It was a splendid finale. A large, well-behaved crowd was in attendance; the participating teams were well turned out, particularly the New Opportunity Corps [NOC] and the ladies of the Blazers’ Sports Club of Kabakaburi. And rivalry among the athletes was intense but friendly, as the curtains recently, came down on the series of Days Of Interaction at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground, Essequibo Coast.
The series was organized by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the National Sports Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Fund [UNICEF].
Among the officials present were: Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony; Johannes Wedenig, UNICEF Country Representative; Neil Kumar, Director of Sport; Alli Baksh, Regional Chairman, Region Two[Pomeroon-Supenaam], Norman Faria, Guyana’s Honorary Consul in Barbados; Clayton Hall who represented the Alliance For Change; and Keith Scott, MP, who represented the PNCR.
Declaring the day’s activities open, Minister Anthony stated that sport could be used to foster social cohesion and to debunk misconceptions and stereotypical images people hold of each other. Additionally, he said that sport could be used to develop well-rounded, disciplined individuals, and this was especially important for school children.
The minister also announced that Days of Interaction would be continued and expanded to other regions.
Athletes from some eighteen communities, stretching from Kabakaburi in the Pomeroon
to Supenaam participated in good-natured rivalry in circle tennis, table tennis, football, volleyball, softball cricket and dominoes, and for the first time, exhibition boxing matches.
In the final of the softball cricket[female] competition, Cotton Field narrowly defeated
the green and gold-attired girls of Kabakaburi. Cotton Field batting first scored 52-1;
Kabakaburi replied with 49-6 at the end of the allotted six overs.
In the volleyball competition, in which eight teams competed, Cotton Field defeated Devonshire castle in the final, 15-11.
In circle tennis, Kabakaburi again powered their way to the final and convincingly defeated the NOC.
The dominoes competition, in which nine teams participated, was won by NOC who defeated Lima by 75 games to 66.
In the softball competition for males, Affiance and Paradise contested the final. Batting first, Paradise scored 40 runs in the allotted three overs; Affiance replied with 41 in 2.4 overs to win the competition.
The football competition was a five-a-side affair and was played with small goals. Eight teams participated on a knock-out basis and the final was contested by Suddie and Lima and went down to penalty kicks, resulting in a win for Suddie by 3-2.
Finally, in table tennis, Delon Mcdonald and Rawle Griffith outplayed fifteen other contestants to win first and second positions, respectively.
After a hectic, fun-filled day, winners and runners-up were awarded trophies for their efforts. Additionally, presentations of sporting gear and equipment were made to the regional administration by the director of sport for distribution to clubs, communities and individuals.
