Dear Editor
The Summer Olympics have come and gone and while some of Guyana’s Caribbean neighbours can celebrate the achievements of their athletes continuing to win medals in track and field in particular, Guyana is still a long way from even repeating the lone bronze medal achievement of Michael Parris.
Guyana must be realistic whenever savouring the hopes or chances of winning medals in the near future. Let it not be mistaken, it will be increasingly difficult as time goes by for Guyana’s medal chances to ever get better, as the competition standards rise even further and technology applications in the better off nations keep progressing. Of course Guyana can always, and as we continue to do, adopt talented overseas athletes of Guyanese heritage, or even naturalized Guyanese, to represent our country, once the eligibility rules are respected. There will always be a few foreign-based Guyanese who are at world class level in their respective disciplines but could not, for example, make the US national team, but by performance standards would easily qualify to represent Guyana. No harm in espousing their engagement.
It is however my belief that there is hope for Guyana if we are prepared to embark on an imaginative programme to take advantage of our home-grown talent wherever it can be found, by eschewing focus on disciplines that require top-of-the-line facilities and frequent exposure to top-class competition, or are intensely technique-oriented, relying on highly professional coaching and trainers which are expensive to acquire. Of course apart from correct technique application, all disciplines require the appropriate physical strength, consummate stamina and attitude, controlled aggression for the most part, and the ability not to be fazed by the inevitable boredom of hours and hours of repetitive training movements or procedures. Apart from the attributes just described, athletes from most disciplines require the regular stimulus of top class competition conducted in facilities which provide all the state of the art appurtenances, if only to gauge the progress they are making at the world class level, in the ultimate quest for Olympic medals, the stepping stone these days to Diamond League rewards.
Some years ago in the ʼ80s when representing the Guyana Tennis Association on our local GOA Committee meetings, Kalam Juman-Yassim or Ivor O’Brien may remember, I suggested that Guyana’s best chances of gaining medals were in at least three disciplines which I identified as archery, white-water canoeing and beach volley-ball. White water canoeing is apparently no longer an Olympic event, or the facilities were not available for that sport in Rio. I would therefore drop that as a possibility for our future endeavours. There is no reason why other types or modes of canoeing cannot be explored to take advantage of our plethora of internal waterways, and the potential from naturally endowed men and women in developing the stamina and skills required.
Archery does not require any fancy facility except a fairly wind-free shooting range to accommodate the target-board 70 metres (about 75 yards) away from the shooting point. It however requires state of the art bows and arrows which must be regularly updated with current technology to keep abreast of the competition. Once interest and talent in archery are spotted at an early age, and undoubtedly, but not exclusively, an Amerindian village environment may more readily lend itself to such a development, the young candidates from such archery pools can form the core of a squad from whom the best can be selected from competition using standardized rudimentary equipment – the same for each competitor. The next stage could be for the sports authorities to engage a professional archery tutor to coach the aspirants in basic technique and recommend or source the appropriate archery equipment. The rest would be practice, practice all year round 24/7 at distances from 70m and in good as well as varying wind conditions. Do not expect the cost of the professional bows and arrows to be within the means of a regular aspirant, but at least frequent costly overseas travel and accommodation will not be a burning necessity.
Beach volleyball courts can be built easily and cheaply at diverse locations and once the steadfast commitment, organization and energy are demonstrated, together with regularly scheduled competition at all levels, exceptional talent will emerge and once nurtured will reap dividends. It is interesting to note that quite independently from my own past public utterances some interest is now being generated in archery by a local organization as expressed in a news item I heard recently. The thought processes are therefore coincidental.
Yours faithfully
Fritz McLean
Hon Life Vice-President
Guyana Tennis Association
