By Emmerson Campbell
President Donald Ramotar yesterday answered an appeal for financial assistance from the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) on Monday by donating a cheque for five million dollars.
The money will allow the national men’s Sevens rugby team the opportunity to participate in a warm up tournament prior to their participation in the HSBS Sevens World Series in March in Hong Kong.
It was disclosed yesterday that the national Sevens team will participate in the Las Vegas Invitational Sevens tournament from February 9 to 11 using that tournament as a warm up before heading to Hong Kong.
The GRFU’s appeal was answered yesterday at the Office of the President in the form of a five-million dollar cheque.
The regional ‘kings’ of rugby earned a place at the HSBS Sevens World Series after they won their sixth consecutive NACRA title last year November in Barbados by demolishing the Cayman Islands 29 -0.
President Ramotar yesterday congratulated the team saying that he was proud of the ruggers who have made this country proud time and again.
President Ramotar also stated that the government will give support to sport in general as he sees sport as a very important aspect of the nation’s development.
According to President Ramotar, it feels good to know that young men are dedicating their lives to a sport rather than to crime and drugs and he said that he would much rather read in the press that sportsmen and women have successfully represented Guyana internationally than to see a Guyanese boat found in Barbados with illegal substances.
President of the GRFU, Kit Nascimento, thanked President Ramotar for his intervention.
Nascimento also noted that this was the third occasion that a president of Guyana had intervened and provided funding for the national team.
Former president Bharrat Jagdeo provided assistance for the team’s participation at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and at last year’s Pan Am Games in Mexico.
The GRFU boss stated that Guyana will be playing against some of the best teams in Las Vegas against elite competition which the team desperately needs before heading to Hong Kong.
Nascimento said that without the government’s intervention the Guyana team would have gone to Hong Kong without participating in a tournament since last November when they won the NACRA title.
Nascimento also disclosed that the Sevens World Series will now become one of the tournament pathways for qualification for the 12-team Rugby Sevens competition at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil adding that the International Rugby Board (iRB) has introduced a ‘Transitional qualification process to qualify three new teams from the six Rugby Regional Associations namely, Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, Oceania, North America and the Caribbean to join the 12 Core Teams in the SWS plus one iRB invitational team to comprise a 16 team tournament.
This Qualification Tournament will be introduced for the first time at the Hong Kong 2012 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Guyana and Canada will represent the Caribbean Rugby Association and North America. Rugby USA is a Core Team.
The participating teams in the Qualification Tournament are: Hong Kong, Japan, China, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Russia, Zimbabwe, Uruguay, Tonga, Canada and Guyana.
It therefore means that if Guyana can finish at least in the top three after the Core Teams in Hong Kong they will become a Core Team. Players on Core teams become semi professionals and are also paid as semi professionals. Core teams are also invited and accommodated free of cost to all of the HSBC tournaments.
The 12 Core Teams are Fiji, New Zealand, South Africa, England, France, Australia, Wales, Samoa, Argentina, USA, Scotland and Kenya.
The team is scheduled to be named tomorrow following its final trial game today at the National Park.
The local ruggers are scheduled to wing out on February 6.
(Caption) Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony hands over the five million dollar cheque to President of the GRFU Kit Nascimento while President Donald Ramotar, GRFU executives and players of the men’s rugby team look on. (Orlando Charles photo)
