CBC Basketball Championships
Following the announcement by president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federa-tion (GABF) retired Col. Godwin McPherson that Guyana will be bidding to host the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships, many basketball pundits keep asking one question, “Can we really pull this one off?”
And being a diehard basketball enthusiast myself, I, like many others, would relish seeing the return of the games to Guyana where it all began in 1981.
Back then it was deemed the CARICOM
Asks Rawle Toney
championship with only teams within the Caribbean Community participating but subsequently the CBC secured an expansion to include Puerto Rico, the US and British Virgin Islands.
The collaborative effort shown by the Government of Guyana through the office of the National Sports Commission (NSC) must be applauded. It was reported that Director of Sports Neil Kumar had announced that Government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to help the GABF host the championships.
However, it has not yet been disclosed what hosting the championships would require in terms of Guyana’s input.
What are the requirements people often ask by way of telephone calls and email. I too had found myself in the dark on this matter, but recently I was privy to information on the requirements through the grapevine and I think I owe the regular readers of the daily sports section a share of this.
Financing
Any national member federation selected to be the host of a CBC tournament must pay a non-refundable fee of US$1,000 to the CBC by March 1 of the tournament year.
1. The Local Organising Committee of the tournament will be responsible for all expenses detailed below:
a) First class hotel accommodation in double rooms with the appropriate size bed for the players, two days prior to the date of the event, including a day after the final participation of each team. The room for the delegate of the team shall be a single room.
b) The General Secretariat shall approve menus for athletes to ensure that meals are in sufficient amounts and good quality. The meal plan shall include breakfast, lunch and dinner with bottled water and soft drinks (juice and sodas) in sufficient amounts.
c) Accommodation for athletes shall be in a first class hotel with meals in accordance with point (b) above, for the referees, technical director and technical commissioners.
d) The Local Organising Committee must provide ground transportation for the arrival and departure of all teams in the host country and travel to and from training and game facilities.
e) The Local Organising Committee is responsible for assuring adequate security for all tournament participants throughout the duration of the tournament.
f) Airfare for the President and Secretary-General of CBC, Technical Director of FIBA AMERICAS, two neutral referees and two commissioners.
g) First class hotel accommodation, with meals included, in single rooms for the President and Secretary-General (CBC), the Technical Director of FIBA AMERICAS and two Commissioners.
h) The Local Organising Committee must provide an automobile with a driver for the President (CBC) and one for the Technical Director. An appropriate vehicle to transport referees and technical commissioners to the area of the games is also required.
i) A Viaticum in the sum of US$500 shall be paid to each member of the Technical Committee and each Referee, in accordance with FIBA regulations.
j) A representative of the CBC Executive shall be provided hotel, meals and ground accommodation at least seven weeks prior to the tournament to facilitate inspections. During the visits, the CBC representative shall be responsible for ensuring the following:
1. Satisfactory level of hotel accommodation for teams, referees, technical commissioners, CBC and FIBA-Americas representatives.
2. Review menus/proposals for meals.
3.Visit official playing/ practice venues to ensure that facilities are adequate and in compliance with FIBA accepted standards.
4. Review all ground transportation and security arrangements.
5. Ensure that trophies and medals are of sufficient quantity and quality.
I must acknowledge that the requirements are steep and will need the government to fully throw its weight behind the GABF to make it a reality.
Moreover, a tourism opportunity looms since the hotels that were built and renovated for the hosting of Cricket World Cup 2007 will be fully utilized and there will be need also for some essential enhancement work to be done at Guyana’s only indoor facility, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.