Berbice Educational Institute out-performed the competition to capture the champions title at the inaugural Inter-Schools golf skills championship held Friday by the Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit and the Guyana Golf Association (GGA).
Hard on the heels of the champions were Anna Regina Multilateral and Leonora Secondary schools with the effects from tournament pressure causing President’s College and Wisburg Secondary to place fourth and fifth respectively.
Final results were:
Berbice Educational Institute -1st
Anna Regina Secondary – 2nd
Leonora Secondary – 3rd
President’s College – 4th
Wisburg Secondary- 5th
Two schools failed to provide a qualifying team and the competition will only get stronger as Linden gets set to add another five schools to the fast growing sports programme.
Linden’s Regional Education Officer, Nigel Richards, sees the advantages and interest that the sport is generating and has allocated the resources to help develop the game in that region.
Of particular note, with special awards for the top individual male and female qualifiers, in highly contested matches which resulted in a tie for the girls between Subrina Balgobin (BEI) and Suzette Joseph (ARMS). Elishan Smith took top male qualifier away from strong challengers, Steffon Lewis and Anthony Tyrell, all from ARMS.
In the finals, dominant performances by Jamal Campbell (BEI) and Exyana Persaud (ARMS) led to them taking the titles of top individual male and female in the national skills golf championship.
“Overall, it feels great to know that this is my first time playing this sport and I’m enjoying it. I’m very proud of myself and my team members and teachers who cheered and supported one another.. Because Together yes we can,” said Subrina Balgobin (BEI) who was tied for the top female qualifier with Suzette Joseph (ARMS).
Over 200 students have been involved in the pilot programme and the tournament which was designed jointly by the Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit and the GGA to conform with the strict COVID-19 guidelines.
Most notably, the competition was executed remotely with all participants competing from their respective school grounds. This set-up came with its own unique challenges.
Despite the challenges, the competition proved that golf, one of the few sports that fully complies with COVID-19 guidelines can be safely played around the country, as the schools competed in their various regions and scores were computed instantly with results being posted along with photos and videos of the players.
According to BEI’s Head Teacher and Physical Education teachers Osafa Dos Santos and Trolston Embrack, “The fruit of your own hardwork is the sweetest’. Today it was a privilege to compete in the first ever Inter-School national golf championship. Emerging victorious rendered great happiness and greater motivation for the students who competed. All of us at Berbice Educational Institute are proud of the competitive effort displayed by the students and are eager to compete in future competitions, because as a team ‘We did and together’ We can.”
BEI also praised the efforts of GGA President Aleem Hussain who took extraordinary measures to ensure that their ground was brought into shape to allow the kids to practice. Golf is one of the sport disciplines that can be chosen as a sports elective at CSEC/CAPE, and is being promoted by the Allied Arts Unit since it allows for social distancing and replaced many of the contact sports that cannot be played at this time.
It has caught the attention and imagination of hundreds of new players who are being given the opportunity to participate because of the approach being taken by the GGA, which has focused on providing equipment, calls, training and tournaments thereby ensuring access to the sport by many persons who would not previously been able to play. With dozens of Secondary Schools slated to start the Golf programme in September, it seems certain that with more than 3,000 new players in less than one year, Golf is set to become a dominant sport in Guyana.
