The Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) will be planning a busy basketball schedule for the remainder of the year, which according to the association’s president Trevor Rose would be very lucrative for the sport.
Speaking exclusively yesterday with Stabroek Sport, Rose said that the association will be meeting with all clubs affiliated to them on September 27 for their Annual General Meeting.
At this AGM they would roll out some plans for the remainder of the year and also seek feedback from the clubs as it relates to what they would like to happen in the association.
The GABA’s new season will kick off with the Kevin Worrell Memorial Third Division five-a-side basketball tournament at Burnham Court.
Worrell, a former player and member of Pacesetters Basketball Club, passed away last year while playing in the GABA Fun Day which also marked the beginning of the association’s season.
“This tournament is very important to GABA and the Pacesetters Club because Kevin was a devoted player to the club. We would play this at the Burnham Court because it was there he last played and I know it would hold some sentiments for the young players,” the GABA boss noted.
After the annual Beepat Scorpions Supligen All-Star weekend (October 31-November 1) GABA would unveil a Second Division League and then they would highlight the remainder of the year with a Super 8 First Division tournament.
When Rose took office last year, he said that the association was cash-strapped and could not afford to play at Guyana’s lone premier indoor facility, Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, and so the GABA returned the sport to the outdoors at Burnham Basketball Court.
However, Rose is saying now that only the Second and Third Division would be playing at Burnham Court and the First Division matches will be hosted at the Sports Hall.
This, he noted, is to bring some much needed revenue to the association since they are way above their heads in debts.
“Playing the First Division outdoors is a great financial strain because we have prize money and plus the referees have to be paid and we can’t do this playing at Burnham Court, we can’t hold no gates there. When we started last year myself and the executives put our personal finances into the sport because we had little or no sponsors.”
“But it was something we had to do to have basketball playing again. However now we have our feet off the ground so we have to look at ways where we can have some revenue for the association. We have major plans and not every time you would want to depend on sponsors, but we will need them very much this time around,” Rose added.
He said that already some companies have signalled their intention to sponsor the outdoor tournaments and this will go towards paying for lighting at the venue.
Rose, an acclaimed local designer by profession, said that he was not too pleased with the association’s first half at the helm of the sport in the city. But he said they were able to meet one of their major objectives and that was to have the game played at all levels and also to be well organized.
“I don’t think we did that well but I think my executives and I worked very hard in bringing back the sport a bit cause before we came in there was no basketball playing really and I think the fact that executives went into their pockets to have the sport back up and running is commendable and shows a great deal of commitment,” Rose said.
Sports Hall rental
Meanwhile, the GABA met with the National Sports Commission (NSC) at the stakeholders meeting and pointed out issues such as the high cost of renting the Sports Hall. The association is now preparing a list of areas to be followed up to bring benefits to basketball in Georgetown and that will be handed over to the Basketball Federation.
