By Tamica Garnett
Four promising youths selected to represent Guyana at the World Youth Olympic Games (YOG) scheduled to begin on Friday departed Guyana earlier this morning to begin their two-day journey to Singapore where the games will be held.

National swimmer Henk Lowe, table tennis starlet, Adielle Roushevel and promising athletes Jevina Straker and Chavez Ageday were selected earlier this year by their respective sporting associations to represent Guyana at the prestigious inaugural meet.

The participants will attend the event alongside three officials; one from each respective sporting association.

General Secretary of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe; Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) committee member, Mayfield Taylor-Trim  and Secretary of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA), Dr. Karen Pilgrim will  also attend the games.

The contingent, which was scheduled to depart Guyana at 6am, will make stops in Trinidad and New York before beginning a 23-hour flight to Singapore, which would include only one other stop.

They are scheduled to arrive in Singapore on  Wednesday morning.

The games, which has been in the pipeline since 2001, was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2007 at the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City.

It is expected to give athletes between the ages of 14-18 the opportunity to showcase their skills in Olympic-style competitions.

With no athlete from Guyana qualifying for an event at the games, Guyana was allotted four “universality places.”

Dr. Pilgrim, who is also a vice president of the GOA, yesterday stated that she felt that Guyana’s attendance at the event will play a very vast role in the development of sports locally.

She stated that even if this time around Guyana did not make a “breakthrough,” the event would, nevertheless, give Guyanese youths in sports a higher level of competition to aspire to, which will challenge them to perform at higher standards.

“It might not be our breakthrough, but this competition will be one more thing for them to aspire to. They have the regional competitions that they will try to aspire to and this being the first competition of its kind, it gives them something else to look forward to,” she declared.

Moreover, Dr. Pilgrim asserted that the international level of exposure that the youngsters will receive in the long run, will prove beneficial to the overall advancement of sports in Guyana.

She believes that when the athletes come back and share their experience they will be able to pass on something encouraging to their fellow colleagues in Guyana.

“I know that they are very confident and this will be a fantastic opportunity for all of them to attend such a multi-sports event, because they can come back and share their experiences. That way, the exposure they will receive will prove beneficial because by sharing they can encourage others,” she opined.

The event is expected to attract some 3600 athletes from over 100 countries in 201 events.

The athletes yesterday expressed mixed feelings of the impending games.
Ageday yesterday admitted that he was just a little bit nervous about the massive competition he will be coming up against.

However, Ageday said a previous overseas meet that he attended has somewhat helped him to alleviate the intimidation of the competition that he is expected to come up against.

He is scheduled to take part in the 100m sprint, a race that he recently represented Guyana in at the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada.

Ageday stated that while he did not get the opportunity to medal at that event, he did, however, identify ways to improve on his abilities. The 16-year-old is scheduled to display the best of Guyana’s budding athletic skills when he takes to the track at the Bishan Stadium on the 21 August.

However, Ageday’s fellow athlete, Straker expressed nothing but confidence. She said that despite the heavy magnitude of competition to be expected she refuses to be intimidated and no matter what she will be using this as a learning point in her very promising future.

Straker stated that for the past month she has undergone intensified training and she is very prepared to literally put her best foot forward.

“Well I’m a little excited, but I’m not really nervous, and with all the encouragement that I’ve been getting from my coach and everyone I’m sure that I’m going to do my best. And I’m at my best, for the past month I’ve been training really hard and I’m not going to be intimidated, I’m ready for this.” Straker said.

Straker will be running the 1000m and is scheduled to be in action on 19 August.

Performing before Straker will be Lowe, who, being the first of the four to perform,  will usher in Guyana’s performance when he contests the 400m and 200m freestyle race on 15 and 16 August, respectively.

Lowe is no novice to competing in large scale international competition and stated that he would in no way be daunted by the ferocity of the competition. Lowe had last year attended the World Championships when it was held in Rome.

Lowe conveyed that his only challenge, as is usual when competing outside of Guyana, will be in having to adapt to the 50-metre pool, as he has been in training at the 25m Castellani Pool. He said that he has been training vigorously and he believes that his countless hours in the pool, and his confidence in himself, will see him through.

In addition to performing in the singles event, 15-year-old Rosheuvel is expected to team up with Ecuador’s Rodrigo Tapia in the mixed doubles.

Roushevel stated that she hopes that arriving a few days before the actual competitions will help to give her some time to practice with her partner. She also disclosed that the table tennis players are expected to undergo a training course before they take part in their events.