…GBA looking for avenue to keep boxers active
The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has suffered a tough blow after it was announced that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifiers will be cancelled owing to coronavirus concerns.
Steve Ninvalle
The GBA was informed on Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) that the Americas Olympic Qualifier for boxing has been cancelled given the fear of the spread of the coronavirus.
Guyana was scheduled to send a team of five boxers and three coaches to the tournament, which was scheduled for March 26 to April 4 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. GBA President Steve Ninvalle described the cancellation as a major setback, but reasoned that it was done for the safety of all involved.
“It’s more or less disappointing news for us. Disappointing because of the fact that we would have had those four boxers preparing and we had programmed it that way for them to peak at around next week. So, they would have been back in Guyana then headed out to the qualifiers. However, we understand the seriousness of this situation; we understand just how serious the spread of the Corona virus is, so we respect the decision to cancel that tournament,” Ninvalle explained.
After scurrying to source funds two weeks ago to lock in accommodation and travel for the boxers, the GBA is now suffering a hefty loss owing to the fact that those monies are non-refundable.
“There’s a cost factor to that, seeing that we would have purchased all the tickets and we would have purchased all the insurance for the boxers and coaches; that came at a hefty price and those monies are not refundable. So, you know that is a punch that we will have to take, but, nevertheless, we understand the seriousness about trying to curb the spread of that virus,” Ninvalle noted.
“We will now have to await information from the IOC regarding if there would be a rescheduling,” Ninvalle went on to share.
Ninvalle said that he has sent off a message informing the boxers of the sudden turn of events, and has also called Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) President KA Juman Yassin, SC, to update him. Efforts to contact Director of Sport, Christopher Jones on the disappointing news proved futile.
Meanwhile, Ninvalle informed that in light of the recent cancellation, the GBA is planning an international card for early April in hopes of keeping the four local boxers in competition mode.
“At this end, we’re working now to see what we can do to keep our boxers active. I’m speaking with the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Association to see if we can pull off within two weeks/20-day time frame, an international tournament in Guyana so as to try and keep those four boxers active,” he disclosed.
With the support of the GOA and the National Sports Commission (NSC), the GBA had dispatched Keevin Allicock, Desmond Amsterdam, Colin Lewis and Dennis Thomas for a three-month training stint in Cuba. The stint is scheduled to conclude next week. They would have been joined by Canada-based Taveena Kum at the Qualifier in Argentina. The Coaches accompanying them were Terrence Poole, Sebert Blake, and Cuban Francisco Roldan.
