By Troy Peters
Not many athletes have had the distinction of representing Guyana at more than one sports discipline.
One such person was John Emanuel Nestor (M.S.) who died recently at the ripe old age of 93 years a few days shy of his 94th birth anniversary.
`Uncle John’ as he was fondly called, was not only an athlete of great repute but also served as a sport administrator with distinction for many years after he had left the field of play.
He represented Guyana at football in the initial triangular tournament between Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana and also served as manager/player at the first international volleyball competition between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of-Spain.
President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation Lennox “Lenny” Shuffler in paying tribute to Nestor, reminisced on being the youngest member on that team in the late 1950s.
The lanky Nestor played almost every game that was available at the time and excelled.
He was once described as one of the most gifted ball players in the Caribbean, by sportswriters from Barbados following his exploits at billiards, table tennis, lawn tennis, cricket and football during a tour of Barbados with a contingent from the Guyana YMCA in the 1940’s.
He also scored an unbeaten 96 against one of Barbados’s leading team’s Combermere College which was led by former West Indian player Boogles Williams.
He spent his early life in Berbice where his sporting life started when he became an apprentice at the Lutheran Church printery in New Amsterdam immediately after leaving school.
He became a founding member of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in New Amsterdam and excelled for years at table tennis, billiards and lawn tennis in the Ancient County.
At the introduction of the Inter-YMCA Games between Berbice and Georgetown his sporting career blossomed with exposure to greater competition.
He joined the local regiment and became a corporal in the Number 7 Company of Berbice but that did that stop his sporting career, in fact it gave him the opportunity to play cricket for the regiment team which resulted in him scoring two centuries against Skeldon and Rose Hall Canje.
He also represented the regiment at athletics and rifle shooting being one of the top marksman many times.
When Nestor retired from active outdoor sports, he turned his focus to sports administration serving as a member of the National Sports Council and held the Presidency of Guyana Volleyball Association, Guyana Billiards Association, New Amsterdam Volleyball, Table Tennis and Football Associations, Dorado Swim Club, Pacesetters Basketball Club.
He also served as Patron and coach of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, Director of the New Amsterdam YMCA. He was also a cricket umpire.
Nestor was appointed Sports Organizer of Spronston’s Limited (now GNIC) and during his 14-year tenure he served as a lawn tennis coach enabling several players to eventually represent Guyana. He was also the first to establish competitive darts locally and coordinated many long distance races that featured the cream of the country’s athletes.
He was later employed by Banks DIH Ltd. and his contribution was meaningful and during his tenure as Public Relations Officer many sporting organizations and sports personalities received sponsorship from the local beverage giants.
Banks DIH Chairman Clifford Reis said Nestor was a live wire around the company and remembered him as an excellent dancer.
According to Reis, Nestor was a father figure to many of the employees sharing advice and trying to instill discipline to those who came in contact with him.
In 1996 he was awarded the Medal of Service (MS) for valuable contribution to sports at the national and regional level.
Talk to anyone who knew `Uncle John’ and they would remember him as “A nice man”, meaning that he was always jovial and willing to give support.
John Nestor will be buried tomorrow on the day he would have turned 94 years but sport in Guyana is richer because of the legacy he has left behind.