By Tamica Garnett
With a pledge of $1.2 million worth of their sports drink Gatorade, beverage company Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL) yesterday declared themselves a co-sponsor of the upcoming schools National Track, Field, Cycling and Swimming Championships slated for the National Stadium from November 9 – 12.
This was confirmed by DDL’s Gatorade Brand Manager Alexis Crawford yesterday at a press conference held in the boardroom of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Brickdam, in the presence of representatives from the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), the MoE, and members of the media.
Crawford said that the company was very enthusiastic about having their Gatorade brand play a part in such a highly anticipated event involving students.
“On behalf of DDL and Gatorade, we are very, very pleased to make this donation to this event that is such a well-anticipated activity on the students’ calendar. Gatorade is a number one sports drink and we are honoured to have it as a part of this event,” Crawford said.
Expressing gratitude to DDL for their contribution to the event, GTU President Colin Bynoe said, “We are happy that DDL has come on board to be a part of this event, especially as this year, our fiftieth anniversary is the year for our championships to evolve.
“I know that this will go a far way in ensuring that the athletes are energized, so I just want to say thank you to DDL for coming on board.”
Bynoe also noted that DDL would not be just at the national championships since they already had made donations to some of the schools inter-zone and inter-branch championships, where the students earn the right to represent their district at the national championships.
Also expressing appreciation was the MoE Head of the Physical Education Department Nicholas Fraser who noted that such a leading sports drink will be utilized to the advantage of the athletes.
“This is a year that we expect a lot of records to be broken and we know that Gatorade is one of the leading brands that has been endorsed by prominent and famous athletes who utilized the brand, and I’m sure that the product will assist in getting our athletes reenergized to make those records,” Fraser said.
Gatorade is an internationally renowned energy drink used by sports persons and was most recently endorsed by world 100m record holder, Usain Bolt.
