Thomas pleased with performances at Republic Relay Festival

On Sunday, scores of Guyanese athletes turned up at the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora, West Bank Demerara to participate in the 50th Republic Relay Festival.

Hailing from seven of Guyana’s 10 regions, clubs like De Challengers, Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC), New Amsterdam United, Mercury Fast Laners, Running Brave, and Hopetown Flames, as well as those from Tutorial High School, Mackenzie High School, New Amsterdam High School, Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), all put on a good show of Guyana’s athletics fraternity.
Former athlete, avid athletics supporter, and President of the Guyana Overseas Based Sports Association (GOBSA), David Thomas is elated not only about Sunday’s turnout, but also the heat that was brought to the track by the local athletes.
“We have a great representation of Guyana’s talent here,” Thomas declared after revealing that some seven of Guyana’s administrative regions were represented at the Relay Festival.
The event organiser went on to state that he was pleased with the performances he witnessed during the action-packed festival.
“We’ve seen some keen competition and as it continues, we hope the competition increases. We’re working to see Guyana’s best and today demonstrates some of the talent that Guyana has, from all the regions,” Thomas said.
Touching on the remainder of the calendar year in athletics, Thomas expressed hopes of better performances at GOBSA’s fifth Independence Track and Field meet slated for May, later this year.
“We’re also working, not for today but in May for the Independence Classic, and we’re expecting a greater turnout of athletes, more talents,” he noted.
Looking further down the line, David explained that it was good to see the local youth athletes churning out improved performances, especially with the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) preparing to host the 2021 CARIFTA track and field championships.
“We’re also preparing for the Junior CARIFTA Games and we’re expecting to see as the Games come closer, more and more athletes coming to form so that Guyana can be represented well,” he said.
When questioned about whether or not consideration has been given to make the Republic Relay Festival an annual calendar fixture, Thomas explained that the Minister with responsibility for sport would have to make that decision. The current Minister Dr George Norton seems open to the idea.
“If could, would try to anticipate him; I have a feeling that he would like this to be something that we can do on a regular basis and not just one time,” he stated.
At Sunday’s events, the GDF men and the Running Brave women lit up the track in the Open category as they swept the 4x100m and 4x200m in their respective divisions. In the youth categories (Under-20 and Under-16), the Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) were the standout team.