Former athlete supports Mackenzie High vs Multi track & field showdown
Former national high-jumper Bruce Butcher, who now lives in the United States, has come out in support of the Mackenzie High (MHS) versus Multi “Old School/New School” track and field championships, set for Independence Day, Sunday May 26, at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.
Having dominated the ‘Nationals’ as an MHS student, Butcher feels the idea of having the two top secondary schools in Region 10 — Mackenzie High School and Christianburg Wismar (Multi) Secondary –challenge each other in what is expectedly the first of many such meets augurs well for the promotion of athletics in his hometown.
Former national athlete Bruce Butcher (left) and Shawn ‘Baldhead’ McNeil
He has given a cash donation towards the staging of the event, and feels obligated to doing what he can to assist in the staging of this bold initiative.
Butcher said it is obvious that Linden continues to have talent in sports, and this is evident in those athletes’ continued winning ways at the National Schools Athletics, Swimming and Cycling Championships where Linden, District 10 (Upper Demerara/Kwawkani), remains the top region at this level of the sport.
Two former athletes: Erwin Shawn McNeil, also known as ‘Baldhead’, formerly of the Mackenzie High School, and Floyd Cameron who attended the Christianburg Wismar (Multi) Secondary, are the architects of this initiative.
Butcher, who represented Guyana in a three-man team that participated at the 1st World Juniors in 1986 in Greece, said sponsors need to support McNeil and Cameron in this venture, since the schools will benefit, especially since it has been reported that the schools would each receive $100,000 and a smart television.
This Independence Day track meet will have races for past students and those currently attending school in selected lengths that would evoke spectator interest.
