His Excellency President Donald Romotar during his feature address at the 2013 National Sports Awards ceremony Friday night called on all Guyanese to be more involved in sports as it is plays an integral part in the development of healthy lifestyles and is also a reservoir for improving the social capital of Guyana.
Ramotar’s speech was part of the itinerary of the National Sports Commission’s awards ceremony at the National Cultural Center which acknowledged the top sportsmen and women of last year along with the journalists, photographers and other contributors in the field of sports.
Ramotar, along with members of the diplomatic corps including Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, Director of Sport, Neil Kumar and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Alfred King were influential in their speeches which highlighted the importance of sports and the horizons it can broaden for the people and its country.
Apart from pointing out the financial and economic progress which can be made by the involvement in sports and the production of top class athletes, His Excellency President Ramotar noted that sports can be used to simply involve and bring together persons for the mere sake of having fun and encouraging a healthy way of living for all.
He noted that areas such as personal development, leadership development, time management and life skills can be imbedded into persons making them more holistic with regards to respect, discipline and ethics.
Kumar called for the immediate revamping and preservation of sports in Guyana especially the two premier disciplines of cricket and football. He stated that the National Sports Resource Center will be used as a facility to educate all athletes, enthusiasts, students and the general public about the importance of sports.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony reiterated the appeal, optimism and objectives of President Ramotar, advising the respective winners of 2013 to continue their winning ways and their levels of excellence.
Dr. Anthony also called for a different future for sports in Guyana and said quality physical education in schools can help in the fight against obesity. He called for a large number of Guyanese both young and old to be involved with sports.
The Minister called out for as larger basin of qualified coaches in Guyana and explained that measures will be put in place to ensure those goals. He also called on parents to be more involved in the lives of their children with regards to helping them to find the necessary balance between sports and education.
Anthony also confirmed that several sports projects such as the synthetic track and works in the football fraternity along with the allocation of monies will be handed out to the various sports associations for their development of its players.
Plans will also be put in effect to train more medical sports staff along with courses in cricket, football, table tennis, cycling among others at the National Sports Resource Center which according to Anthony who fully supported the center and its future customs as being a premier faculty of the various sports in the future.
West Indies and Guyana icon batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was awarded senior Sportsman of the year for his tremendous contribution to cricket while remaining one of the most prolific and consistent cricketers in contemporary times. Female West Indies cricketer Shemaine Campbelle copped the award for the senior Sportswoman of the year for her prowess with the bat during her young career.
For their outstanding contributions to the sports media, Stabroek News walked away with two of the most prestigious awards with Emmerson Campbell comprehensively ousting last year’s winner Calvin Roberts to become the new sports journalist of the year for print.
His workmate Orlando Charles continued his dominance over the years with the camera to claim the sports photographer of the year award for the third year. Meanwhile, veteran Guyana Times/TV reporter and news anchor Avenash Ramzan won the sports journalist of the year award for non-print while President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Godfrey Munroe walked away with award for the Male Sport Personality.
The GTTA was also voted Sports Association of the year and Munroe capped a good night for the sport be delivering the vote of thanks on behalf of the awardees.
He thanked the esteemed panel for their decisions and insisted that the winners should upkeep their winning ways and continue to strive for superiority.
List of awardees:
Sports man of the year- Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Sports woman of the year- Shemaine Campbell
Runner-up sports man of the year- Winston Stoby
Runner-up sports woman of the year- Alysa Xavier
Junior sportswoman of the year- Chelsea Edghill
Junior sportsman of the year- Jason Yaw
Runner-up junior sportsman of the year- Shemar Britton
Runner-up junior Sportswoman of the year- Cassie George
Coach of the year- Terrence Poole
Sports association of the year- the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA)
Most improved association of the year- the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA)
Male sports personality- Godfrey Munroe
Female sports personality- Amanda Hermonstine
Team of the year- Guyana Squash Association (GSA)
Disability award for sports- Gibran Sarfraz
Sports journalist of the year (print) – Emmerson Campbell
Sports photographer of the year- Orlando Charles
Sports journalist of the year (non-print) – Avenash Ramzan
