By Rawle Toney

President of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Usie Richards yesterday broke the silence surrounding the hosting of the 2009 senior championships, disclosing that the British Virgin Islands (BVI) will host the male championship from June 28 to  July 4.

In a telephone interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday from the USVI, Richards said that four countries had initially expressed their interest in hosting the championships after their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in February – Guyana, the BVI, the Netherlands Antilles and the Dominican Republic.

However, Richards said,  they were all asked to send a letter of commitment to the CBC by March 9 and according to the CBC top brass up to April 1, only the BVI had done so through their Ministry of Education and Culture.

Stabroek Sport has seen a copy of the letter which was signed by that  Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Sheila Brathwaite stating  her government’s fullest support to the BVI Basketball Federation  to successfully host the games.

She said that they are fully equipped to organize and execute a sporting event of this magnitude and the benefits that can be derived are endless.

The letter also noted  that the prestigious event would not only promote their country in the area of sports tourism and boost their economic growth but certainly they would be acknowledged and respected on the regional and international platform of basketball.

A similar letter was supposed  to have been sent by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) but there was reportedly a difference between the federation and the National Sports Commission (NSC).

Stabroek Sport had earlier reported that a meeting involving  Director of Sport Neil Kumar and President of GABF Godwin McPherson was not fruitful because of some differences over the budget. This was the beginning of March but since then nothing was said about Guyana’s chances of hosting the championship. Efforts to contact McPherson on this issue yesterday were futile. It is also not clear if Guyana would be participating in the tournament.

The CBC president said  that he did not receive any official update with regards to Guyana’s intention to  host the games but learnt through internet editions of local newspapers about the difference between the NSC and the GABF.

Meanwhile, McPherson had stated previously that if the games were to be held in a territory that required an entry visa,  Guyana would not be participating.

And last year when the championship was hosted in Puerto Rico, Guyana was represented by an entirely overseas-based contingent, since the local players had been denied  US visas by the embassy here.

But according to the CBC president, this should not be used as an excuse for not participating since it was said that it’s the responsibility of the CBC and the host country to ensure that the participants in the tournament be given the fullest opportunity to take part.

Unlike in the case of Guyana last year, Richards said that their application had to be made on a timely basis. He made reference to the Cuban team which took part in the tournament last year and had to get visas to enter the US province. He said it was the responsibility of the CBC and the Puerto Rican Federation to ensure that the team got the required documents to obtain their visas.

Female tournament

Meanwhile, the CBC is still seeking bids to host the female version of the tournament since the BVI is only hosting the male championship.

Richards explained that over the past decade, the BVI has been fielding a male team mainly because not many  females there participate in the sport.

Member federations of the CBC have until April 15 to confirm their participation in the tournament and until May 1 to pay their registration fee of US$1,000 which will go to the host country to help offset some of their expenses.