Edison Chouest Offshore Company inks million-dollar sponsorship with Youth Basketball Guyana

Despite the ongoing pandemic and some forms of sport being at a standstill, things are returning bit by bit to the way they once were.
Edison Chouest Offshore Company is coming on board as a major partner for Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG), in support of the Schools’ Basketball Restart initiative. The sponsorship, when converted, is valued at approximately Gy$1.89M.
The Schools’ Basketball Restart initiative focuses on helping student and youth teams get back into a regime of activities in a safe way. Most of those players had participated in the YBG Festival of July 2019, but there has since been a lot of falling away, since players began losing interest in the sport.

According to Rayad Boyce of Youth Basketball Guyana, the organisation has been dreading having to miss another National Schools Basketball Championship, because the YBG knows the value of the national tournament, as lots of teams and players have been discovered therein.
Thus, the YBG is very focused on having a festival in July or August 2021, but this can be possible only if there is a safe and responsible restart programme.
Speaking at the simple ceremony to announce the sponsorship, Daniel LaFont, Business Development Officer of Eddison Chouest Offshore, said he is very excited to be part of youth basketball in Guyana, as he considers Guyana his second home.

“(We have been) coming to Guyana since 2016, and this is our first trip since a year, and we are very excited (about) basketball. I have done a lot of coaching, and we saw that basketball is kind of a lower-tier sport, as you have cricket and soccer, (which) have a lot of support. We decided that we have to do something for basketball in Guyana, something that teaches them more than just the sport, but how to be men and women.
“We think that it’s important to do this, and get these kids back into a structure and give them goals and motivations and education, so we are very excited about this opportunity.”
Ross Chouest, owner of Edison Chouest Offshore, declared that basketball is something dear and near to his heart. He said the sport teaches an individual the core values and principles of life, and he is personally blessed and excited to be part of the partnership.