Hectic week ahead following opening ceremony

58th National Schools Cycling, Swimming, Track and Field Championships…

Over 1500 athletes from all around the country will, for the next 5 days, engage in earnest competition with the singular objective of emerging victorious and bringing glory to the district they represent, following the opening ceremony of the
58th edition of the National Schools Cycling, Swimming, Track and Field Championships.
These championships were opened on Sunday afternoon at the Leonora facility on the Demerara West Coast with much pomp and splendor. With overcast skies

delaying the rain just long enough to accommodate proceedings, the athletes donned their colourful tracksuits and took a lap around the Leonora synthetic track, saluting Education Minister Dr Nicolette Henry; Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson; Region Three Regional Executive Officer (REO) Denis Jaikarran; and Second Vice President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Julian Cambridge.
Giving the official welcome to Region Three for the second year in a row, REO Denis Jaikarran was very upbeat that the number of athletes participating in these championships continues to increase steadily.
“This year will mark the second year in which these championships are held in this region. When we assembled last year, I indicated to you that, come this year, we are going to have more athletes participating. And now I’m sure you would recognise we have more athletes,” the REO said.
Julian Cambridge, speaking on behalf of the championships’ organisers, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), noted that more needs to be done in schools to lengthen the careers of promising athletes, rather than having them just be showcased at the National Championships.
“We continue to hope that we produce more Olympic-level champions. The reality

is that we need to place more emphasis on sports in schools. The time has come for sports to be included fully in our curriculum. We have too many talented athletes who have fallen by the wayside after these championships,” Cambridge detailed.
Education Minister Nicolette Henry, delivering the feature address, expressed hope that the student athletes would go on to excel in the future.
It is no secret that these championships are important to the process of harnessing the talents of Guyana’s developing student athletes, she offered. These championships, she said, are a sport scout’s paradise, because they showcase the country’s top athletes; and she said she knows those athletes would go on to represent Guyana both regionally and internationally.
The Minister has left the athletes with a bit of advice, “And so I implore on the young athletes to do their best and compete in the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play; and also take the opportunity to forge new friendships.”
Soon after the formalities were concluded, the action began with the symbolic lighting of the torch, which was done in relay fashion by four athletes hailing from three- time defending champion district Upper Demerara/Kwakawni, District 10.
Minutes later, the first race of the weeklong event was ushered in to the Lenora Track and Field Facility after beginning on the streets of Region Three. Once again, 18-year-old Rekie Williams of District 11 (North Georgetown) copped the Men’s 10k title, while the female 10k race was won by Sheama Tyrell of District 10.
The championships will continue today at two venues: the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal, ECD, where the swimming competition will dive off; and over at the National Park in Georgetown, where the youth cyclists will take to the circuit.