Nigel Hinds, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and former national basketball and hockey player says he has an action plan to take basketball in Guyana to its pinnacle over the next four years if he is elected president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.
“The focus of this action plan is to place Guyana basketball as a pinnacle sport in Guyana over the four-year term of the new executive from 2014–2017 and beyond,” Hinds said in his Mission Statement which he forwarded yesterday to the media.
According to Hinds, the solution to the lack of growth in basketball in Guyana is collective planning
and implementation by the governing federation.
Hinds, a former Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant, FCCA who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Guyana (distinction) and a Masters in Accounting and Finance from Everton University, Florida, United States of America, will be contesting the post of president of the GABF at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.
Hinds has some amount of experience after serving in an administrative capacity on two national sports federations/associations. He is the current treasurer of the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation and a former secretary of the Guyana Hockey Board.
Hinds says he will not be standing for re-election as treasurer of the powerlifting federation at this year’s Annual General Meeting and subsequent elections.
Hinds, who represented the national senior national basketball team from 1985 – 1992, also played for the Guyana senior national hockey team from 1984 – 1991.
He is currently Managing Partner of Nigel Hinds Financial
Services after having worked at Citigroup as Financial Analyst form 2007 -2011, he declared in his statemnent.
According to Hinds, basketball in Guyana has not kept pace with the growth of the sport in the other territories which come under the auspices of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) and thus he feels there is need for a change in the leadership of the national federation.
Hinds quoted USA president Bark Obama who stated in February 2005 that: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Hinds feels that if elected he can make the necessary changes to aid the development of the sport.
“My candidacy for president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation is to say we can make the changes needed to uplift the sport of basketball in Guyana,” he declared.
“We have a lot of material available to guide us in spreading the growth and development of basketball in Guyana starting with the constitution of the Guyana Basketball Federation and extending to the document prepared by Patrick Haynes entitled `Guyana Basketball Manager’s Guide.’
“However, what is more important than words and advice is determination and dedication accompanied by action,” he stated.
In Hinds’ Action Plan he identifies a number of areas which include working with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to ensure that minimum days/nights per year are set aside free of charge for basketball
at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and ensuring the participation of Guyana’s male and female national senior teams to the 2014 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) championship from July 1-12, in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
He also plans to look into the possibility of transforming the Georgetown Burnham Court and the Mackenzie Sports Club Court to all-weather basketball facilities with proper lighting while rehabilitating the Vryman’s Erven Basketball Court in Berbice with proper lighting and eventually, roofing. Other plans include general assistance and improvements to basketball facilities across Guyana with primary focus in the following areas East Coast Demerara, Georgetown, East Bank Demerara, West Demerara, Essequibo, Bartica, Linden, West Berbice, and East Berbice; the employment of
Counselors to work with the sub-associations towards strengthening the constitutions of the associations; maintaining political and religious neutrality; having zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and ensuring that audited financial statements are presented by members of
the federation within one month of the member’s Annual General
Meeting along with the presentation of a list of the member’s officers.
Hinds also said that he plans to tap into the basketball fraternity outside of Guyana, particularly in
North America to assist with funding the federation, its members, players and officials.
