By Floyd Christie
The outdoor New Amsterdam Burnham Basketball Court in Berbice is fast becoming a relic.
Nowadays the facility is hardly frequented by youths in the community and competitive basketball in this region has become a rarity.
For quite some time, the President of the Berbice Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Kirk Fraser has been seeking assistance to propel the game.
His efforts to push the game in New Amsterdam by approaching businesses in the area for sponsorship of small tournaments have yielded minor results so far.
Last week, Fraser, who is also Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), associated the decline of basketball in Berbice with several factors.
He listed the lack of facilities; the lack of sponsorship and the poor condition of New Amsterdam’s only public full-size basketball court, which is without seating and lights and is prone to water logging.
He also recalled the days when basketball in Berbice was at its pinnacle and a number of players from the Ancient County frequently occupied positions on the national basketball team from the “late ‘80s and late ‘90s, and into the new millennium which has seen players such as Carlos Crandon, Nicolas Pluck and Jermaine King,” says Fraser.
He noted that after this period, basketball basically spiraled downward because “younger and less organized players rarely had a chance to play,” since the older players would occupy New Amsterdam’s only public basketball facility.
And by the time the senior players exited the game and went into other avenues many of the younger players had become uninterested and lacked the guidance to develop in the sport, leaving the facility to deteriorate along with the level of the game.
“We only have one court and the facilities are the most important thing, if not the game can’t spread,” Fraser said.
He added: “We are getting no help… nothing is being done for basketball here [Berbice].”
Stabroek Sport contacted Director of Sport Neil Kumar for a comment on the issue currently affecting basketball in Berbice and the development of the sport in that area.
Kumar stated that to his knowledge “the Berbice sub- association is not functioning” and he wondered when was the last time the association actually had a meeting.
However, he did recognize the need for more facilities in New Amsterdam and said that the National Sports Commission planned to construct two multipurpose courts in the Berbice area which will be used for games such as basketball, netball, tennis and volleyball.
When asked if there is a deadline for this project Kumar added that “they just took a decision” and they are not certain of a deadline.
He, however revealed that work was expected to commence by “the end of the year.”
The courts will be constructed in New Amsterdam and Skeldon, according to Kumar.
“I’ll be traveling to Berbice this weekend or next week to identify areas where the courts can be constructed,” Kumar stated.
Meanwhile, though not in a good condition according to Fraser, youths still make use of New Amsterdam’s basketball court during the afternoons and Fraser has managed to acquire sponsorship from ANSA McAL for the hosting of a tournament which is scheduled to start next month and is aimed at resuscitating the sport in Berbice.