CARIFTA Games 2017…
–athletes in line for scholarships
By Akeem Greene
The 2017 CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association) Games held in Curacao last weekend saw Guyanese athletes walking away with bright smiles as their medal haul ended with eight medals (four Gold, one silver, three bronze) as compared to 2016 where they finished with a total of five medals (two bronze and three silver).
Christopher Jones
The highlight for the team was Linden’s Compton Caesar’s historic win in the Boys’ Under-20 100m dash. It was the first time in the history of the CARIFTA Games, which started in 1972, that a Guyanese has won the male 100m; Caesar also took the bronze in the 200m.
The other gold medallists were fellow Lindener Chantoba Bright, overseas-based athlete Natricia Hooper, and distance runner Claudrice McKoy. McKoy also has a bronze medal from the Girls’ Under-18 1500m while Anfernee Headecker won silver in the boy’s event.
The performance of the athletes sent shockwaves of great delight by many and most notably is Director of Sport Christopher Jones who told Guyana Times Sport in an exclusive interview on Thursday that the performance was foreseeable.
“The performance of the CARIFTA Team is nothing short of what we [National Sports Commission] expected and this is part of what we had last year where the NSC in collaboration with the AAG [Athletics Association of Guyana] and the other various associations to set out form a data base since which allowed the NSC to follow the progress of the athletes,” the Director revealed. After last year’s National Schools’ Championships, an elite squad was formed by the NSC and it comprised of the same athletes that attended the Games and Jones’ contention is that once we continue with the same programmes more rewards will be reaped.
“We would have formed an elite programme and then the AAG started the preparation and some of those athletes on the CARIFTA team are from that programme and it is a demonstration that we are on the right path and we anticipate similar results at the upcoming South America Junior Championships in July being held in Guyana,” he stated.
In looking at future for these athletes and those that will follow in their footsteps, the Director re-emphasised the importance of implementing a student/athlete programme.
“Student athletes that remain in a sport programme and keep their grades up when he/she reaches age 17 or 18 is that scholarship must be provided by the government to that athlete,” the Sport Director disclosed.
He went on to say, “once that policy is adopted and we are able to say this in sundry to all in Guyana, it encourages parents to make sure their children keep their grades up and stick to sport.”
The policy is an attempt to integrate various sport disciplines into the school curriculum which could be done as early as September once the Education Ministry and the NSC can decide which disciplines are applicable.
