The 17th edition of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) coordinated ExxonMobil/National School Basketball Festival (NSBF) was officially launched yesterday at the Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown.
Following the conclusion of the Regional Championship, the NSBF which will be staged at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, from July 1st-16th, and will comprise four divisions. They are the U14 Boys, U16 Boys, Girls, and U18 Boys section. The Regional Championships are penciled to end on June 25th.
A total of 70 schools have participated in Regional Conference championships, which features seven zonal titles and automatic berths to the NSBF. Overall, the event is being sponsored to the tune of GYD$11,000,000.
Ryan Hoppie, ExxonMobil Community Relations Advisor, said that the company’s continued support for the venture demonstrates its commitment to community and youth development, noting that the mandate of the event is beyond the nature of simply playing sport but creating an avenue to meet people from various walks of life and culture.
He further stated that the company is proud to support the cultivation of strong leadership characteristics and fostering social cohesion, positing that the support for additional events such as the tournament’s student athlete conference adds layers to the development of the discipline.
Meanwhile, Chris Bowman, Co-Director of the YBG Organization, stated that he is excited about the opportunity to stage another edition of the prestigious championship, adding that he appreciates the confidence expressed by the relevant stakeholders, who understand the value of the discipline and the tournament.
He further stated that the NSBF has impacted in excess of 10,000 student athletes since its inception, noting that this reality could not be attained without the requisite investment. On the other hand, Nicholas Fraser, Director of the Allied Arts Department of the Ministry of Education, said that event has grown from its humble beginnings in 2006, adding that the Ministry of Education places tremendous value on these initiatives, which are important due to the development of sub skills such as the mental, physical and emotional.
According to Fraser, sports are very important to the Ministry of Education, disclosing that basketball was one of the 17 original sports that was assessed as part of CSEC’s initial syllabus for physical education.
Also, Franklyn Wilson, the Assistant Director of Sports of the National Sports Commission (NSC), said that the YBG has always enjoyed a fruitful relation with the commission since the inception of the competition, declaring that the entity understands the nexus that exists between education and sports which is pivotal to holistic development.
He further stated that the NSBF has created a platform to expose talents and that the continued improvement and expansion of the event is noteworthy.
