Acting President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) David Patterson says that Guyana has fully recommitted itself to the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) after attending the Annual General Assembly which was held last weekend in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
Patterson and President of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) Abdullah Hamid were Guyana’s two representatives at the meeting in Tortola which the GABF boss sees as meaningful for basketball and its development in Guyana.
“Well it was a very, very good meeting, you know. We were welcomed with open arms by the CBC body and we also recommitted ourselves to the CBC body because it would be a bit busy this year where basketball is concerned at that level, so it was very important that we attend that meeting,” said Patterson.
The GABF President said that this year would be the CBC Under-15 Championships as the Caribbean basketball organization is aiming at development.
“Well the tournament is set for June this year but they have to decide on a venue, you know, they have a few countries that have stepped forward to show interest but nothing has been confirmed as yet. It’s something that we are certainly interested in but we have to wait and see what plays out with the venue because you know sometimes we have problems getting travel documents to certain countries,” Patterson noted.
The development of the game would not be limited to just administration and competition, Patterson said, since the CBC will also be looking at increasing its pool of officials from within the Caribbean.
“Actually, a commitment has been made to have a referee pre-training clinic here and also a Level-1 Coaches test because I think that we have quite a few good coaches but it’s only to have them properly certified. I think they will do well because it’s a pretty good exam so I think most of them should come out on top,” said Patterson.
To date, Patterson pointed out, Guyana stands as a full member of the CBC with all their affiliation fees fully paid and so the country is ready to be actively involved in all of its activities.
GABF elections
Meanwhile, the acting GABF boss said that he is anticipating a smooth running of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is set for Sunday, February 14.
The last GABF elections were held in 2005 and were proposed again for last April by former President Colonel Godwin McPherson.
After McPherson sadly passed away Patterson who was his deputy since the 1990s took charge and had rescheduled the AGM for last November but recently said that it had to be revised because internally, the present administration had some areas of concern that had to be looked at seriously, hence the new date.
“Well we have all systems in place for that meeting and I’m really looking forward to having it. See, most of these plans and so on, all depends on us having these elections so we can properly run this sport in Guyana, so it’s set for within a week or so, and it will happen,” Patterson told Stabroek Sport.
