The prizes for the Most Valuable Players (MVPs) of the Open and Masters categories of the upcoming Guyana Softball Cup 4 cricket tournament were unveiled at a simple function on Tuesday at Steve’s Jewellery on Church Street in Georgetown.
Two handsomely crafted 14-karat gold bracelets, accentuated with diamond studs, have been put up as the prizes for the MVP of each category. President of the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA), Ramchand Ragbeer received the pieces of Jewellery and said he was elated with the donation adding that the GFSCA was grateful for such noteworthy support from corporate Guyana.
He added that Steve’s Jewellery has been onboard with the Guyana Softball Cup since its inception in 2011, making it one
of the core sponsors of the country’s premier softball tournament. Proprietor of the business, Steve Narine, said the competition has grown significantly from when it first started and that was the main reason he decided to remain onboard.
During the last two years, Steve’s Jewellery also presented similar bracelets for the MVPs of the two categories.
This year, the establishment has taken it one step further, adding diamond studs to the pieces, which are worth a combined G$400,000. The hands these two pieces of expertly crafted bands will wrapped around will be known on November 2 when the finals are contested at the Demerara Cricket Club ground, Queenstown.
As was the case in previous editions of the tournament, there will be two categories- one for teams contesting the Men’s Open and the other for the Masters players, aged 45 years and over.
The champion team in the Men’s Open is guaranteed a whopping $800,000 first prize and a huge trophy, while the losing finalist will have to settle for $200,000 and a trophy. In the Masters’ division, the winning team will pocket $600,000 with the runner-up assured of $150,000. The Man-of-the-Match in both finals will receive a trophy.
On the day of the final, there will be lots of hampers and giveaways for spectators. Additionally, two spectators can win return tickets from Survival Travel Agency to Aruba. All the spectators need to do is retain their half tickets and listen for their numbers to be called over the Public Address system during the final.
Two dozen teams will compete in this year’s event, with 12 from Guyana, seven from New York, three from Florida and two from Canada.
During the three-day championship, there will be a total of 36 preliminary games, followed by four semi-finals and two finals.
Trophy Stall and New York Better are the defending champions of the Open and Masters Categories respectively, while the previous champions were NYSCL New York (Open) and Savage Masters in 2012 and Cotton Field Wild Oats (Open) and Regal Seniors (Masters) in 2011.
According to information emanating from the GFSCA, this year’s tournament has an estimated budget of around $10 million.
