As the nation’s boxing prospects racked up victories inside the ring at the just concluded Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Championship, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) and its referee/judges commission also recorded wins of their own.
This is according to GBA’s President, Steve Ninvalle, who told this publication yesterday that the association’s cadre of referees and judges has now more than doubled following the conclusion of the two referee/judges seminars that were conducted along with the tournament.
“It is a win-win situation for the GBA and the referee/judge’s commission,” said Ninvalle of the August 16–20 seminar, which was conducted by James Beckles, Trinidad and Tobago’s Three-Star Referees/Judges Assessor, at the National Racquet Centre.
Ninvalle continued, “We have now jumped from where we had about 10 to 12 referees or judges to now having 26. So that is very important since in any sport, you need to have good administrators, coaches, officials, and good athletes.”
Beckles, who has the distinction of being the only three-star referee and judge assessor within the English-speaking Caribbean, began his sojourn with an intermediary forum to provide clarity and educate the respective participants on the recent rule changes that were implemented by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The Trinidadian also administered a beginner’s seminar to emerging and aspiring participants. Practical evaluations occurred during the morning period at the National Gymnasium, while the National Racquet Center served as the setting for the theoretical assessments.
The workshops were conducted with the sole purpose of improving the quality of local refereeing and judging. Said Ninvalle, “From the executive of the GBA, we are heartened that we have drawn so many people to this seminar.” “I think it was both timely and necessary that we would have hosted that referee/judges seminar since we would not have had an in-person upgrading seminar in a very long time.”
Ninvalle, who is also the Director of Sport, then underlined that “if having our boxers exposed is important, then it is equally important that we have our coaches, the referees and judges, and our administrators exposed.”
In conclusion, Ninvalle thanked Brigadier Omar Khan, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, and Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliot for having its members partake in the seminars.
