The Ministry of Social Cohesion on Friday launched the 2017 National Skip to My Lou jump rope championships which will see winners being rewarded with laptops as prizes.
Set for commencement on September 28, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall at 10:00 am, this event will target a total of 100 jumpers, 50 from the primary schools and another 50 from the secondary schools.
The competition will take the form of individual freestyle, individual single, rope/double Dutch teams and last man standing. Each school team will comprise of five jumpers who can participate in the various events, according to the competition’s rules.
During the launch, Minister of Social Cohesion, George Norton, stated that since the introduction of competition to Guyana, in 2010, through the Trinidad and Tobago Alliance for Sport and Physical Education, there has been a growth in physical activity in the school system. The Minister further noted that the competition is expected to develop better interpersonal skills and engage in team building among the participants, through their interaction with representatives from the different schools.
This year, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, the competition will see winners of the various categories receiving laptops. General Manager of the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), Francis Simmons, speaking on behalf of Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes, urged those who would be winners of the laptops to use them wisely and to take very good care of them, so that they can be passed on to another student.
Also on board is Banks DIH, whose representative, Communications Manager Troy Peters spoke of the company’s elation to be a partner with the Ministry in promoting the activity.
It was highlighted that it is the Ministry’s hope to use this activity as a part of Education Month and for the winners to represent the country on the international level. Shavane Green, one of the promoters of the event, was privileged to have recently represented Guyana in Miami, USA, along with one other person in the jump rope competition, and they would have brought back a wealth of knowledge to share with the other jumpers.
