Boxing to become a core sport – Sport Minister Ramson Jr.

With one of the best youth programmes among local sporting disciplines, and with vibrant competitions for such, the sport of Boxing is set to soon be inducted into an elite group known as Guyana’s Core Sports.
Despite being one of the more active sports in the country, several factors – such as facilities – have kept Boxing out of that group. However, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, on Monday announced that Boxing would soon become a core sport.
He later explained that this sport, being steered by Steve Ninvalle, has reached the necessary criteria.

“When we went through the session, the public consultation on what would be the criteria of how (a sport becomes) a core sport, Boxing has satisfied that (criteria). And if you check also (on) what has been their success, despite what happened this year with the absence of the boxers from the Olympics, the question is: have they had a track record of success too? And the answer is yes,” the Sport Minister shared.
Elaborating, he asked, “Do they have the potential as well? Go this past weekend and see what happened at the Caribbean boys’ and girls’ championships which Steve organized, and you’ll see that’s the biggest show of local talent in the area; which means that the potential is there. From the facilities’ standpoint, we’ve already made some big investments in the Sixhead Lewis Gym. We continue to do that, we’re already paying the coaches, so they’ve satisfied the criteria.”
Quizzed about a timeline for Boxing’s induction, the Sport Minister revealed that it will happen ‘soon’.
“Essentially, we’re already there. So, in terms of me making a statement today, this is what we’re thinking; this is something that will happen in a short space of time,” Ramson jr. responded to enquiries.
President Steve Ninvalle of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has been very receptive to the development of this sport.
Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Lawn Tennis, Rugby, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, and Volleyball are the original twelve core sports. Being a core sport has allowed most of those disciplines to benefit from funding and support for their academy, nurseries, tournaments and Elite athletes under the Sport Ministry’s National Sport Academy Programme.
The announcement that Boxing would soon become a core sport in Guyana comes on the heels of the Guyanese contingent retaining their Winfield Brathwaite Caribbean Schoolboys/girls and Juniors title, which they have held since the tournament’s inception in 2016. (G6)