One year has officially passed since the hosting of the last Heritage Games, and once again the anticipation has begun to build as thousands of Indigenous people will gather from every corner of Guyana to compete in the 2019 edition of the competition tomorrow at the Everest Cricket Club located on Camp Road.
Mabaruma were the 2018 male volleyball champions
This year’s sporting activities and family fun day will be held under the theme, “Maintaining our Traditional Practices while promoting a Green Economy”. The day’s activities will commence at 10:00h and conclude on Sunday, September 22. The swimming competition will be held at the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
Laluni were the new 2018 male cricket champions
The three days of power-packed activities will showcase preliminary matches in cricket, football, volleyball, archery and swimming on Friday and Saturday, paving the way for the finals on Sunday. The Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry is expecting that more than 600 sportsmen and women hailing from Indigenous villages across Guyana’s 10 regions will be competing in the Games, and several cash prizes and trophies will be up for the taking.
Other novelty activities set to be part of the day’s action are piwari-drinking, hot tuma pot-eating, firewood bursting competition, lime-and-spoon race, and other novelty games.
The event will be one to watch as most villages have almost completed the hosting of their regional playoffs. Fans will be able to see their defending champions return while new faces will be set to appear and as expected, cause major upsets to occur.
The celebration of Amerindian Heritage Day marks the day when Stephen Campbell became the first Indigenous Member of Parliament in Guyana on September 10, 1957. In 1995, September was officially designated Amerindian Heritage Month. The opening ceremony is held on the first day of September and the festive celebrations take place in a “Heritage Village”, that is selected annually.
