Bartica Easter Regatta: ‘We Outside’: Reinvesting in the product is a priority

– 2023 edition was resounding financial success, says Chairman Williams

This year’s edition of the Bartica Easter Regatta was a huge success on every front. So says Chairman of the Regatta Committee, Region 7 Chairman Kenneth Williams.
The multi-faceted event, which has been around for decades, caters to sporting and other social events which have now become a staple for Guyanese here and hundreds who return to these shores to absorb the many activities.
Apart from the marquee powerboat races that take place at the Golden Beach Circuit, grass-track racing, cricket, cycling, river swimming, and football were the other sports events. There was also the pageant, gospel extravaganza, children’s hat show, One Guyana concert, and a few other social events, all of which were successful.
Williams, in proffering sincere gratitude to the athletes from all disciplines who made the necessary sacrifices to make the event efficacious, has said, “I would also like to express the gratitude of the Organising Committee to the fans who supported all the events; the Government of Guyana and the various Ministries; as well as Corporate Guyana, whose combined efforts really propelled the entire event to a successful one.”
Williams shared that the preliminary financial analysis of the Easter Regatta has shown that what has been raked in is well above five million dollars in profits, which is very refreshing. “I do believe in letting the public know of the positives, because when we suffer losses we tell of it, so it is quite necessary for us to let the people know that we did fairly well in this ‘We Outside’ edition of Regatta. And this is a result of combined efforts from all and sundry. To all, we say a big ‘Thank you!’.”
Williams has posited that a number of plans would be activated to make the event even more solid. “It is the… intention of the Organising Committee to ensure that we re-invest in this Regatta product to make it better. We would also like to help empower our local small businesses to help them compete with those who come to Bartica to also earn. So, we’ll be working with small Bartica vendors to scale up their businesses so that they can compete with large vendors from Georgetown.
“We’ll make soft loans available to them to purchase chicken and tents, for example, and promote local partnership arrangements,” he divulged.
Chairman Williams also noted that the Organising Committee is very conscious of the challenges being faced by boat owners and those desirous of racing, and has come up with an approach that would bring some relief in this regard.
“We have discussed this at length with some other stakeholders also, and have decided that some of the finances would be plugged into making more boats available for races. One of the other approaches is that we will be approaching the Government of Guyana for tax breaks in relation to high-powered acquisitions for the powerboat racers, so that the locals and enthusiasts can be encouraged to be part of the racing spectacle. This is in direct response to the paucity of racers and the high cost of participation,” he explained.
Speaking about hosting of the pageant, Williams said there is always room for improving all the events, but there will be benchmarks and safeguards in terms of monitoring the franchise holders for all events that are franchised out, so that they’ll be held accountable.
“More or less, we’ll be working hand in hand on a higher scale to ensure full accountability of all and sundry in making this product a truly huge one for Bartica, and by extension Guyana,” he promised.