Historic day as Sports Academy becomes operational

– Squash, Volleyball first to serve off

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, and Director of Sports Steve Ninvalle were on hand at the National Racquet Centre and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Saturday (December 18) to see the start of the first-ever National Sports Academy.

This Academy will initially focus on the 12 core sports: cricket, football, athletics, basketball, table tennis, swimming, hockey, squash, rugby, volleyball, tennis and badminton.
At the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue, Squash players under the guidance of National Coach Carl Ince began their training in what Guyana Squash Association (GSA) President Owen Verwey called a momentous occasion.
“We’re very proud and happy to be the very first one (Association) to kick-off the sports Academy. For Squash, we’re a relatively small fraternity, but we’re dedicated. So, we’re focusing on delivering what we’re supposed to do for sports, and for the youths in particular,” Verwey has said.
Minister Ramson, informing that facilities were a major factor in identifying the core sports, pointed to the Squash courts at the National Racquet Centre, which are said to be the only public squash courts in the English-speaking Caribbean.
The facility was commissioned in 2013, but Minister Ramson noted that it was “underutilised.” However, under his leadership at the Ministry, the squash courts at the National Racquet Centre are now available, free of cost, to the GSA and its members, specifically for implementation of the Sports Academy.
Meanwhile, over at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF), Levi Nedd, declared that in his more-than-40-years’ involvement in the sport, he has never been part of such a programme.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) will oversee the National Sports Academy, as the Director of Sport, after highlighting the historic occasion, said the 12 core sports would be beneficiaries of the Government’s long-term investment in sports.
Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle has encouraged the athletes to pay full attention and remain dedicated to the training programme during the duration of the Academy.
In a public presentation of the National Sports Academy at the inaugural Guyana Sports Conference last October at the National Cultural Centre, Minister Ramson pointed out that the nursery level would target players between the ages of 12 and 17.
At the tournament level, the Government of Guyana, through the NSC, would earmark at least $12M annually for the governing bodies of the core sports to support the organisation of tournaments.
Above-average performers who excel at tournaments, or those who show inordinate improvement, would be selected for elite training.
The elite training would last on average four to eight weeks, and would see selected individuals dedicating themselves full-time to training. In order to achieve this, the Minister announced, a stipend would be given.
Minister Ramson has said the Sports Academy is a specific manifesto promise, and reflects President Irfaan Ali’s “bottom-up” approach to national development.
The remaining core sports would continue to be rolled out in the next few weeks as they complete their preparatory arrangements and training.