The inaugural three discipline Digicel Fiesta held on Saturday at the National Gymnasium was a success Digicel’s Head of Marketing, Jacqueline James has declared.
In an interview with Stabroek Sports, James added that the company was able to deliver on its promise to the people.
“I think it is a good thing we have done by showcasing it to the public so people will now enquire and once enquiries start we know that there will be more games, more public viewing with people gravitating towards one of the sport (disciplines) on display.”
James said that she was not aware of the Triple Fiesta being held in other Caribbean territories but said that similar programmes would have been held, but none bringing together all the sports on one day in the same venue.
According to her, she was surprised to learn that some Guyanese were unaware of netball.
“What I have noticed is that a lot of people have never ever seen netball played in Guyana and I was very surprised because people were asking what does WD means, how long was the game and stuff like that?”
The turnout, she said, was not what she expected, but opined that the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat on television may have been responsible for the size of the crowd.
“But overall I think it is a fairly good crowd. There are a lot of people who are on the outside but I think they are waiting for their sport to start.”
James said it would be nice to have the public come out and witness the games and get acquainted with them if the event was to become an annual one adding that the sky was the limit as it relates to having other sports on display.
President of the Guyana Netball Association (GNA), Kim Kyte-John said that she was pleased with the performance of all the girls who participated but moreso the national players for winning their match convincingly.
The national team who, dubbed the Macaw Girls, defeated a combined team Golden Stars 44 goals to nine.
Scoring for the Macaw Girls were Angeline McCarthy with 20 goals from 29 attempts while Renee Anderson scored 16 goals from 23 attempts.
Shonette Estwick chipped in with six goals from 11 attempts followed by Adel Chalmers with two goals from five attempts.
Scoring for Golden Girls were Simonica Fanfair who scored three goals from seven attempts and Kristy Roberts, six goals from 11 attempts.
According to Kyte-John they were able to kill two birds with one stone by getting the girls’ the much-needed competition and also generating interest in the sport.
She said she hopes more people will come out to watch the games and also show an interest in joining clubs.
In Volleyball, Young Achievers defeated Castrol Strikers by three games to two in the best of five series.
In the third and final discipline of the night, GCC ladies defeated Hikers 3-0 in hockey.
Scoring for GCC was Gabriella Xavier who netted a double while Kerensa Fernandes scored the third goal.
In the male match Old Ford defeated Bryden and Fernandes indoor champions Pepsi Hikers 3-1.
Scoring for Old Ford were Aderemi Simon, John Abrams and Jason Dos Santos.
Shane Samuels netted the consolation goal for Hikers.
The teams were presented with trophies while the cell phone giants will present cash donations to each association for distribution to the winning teams.
