Heritage Games get underway tomorrow

The Everest Cricket Club ground, located at the confluence of Camp Road and Carifesta Avenue in Georgetown, will again be venue for the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Heritage Sports Month Celebrations.
This event has quickly become a yearly tradition for all those who have ever visited the Heritage Games, and this year’s sporting activities and family fun day will be held under the theme “Proud of our Indigenous Identity – Celebrating in Unity”.
All of the Games’ events will be held at the Everest ground except the swimming events, which will be hosted at the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara; and activities will run from Friday, September 21, to Sunday, September 23, 2018.
The Heritage Games will begin with a grand opening ceremony on Friday morning at 10:00 hrs, after which the events would promptly begin. The power-packed three days of activities will showcase preliminary matches in cricket, football, volleyball, archery and swimming on Friday and Saturday, paving the way for the finals to be staged on Sunday.
The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs is expecting to have over 600 sportsmen and women hailing from Indigenous villages across Guyana’s ten regions competing in the Games for several cash prizes and trophies.
In addition to the headline sports, the weekend’s activities would offer a number of novelty sports, namely: piwari drinking, hot tuma pot eating, fire wood bursting competition, lime and spoon race, and other traditional novelty games.
Port Kaituma in Region One (Barima- Waini) are currently the reigning champions in male football, while Pariuma Village in Region Seven (Cuyuni- Mazaruni) are the female champions. In the discipline of cricket, Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) will look to defend their title in the male category, while St. Cuthbert’s Mission in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) will defend their title won in the female version.
Region One holds the volleyball titles, with Moruca being the male champs and Waramuri the female champs.
Admission on Friday and Saturday will cost only $300 for adults, and on Sunday $500. Children under 12 years old will be admitted free of cost.