The Guyana Police Force (GPF) concluded its annual Drill Competition on Friday at Eve Leary which saw successful participants copping monetary awards and trophies.
After enthusiastic spectators endured a 15 minutes delay, the first team to take the stage was a scout group from the GPF Headquarters division. That team gained the approval of the few people in attendance. The scouts marched onto the Tactical Services Unit Drill Square, moving in well-coordinated fashion, thrilling the audience with smoothly executed drill exercises.
The second group was a scout group from the GPF ‘D’ Division. The spectators was also impressed with this group’s performance and applauded their drill routine, and even though there were a few hiccups in the performance, it was overshadowed by impressive moves.
The third group to perform was the GPF ‘E’ Division. This group used carefully choreographed drill moves for comedic effect and it was well appreciated by the crowd, who could hardly contain their laughter.
After the scouts finished their routine, it was time for the female police officers to take center stage.
The females from the GPF Headquarters Divi-sion worked well as a team and started off very strongly. However, what could have been an almost perfect routine was quickly bogged down when some of the officers started going out of sync with their drill instructor’s commands. Fortunately, the glitches were rectified as the routine progressed and the performance ended on a high note.
The second group that performed were officers from the GPF Special Constabulary Division. The performance started off roughly and it was difficult for the officers to find their footing. Most of the time the group’s performance was out of sync and the audience cringed, hoping that the female officers would pull themselves together. When they did manage to stay coordinated and execute a drill properly it was met with applause, but unfortunately it was not often.
The last group in the female category was ‘B’ Division and from the moment they marched onto the stage, the group exuded a sense of a strong unit that was fierce and well prepared for the competition. Hands and legs were expertly matched together and the officers were very consistent with their movements. Difficult drills flowed so smoothly that if you blinked, you could have missed something truly special. The crowd’s appetite was finally met and prolonged applause was given showing their gratitude for the skilled routines displayed by the officers.
Male officers were the only group to perform drills with guns and while some of the moves were expertly executed, the guns posed a major problem for the officers because slip-ups in their choreography were even more visible than for their female counterparts.
Both the GPF Country Division and the Felix Austin Police College’s entrance on the performing space were confidently executed and the drill routine showcased was well performed. They maneuvered the guns skillfully and it was like an extension of their body and not an independent object. Unfortunately, the guns were quickly divorced from their bodies because some officers began to fumble with their guns while performing one of the more difficult moves in the choreography. Despite this, the two groups gave a satisfactory performance. Performing drills with guns proved to be a disadvantage for the officers and it was poorly masked.
The GPF’s Tactical Services Unit was the best out of the male police officers. Their routine was carried out well and the fumbling with guns was non-existent to the naked eye. However, a few officers were trying extremely hard to stifle a smile when facing the crowd. This was the only glitch in an otherwise excellent performance.
To conclude the ceremony, a critique was given by former assistant police commissioner Nolan Hendricks. Some of the problems that he highlighted were police officers not wearing their best uniforms. He said that he noticed that a lot of the police clothing was “washed out.” The official added that police officers were not focused and blamed this on the lack of concentration by them. He also commented on the smiling of police officers and said that it was unacceptable because the routine requires seriousness.
The announcement of the winners was then made by Chief Judge Mr.Younge. In the scout category, the second runner-up was ‘D’ Division. The first runner-up spot went to ‘E’ Division and the winners were the GPF Headquarters Division.
In the female category, the second runner-up was the GPF Special Consta-bulary while the first runner-up spot went to GPF headquarters and the winner was ‘B’ Division.
In the male category, the second runner-up was the Country division, the first runner-up spot went to the FAPC and the winner was the Tactical Services Unit.
The second runner-ups in each category were given $50,000, the first runner-ups were awarded $75,000 and the winner received $200,000. Special prizes were also given to the best drill instructors in the various categories.
