Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. says that the disciplines of boxing and cycling are to be added to the National Sports Academy over the course of the next 12-24 months.
Ramson was at the time speaking at a press conference on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Liliendaal.
The National Sports Academy currently has 12 core sports; cricket, football, athletics, basketball, table tennis, swimming, hockey, squash, rugby, volleyball, tennis and badminton.
While boxing, under the charge of National Sports Commission’s (NSC) Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, is ready to be added, the Minister noted that there is a complexity facing the addition of cycling to the academy.
The major challenge in getting cycling involved, is the lack of a physical space for the athletes to train, a longstanding problem as there are no cycling facilities in the country.
The Academy which was officially launched on December 18, 2021, initially focused on the 12 core sports with the NSC tasked with overseeing the initiative. At the time, the Director of Sport had stated that the 12 core sports would be beneficiaries of the Government’s long-term investment in sports.
Also among the commitments made through the Academy by the government was the NSC earmarking at least $12M annually for the governing bodies of the core sports, to support the organisation of tournaments.
Those tournaments are intended to serve as nurseries of the respective disciplines targeting players between the ages of 12-17.
Progress from the nurseries to elite programmes would be dependent on athletes performing at an above-average level with those who excel at tournaments to be selected for ‘elite’ training.
Sports Policy to be published in 2024
Meanwhile, at the same press briefing, the Minister told media operatives that Guyana’s first ever National Sports Policy would be unveiled during the first half of 2024.
The lack of a National Sports Policy in Guyana has been an issue over a long time dating back to Dr. Frank Anthony’s tenure as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport.
While one was drafted by Melissa Dow-Richardson under the previous APNU+AFC government in 2018, it never made it to parliament and now under the PPP, the previous document was scrapped.
This time around, a team headed by Director of Sport Ninvalle and Assistant Director of Sport Dow-Richardson worked to compile a panoramic policy.
While the draft is in its final stage, before it is unveiled to the cabinet, stakeholders from the sports landscape will meet for a final appraisal of the document.
Sport policies around the world are designed to set clear goals and guidelines for the development of sports in respective countries. The policies are often influenced by relevant actors including governments, inter-governmental agencies and more importantly local communities and grassroots bodies.
“I can’t say enough how proud I am of this document [and] the fact that we have gotten to this stage. The reality is that if you are looking at something that is going to help us in a long-term perspective, it is the Sports Policy”, Ramson declared.
