Participation in the 2020 Pan Am junior squash championships in El Salvador was high on the agenda of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) but the tournament is now in limbo as the world struggles to deal with the deadly COVID– 19 pandemic.
“We want to send a boys’ junior team to the Pan Am junior championships in El Salvador, which will be another important tournament for us,” David Fernandes, President of the GSA had told Stabroek Sport in January.
However, yesterday he communicated the disappointing news of the tournament being put on ice because of the rampant spread of the new Coronavirus globally.
“They have already postponed the junior Pan American championships which were to be held in El Salvador in early July and so our junior boys’ team is affected,” Fernandes explained.
Earlier in the year, Fernandes had pointed out that participating in the San Salvador event would have created more ‘high level’ opportunities for the likes of Shomari Wiltshire, Michael Alphonso and some of the other local junior talents.
Nonetheless, the President informed that the junior and senior Caribbean squash tournaments as of now have not been annulled but it is his personal view that two tournaments may also be in precarious standing.
“Our junior boys’ team would have gone from El Salvador to Bermuda (where the junior Caribbean tournament was to be held) but as it stands, I think the Bermuda tournament will be in jeopardy as well.
“Senior CASA will be held in Jamaica this year and like Bermuda, they have not been cancelled but what they are asking us to do is to make refundable bookings and not make down payments as such but I think those two tournaments may be affected because the virus may be with us for a while.”
Fernandes clarified that if the junior tournament is pushed back to a later date, some of the juniors may age out of their categories. With that in mind, he has been advocating for those who will be affected to be given the opportunity to contest in their respective categories.
Internationally, on the other hand, all tournaments were put on hold, which affects the ambitions of Mary Fung A Fat who is Guyana’s most recent pro player.
Meanwhile, commenting on the impact of the virus on the local frontier, the squash CEO, stated that all GSA activities have been cancelled until further notice as the body sees wisdom in activating the social distancing principles.
“As you know, the NSC has closed all its facilities and that affected our use of the National Racquet Center. Also, all official activities of the GSA in terms of training sessions and so on had to be suspended. The health generally of everyone is more important than the sport… and in the interest of protecting coach (Carl) Ince and our kids and parents, we made that call.”
Players are asked to continue working at home primarily on their fitness since racquet work will be limited.