19s ending in the penultimate position in the three-day tournament held in St Lucia in July. The team failed to do much better in the one-dayers failing to make the Final Four.
The Under-15 though, placed a creditable third at the tournament in St Vincent and the Grenadines in March.
The Guyana female team promised much but achieved very little in the regional one dayers in August.
The team which boasted players like Shemaine Campbelle, Sabrina Munroe and Tremaine Smartt placed fifth with Campbell capturing the Player of the Series award.
Locally, Berbice won the Castrol sponsored U-15 Inter County three day and the GTM Under-19 One day competitions while Demerara won the GTM Inter-County three day competition.
Berbice also won the El Dorado Inter County one day tournament while Demerara won the rain affected four day tournament.
The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) under president Roger Harper was one of the few cricket associations that seemed to have a programme aimed to lifting the standard of its cricketers on and off the field by staging several programmes in addition to cricket tournaments.
First and second division tournament were held but the exodus of some 37 cricketers who are plying their trade in the semi-professional leagues of Trinidad and Tobago continue to affect the standard of the cricket.
The Berbice Cricket Board continues to stage tournaments regularly and is the most vibrant sub association but cricket in Essquibo continues to be substandard with the result that Essequibo teams continue to be the whipping boys at the inter-county level to a large extent.
The GCB ended the year with the reigning Twenty20 champions Guyana being upset by Trinidad `A’ in a four-team T20 festival in the twin-island republic. Not an altogether satisfying way to end the year.
