Vice President of the Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) Cristy Campbell has expressed gratitude to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr., for his continued support to tennis since entering office and his eagerness to give the racquet sport its due.
Ramson Jr., a few weeks ago, at the launch of the just concluded Safe Tennis Tournament, told the tennis fraternity that the Irfaan Ali government will prioritize the development of tennis, making it a “core sport.”
“Minister Ramson again reiterated calls for tennis to be at the best level, now that he has categorized tennis as a core sport. He also re-emphasized the government’s support to the development of sports in Guyana with better infrastructure and top tier training,” Campbell disclosed.
She added that following Ramson’s earlier comments to prioritize the sport, there has been increasing interest from corporate Guyana to come onboard.
“… He has become a household name to tennis already during his mere months in office. Three weeks ago, at the opening of the tournament, Minister mentioned that he has moved tennis into the category of a core sport and I have received calls from sponsors expressing interest in tennis since that announcement,” Campbell added.
Campbell said she is also appreciative of the ITF for sponsoring the tournament. She congratulated the gentlemen who displayed a high level of competitiveness during the Safe Tennis Tournament, albeit being displaced from training for many months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also expressed gratitude to the tournament’s coordinators, Shelly Daly and Andre Lopes, who she said worked tirelessly to run a smooth tournament. Congratulations were also in order for the eventual champ Heimraj Resaul who first upstaged Guyana’s top seed Gavin Lewis in the semis before downing Benjaton Osbourne 6-0, 6-1 in the final.
“I know you’ve toiled in the men’s category since you were about 12 years old and I am happy to see your perseverance and hard work pay off while balancing sport and academics,” she said of the champ.
