Plans are in the pipeline to reward standout athletes with scholarships and grants following a record medal haul from the 48th edition of the CARIFTA Games, which was staged in the Cayman Islands.
So said Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Culture and Sport, Dr George Norton, last evening.
Norton disclosed the government’s plan during the ‘welcome home’ reception at the Pegasus Hotel where the track and field athletes, along with the CARIFTA swimmers and chess players, were recognised for their performances.
The swimmers made splashes in Barbados while the chess players moved pieces in Curaçao.
Norton said that Guyana’s accomplishments in the Cayman Islands during the Easter weekend “was nothing but spectacular, it exceeded my expectations.”
Guyana’s 21-member contingent climbed the podium steps on 10 occasions, earning four gold medals, two silver and four bronze, which placed them fourth on the overall standings.
Jamaica (85 medals), The Bahamas (26 medals) and Trinidad and Tobago (24 medals), were the top performers.
Claudrice McKoy, Chantoba Bright, Anisha Gibbons and Matthew Gordon highlighted Team Guyana’s performance with their gold medal efforts.
The brilliance of the quartet and others enabled the team to depart from the host nation with the largest medal haul ever by a Guyanese team at the games.
The minister, in the keynote address, also encouraged the athletes to “remain steadfast in the pursuit of your goals.”
He added that Guyana will be pulling out all the stops to host the 50th edition of the event in 2021.
“Your country Guyana looks forward to greater performances especially in 2021. We must be competing with Jamaica and this government will do all it can to make that happen,” he said.
Following Norton’s speech, all athletes, swimmers and chess players were presented with medals from the National Sports Commission.
Chess
The chess team finished fifth out of 10 countries with 36.5 points. The other countries that participated were Jamaica, Trinidad, Suriname, Barbados, Aruba, Antigua & Bermuda, Bahamas and hosts, Curacao.
Swimming
Six swimmers attended the championships but only Aleka Persaud won medals – three gold and two bronze.
