No record of submission on Tyrrell’s nationality switch – World Aquatics

…Governing bodies likely to pull support from ‘rogue’ GASA

The Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) has found themselves the subject of controversy once again, stemming from the eligibility fiasco of US based- swimmer Delroy Tyrell, who previously competed for the twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
As pressure mounts against GASA President Dwaine Scott abandon his current posture of impeding the development of the sport’s participants, the powers that be in the World of sport are likely to take drastic action, in hopes of quelling the worries many swimmers, parents, affiliates and Sport Governance bodies.
The most lambasting issue out of the GASA recently has been the plight of Tyrrell to compete for Guyana and the ‘run- around’ not only the swimmer and his parents have had to endure to see the Nationality process through.
The last update on the matter was that World Aquatics were reviewing the issue, since it was now out of GASA’s hands.

However, in leaked e-mails seen by this daily publication, Tyrell, a Guyanese by birth and whose parents are Guyanese also, had written to GASA on his behalf outlining his desire to represent the Land of Many Waters in competitions overseas; submitting all the relevant information to satisfy his eligibility status, but later found out that GASA failed to submit the required information to World Aquatics that would have enhanced his chances of representing this country.
Contrary to several recent articles in other sections of the media, the trail of emails between Tyrell’s father, Fitzroy Tyrell, and Jan Exner, legal counsel for World Aquatics, upon repeated inquiries from the swimmer’s parent revealed that the GASA President when asked whether the association had submitted the information disclosed that he had done so; was later found to be inaccurate, judging from the responses obtained from the world governing body.
As such, it brings into question the President’s inability to be transparent since his admission of forwarding the relevant information was proven to be inaccurate, infringing on the practices of good governance.
It must be noted also that the GASA President had been asked to meet with the relevant stakeholders of sport in the country such as the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS), National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and even the disciplines clubs on several occasions to resolve several issues, but those engagements failed to garner positive outcomes.
The result was that the above entities decided to withdraw all support from GASA pending the expression of willingness from the Body to resolve the issues highlighted.
Some of the issues that were deemed contentious were the non-submission of audited financial reports, the allegations of unfair treatment to certain clubs and swimmers, the non-acceptance of new clubs, and the non-submission of Mr. Tyrell’s request to represent his country of birth.
The MCYS, NSC, and the GOA are recognised as the surest financiers of sport in Guyana, assisting in the provision of funding for the procurement of facilities, athletes’ development and the facilitators of coaches and requisite personnel for all aspects of sports development so for GASA to be non-co-operative with these bodies can only stymie the sport’s development and its participants.
Time will tell whether the course taken by GASA was the right one or one that they will have to admit was wrong and shoulder the blame.
In the said email, World Aquatics has given GASA a September 15 deadline to submit Tyrrell’s documents and it would be interesting to see whether or not GASA remains steadfast on its reluctance to submit the athlete’s details or do the right thing and let the world body make its ruling on his eligibility.