By Marlon Munroe
With a proposed 50 or 60-man team that should represent Guyana at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in July, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) is hoping that the Government of Guyana can assist with financing as it has done in the past.
President of the GOA K Juman Yassin told Stabroek Sport yesterday that the transportation cost for one athlete is US$1,200.
However, he emphasised that is just part of the equation since athletes will have to obtain visas for travel, the GOA will have the pay fees for their stay in the CAC Games village and then the athletes will have to receive their daily monetary allowances for the July 22-28 meet.
Juman-Yassin stated that the GOA will be looking to put half of the amount but he is hoping that the government will be lending its support as it did for the last CAC meet. He pointed out also that based on the largesse of the administration, the various sports associations were not required to contribute much to the athletes under their purview.
He declared that the GOA will be meeting with the various sports associations tomorrow afternoon to map out plans and expectations of the governing body and the associations.
He hopes that all discussions will go well with the sporting bodies and the government will also come on board with the GOA for the CAC contingent.
Additionally, Juman Yassin said that since the national women’s football team, Lady Jaguars, has qualified for the games it can further put some strain on the GOA’s coffers. But he is optimistic that talks with the government will be successful.
The Lady Jaguars have joined Puerto Rico, Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago as the only Caribbean nations to qualify for the CAC.
On the other hand, he is reasonably optimistic that the United States Embassy would grant many of the athletes a visa. He pointed out that he understands some of the concerns that organisations may have, especially as it relates to run-away athletes, and in some cases he shares some of those concerns, but in the end he still expects the embassy’s support.
He quipped that he will be keeping his fingers crossed when it comes to the embassy because he knows that all visa applications will be handled individually.
Meanwhile, Juman Yassin said that the GOA is positive that most of the sporting bodies that will be meeting tomorrow will be fielding a team to represent Guyana. He also stated that some of those athletes have already made A and B qualifying standards for the championships.
He said that he is excited about Guyana’s prospects at the games and has also singled out some events in which Guyana will be particularly successful.
