By Tamica Garnett
President of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Andrew Arjoon says the association hopes to introduce the game to schools on completion of the squash courts at Thomas Lands this year.
The association’s first order of business would be to target schools near the courts. “We are looking into getting schools involved in squash, hopefully starting in the general area of the public court, some time later this year we will be meeting with the minister regarding moving this whole thing forward,” he said.
Arjoon acknowledged that squash in Guyana is a highly elitist sport but he said this was unavoidable as the facilities needed for the sport are not readily available to the public. Most courts are situated at private clubs. In the light of this, he said GSA has been looking at diversifying its range of affiliates and making the sport available to schools is the first step in this direction. The association also hopes to train coaches to further broaden the scope of the sport by training persons countrywide.
Arjoon said that while the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has not given GSA a deadline for the completion of the courts, they are expected to be ready before year end. He said too he understands that the ministry is in the process of obtaining the back wall of the court. “We get occasional updates and the ministry has made a lot of efforts to keep us in the loop….They haven’t given a deadline, but I know that they are pushing very hard to get it done. As vague as that sounds I know that they are pushing very hard,” he said, adding that “we are looking forward to a number of new faces in the sport by the end of the year.”
Despite this, Arjoon said procedures are being put in place to improve the sport and he was very happy with the current state of squash in Guyana. He also said he was particularly proud of the players and the achievements they have made. “I am extremely proud of the Guyana Squash team. They have won the overall championships six years in a row they have won the girls team championships five years a row and that performance is testament to the continuing strength of squash in Guyana,” he said.
And, based on the past and recent performances of Guyana’s world ranked squash player Nicolette Fernandes, Arjoon said he was comfortable with the direction the sport was heading. He explained that Fernandes was allowed to participate in the male category of the annual National Squash Championships as the level of her capabilities far surpassed any of the competition that existed in the female categories. He said too it was beneficial to the males as the opportunity allowed them to get a taste of what persists on the international squash scene.
However, while Fernandes continues to be a force to be reckoned with, things have not has been as promising in senior division of the sport. Arjoon opined that this can be attributed to brain drain as when the players get older they tend to migrate, taking their skills with them, and leaving the gap to be filled by the juniors. He said some players return to Guyana, others get involved in the sport at a different level and still others become coaches but “there are some very promising players [who] have dropped squash completely,” he said.
In an earlier interview with Stabroek Sport Arjoon had said that with regards to local squash things have gotten to the point “where our juniors are our seniors.”
And while no concrete plan has been put in place yet to resolve this, he posited that with incorporating a more diverse group of players into the sport, this problem could would be alleviated.
