The National Sports Commission’s (NSC) Learn to Swim programme ended yesterday at the National Aquatic Centre to rave reviews by Director of Sport (DoS) Steve Ninvalle and president of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Godfrey Munroe.
Ninvalle spoke of the huge turnout of the programme for both adults and children pointing out that in April at the children’s `Learn to Swim’ programme, there were over 2000 registrants and a further 3000 for the June/July adult programme.
Describing the large turnout as “meteoric,” Ninvalle, who is also president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) stated that while he did not envisage such a meteoric rise of the programme, he was nonetheless quite proud of what was achieved.
He said that kudos must be given to the Ministry of Sport and the government which enabled the more than 5000 persons to learn such an important life skill free of cost.
He also underscored the need for feedback from those who registered for the initiatives since, he said that it would enable the NSC to provide a more rounded product in 2024 and beyond.
Ninvalle, a vice president of the GOA, concluded by reminding those in attendance that all safety measures were put in place and as a result, the Paul Mahaica-coached programmes were a resounding success and void of incidents.
Prior to Ninvalle’s address, President of the Guyana Olympic Association, Godfrey Monroe made brief remarks, lauding the initiative and encouraging the new learners to continue to make splashes.
“Stay active, join clubs, continue to aspire and continue to get better at swimming. Sports help to develop many other values in life,” said Munroe who is also the president of the Guyana Table Tennis Association.
It was also announced that the brainchild of the programme, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., wanted to be in attendance but was unavoidably absent due to other duties.
Towards the end of the ceremony demonstrations were performed in the pool by adults and children.
