RHTY&SC, Metro Office Supplies renew historic sponsorship for 15th successive year

-club to expand involvement in female cricket

“In 2008, no one was interested in female cricket, but you took the leap with us to invest heavily into giving young girls the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of becoming the next Ava Morgan of Guyana. Fourteen years later and counting, the Rose Hall Town Metro Team is part of history, and dozens of young females have fulfilled that dream, and many others are working to do so. Every historic feat starts with a small step, and we would like to thank you for doing so with us.”

Those were the words of the Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club MS, Hilbert Foster, during a simple ceremony held in New Amsterdam to receive the 2022/23 sponsorship from Metro Office Supplies for the club’s female team.
Foster, who is also the President of the Berbice Cricket Board, has said the vision for a female team was born when he and several other club executives saw a 13-year-old Shemaine Campbelle and Jackie Singh play in an under-15 match versus the Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes Under-15 team at the Albion Ground.
Campbelle has now become Guyana’s greatest female player, and the RHTY&SC has never regretted the decision to invest in females. In fact, Foster has said, the club views that decision as among its best ever investments, because it has resulted in the production of four senior West Indies players in Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Sheneta Grimmond and Shakabi Gajnabi, along with dozens of players for Berbice and Guyana at the junior and senior levels.
The team recently had four players selected to the national under-19 team, and six to the Guyana senior team in 2022.
Foster recalled that the club had approached the then Chief Executive Officer of the Metro Office Supplies, Taajnauth Jadnauth, for sponsorship in early 2008, and he had readily agreed. The rest, he proudly stated, is history, and today the team remains the only fully functioning female team in Guyana. It has won every female tournament organised by the BCB and the GCB since 2008, and among the other players it has produced are Plaffina Millington, Dian Prahald, Sherica Campbelle, Trisha Hardat, Marain Samaroo, Oma Matadin, Leah Kamalall and Priya Mahadeo.
The longstanding club official also disclosed a massive plan to double the female membership of the club in a few months’ time. The plan is to attract dozens of young girls to attend the annual cricket academy which bowls off on Monday, July 18, and then encourage them to become full-time club members.
Foster and the RHTY&SC Asst Secretary Jonathan Rampersaud recently visited several primary and secondary schools in the Rose Hall Town area to speak to female students, and the response was overwhelming. These club executives would continue to visit schools across the county when they reopen in September with the aim to attract at least fifty new members to establish under-17 and under-19 teams.
The Club’s Cricket Coach Delbert Hicks would be responsible for development of the players, and the club has already obtained the necessary cricket gear and equipment for the expansion.
The club has also committed to assisting the new members with their educational careers as part of their personal development.
Metro’s New Amsterdam Branch Manager Danny Ramnarine has said the company is delighted to be associated with the team, and is very proud of its many achievements on and off the cricket field. He expressed confidence in the club continuing its outstanding performance, and said the relationship would become stronger in the future. He congratulated the players who made the national team in 2022, and wish them well in their careers.
Shemaine Campbelle and Shakabi Gajnabi would serve as captain and vice-captain of the team over the next twelve months.