The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) and its 10 cricket teams recently hosted the annual Gregory Gaskin Memorial Berbice Sports Awards with sponsorship from the Basil Butcher Trust Fund.
The award is held yearly in memory of Gregory Gaskin, late founder of COPS Security Service and an outstanding supporter of sports in Guyana.
National volleyball player Shemroy Ross and West Indies female cricketer Shabika Gajnabi, won the prestigious male and female awards respectively for 2019.
Another West Indies female cricketer, Erva Giddings, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to cricket over the last 15 years.
The Berbice Cricket Board carried home the Sports Organisation of the year award while businessman Deonarine Balram was named Sports Personality for his support of all sports in the Ancient County during the year.
RHTYSC Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster stated that the 10 cricket teams are forging ahead with plans to fulfill most of their activities despite the ongoing corona pandemic. This is being done while observing the strict guidelines set by the government. He disclosed that due to social distancing, no official programme was held but the awardees were invited to receive their awards on an individual basis.
Foster noted the importance of sports in the development of character among the youths and hailed all the awardees as positive role models for youths to emulate.
He urged them to uphold the high standards they have set themselves in the past and to work even harder to achieve even more success. The RHTYSC, Foster stated, would continue to be the premier youth and sports organisation in Guyana and was proud to be involved in honoring the memory of Gaskin.
Ross, in 2019, represented the Guysuco Training Centre, Berbice and the national volleyball team with great success. Ross was named the Berbice Volleyball Association Most Valuable Player for 2019.
Gajnabi made her debut for the West Indies at the senior level after outstanding performance for Berbice and Guyana. Giddings, who made her West Indies debut in 2008, over the years has been an outstanding performer for the RHTYSC, Berbice and Guyana.
For over a decade, Giddings has played among her male counterparts at the second division level with great success, claiming over two hundred wickets. The BCB has been the leading county board over the years and in 2019 successfully completed over 25 tournaments and dozens of the field developmental programmes.
The Sports Personality of the Year Deonarine Balram is known across Berbice for his wholehearted support of sports and over the last 20 years has been the sole sponsor of the Balram Shane Memorial cricket and volleyball tournaments.
RHTYSC Assistant Secretary, Simon Naidu, handed over all the awards which included a trophy, medal, certificate of excellence and a collection of special prizes.
The joint RHTYSC/BCB Basil Butcher Memorial project has distributed over $4M worth of items and sponsor several events in tribute to the Legendary West Indies batsman who died last December at the age of 86.
