The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) yesterday presented its $50M four-year Strategic Implementation Plan to the Ministry of Sport, noting among its goals a plan to enrol elite pugilists into a high-level training programme that will keep them in peak form and ready for the Rio Olympics.
GABA President Steve Ninvalle formally presented the document to Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony which revealed its intention to take centre stage at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also revealed a series of steps that will put the local pugilists on the road to Rio.
Incorporating the theme ‘Commitment, preparation and hard work we know, will lead to Olympic Medals in Rio De Janeiro’ the document “entails a budget and systems in place to get our boxers fully prepared” and prioritizes “overseas engagements that the boxers should compete in” and it also pointed out who should be training the boxers. It also has a stipend for the boxers. Since 1996, Guyana has not been represented at the Olympics (in boxing) and we want to change that and we hope that this document can assist us greatly in turning that around,” he said. The plan will cost approximately $50M to implement.
The document will also be presented to President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) K A Juman Yassin and the head of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) Peter Abdool. The GABA shares a good relationship with the professional board and the GOA and it envisions them and government taking pivotal roles in bringing the plan to fruition, Ninvalle said. He also noted that the AIBA, the world governing body for amateur boxing, will be embracing professional boxing from next year which makes it more crucial that the professional and amateur organizations share information and work together.
The Sport Minister noted that the document is a comprehensive strategic plan that provides a blueprint on how to go forward. Anthony said he was pleased that at least one of the national sporting organizations has completed its strategic plan and encouraged the others to emulate this example as it is vital to advancing the many sporting disciplines. Director of Sport, Neil Kumar echoed this view, noting that the GABA will have his unwavering support as it continues to lead by example.
The Plan
The GABA Strategic Implementation Plan’s objectives are to prepare, support and position local boxers to dominate international competitions, thereby qualifying for and ultimately winning medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in at least six of the ten divisions. It lists its intention to review the current approach to amateur boxing in Guyana with the aim of establishing and operating a viable, sustainable and strategic plan that would give local pugilists a competitive advantage on the international stage.
GABA intends to accomplish and sustain several key objectives within the periods of the full four-year Olympic cycle including identifying and selecting a team of boxers from a national pool of available talent for a high-level training programme administered under the guidance of assigned Cuban Coach, Francisco Roldan and team of local coaches. It will also foster engagements with stakeholders such as the Joint Services and other organizations to broaden the selection base for highly competitive boxers as it raises the bar at local competitions.
The association also aims to remove constraints affecting boxers’ development; provide better access to training by maintaining equipment and fine-tuning training focused on developing, improving and sharpening the skills of selected boxers from accredited gyms; to ensure that sufficient international exposure is incorporated with training so that local boxers are familiar with the environment and benchmarks for success and to continuously upgrade and standardize the capacity of coaches, referees and judges through local and international courses, thereby ensuring that boxers’ performances are measured in accordance with internationally approved standards.
GABA will also promote the rotation of coaches from affiliated gyms at the central training centre, towards the harmonization of training approaches nationally; conduct measured and timely evaluation of interventions into the performance of athletes engaged in the programme and the marketing of boxing events to generate funds to run the association’s programmes, realize incentives for the boxers, enhance the current image of the sport and encourage the involvement of corporate partnerships to foster a win-win outcome for all stakeholders.
Michael Parris, who won a Bronze Medal in the Bantamweight Division at the 1980 Games in Moscow, Russia, remains Guyana’s lone Olympic medallist.
