“2016 was a good year for Track and Field, it wasn’t a great year we could have done a lot better but it was a good year.”
Words mentioned by president of the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson during a recent interview with the media.
According to Hutson, there were a lot of positives to be taken from the 2016 calendar of events despite the continued medal drought at the Olympics.
“Our athletes failed to step on the podium in Rio but we went to the CARIFTA Games with one of the largest contingents in recent history and even though the medals they earned did not reflect the efforts the athletes put in, they had improved performances.”
The AAG head added “Coming down later in the year, we went to the South American Youth and we came back with five medals as compared to 2014 when we had two medals so 2016 was a good year. We have seen improvements and I am happy and looking forward to 2017.”
Projecting 2017
Hutson said that the AAG will look to build on the success of 2016 while addressing some areas of concern especially at the senior level.
“We have a couple of areas we need to address if the sport is to move forward in the senior level. If you notice that outside of school athletics and school athletes there is nothing for them unless they join the Army or the Police Force, there is nothing for them.”
He continued “When we look at the tertiary athletic programme, it is almost zero, so in the new year we will be working with the University of Guyana, the Government Technical Institute, the New Amsterdam Technical Institute and other tertiary educational institutions to bring up their athletic programme so that they can at least have a championship of that nature.”
Hutson is also hopeful that the New Year will usher in some positive changes within his administration.
