Guyana’s National Sports Academy is going full steam ahead, as yet another nursery was launched over the weekend. In fact, there were two launches this weekend with basketball and rugby getting underway on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
On Sunday, young prospective ruggers gathered at the National Park, Georgetown, where Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle and National Sports Commission (NSC) Commissioner Christy Campbell oversaw the launch of the programme, in the absence of the Minister for Sport, Charles Ramson Jr.
Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle (centre) and NSC Commissioner Cristy Campbell take a photo with the nursery athletes for rugby, along with GRFU executives
At the launch, Ninvalle admired the persistence and dedication of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) in getting the lucrative programme underway, highlighting that it was a great sign for the sport.
“If I can judge by the turnout that you have today, and by the organising that you have today. Especially starting with the National Anthem, it tells me that rugby is in good hands and we can expect a lot coming out of this nursery,” Ninvalle told the GRFU executives and the young athletes.
Citing the NSC’s mandate to oversee the Academy programme in 12 core sport disciplines across Guyana, Ninvalle viewed the success of the initiative as a partnership that needed to move from strength to strength.
“We will have to go hand in hand with this in order to make it work. It is not the Association working in a silo and the NSC working in another silo. It means that we will have to pool our efforts, in order to make this a success,” he said.
Also sharing remarks at Sunday’s event was Campbell, who spoke of the potential of the programme to propel young athletes to the international arena and their obligation to seize the day.
Campbell told the budding ruggers, “I know rugby is a tough sport and, in the past, we’ve had lots of success, especially from this discipline internationally. I hope this opportunity that is presented to you is grasped with full hands, I hope you deliver what is expected and use the resources that we are presenting to you to be better athletes to develop your talent and to move on to the international scene.”
Rugby is the seventh sport discipline to have its nursery launched, behind squash, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, basketball and athletics. Given the objective of the nursery programme – to introduce and nurture younger athletes in the sport — the GRFU opted to divvy up the youngsters into three groups (Under 10, 11-14, and 15-19) as their began on Sunday.
