In what can only be described as a move of historic proportions, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has officially launched its National Academy Training Programme, which will be rolled out in various sections of the country, with Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis gym in Albouystown serving as the initial starting point.
The novel endeavour, which will feature a judge/referee component, will also be conducted during the month of August as it seeks to further expand and concretize its local scope. The primary function of the academy is to unearth and nurture new talents in the discipline.
Steve Ninvalle, President of the GBA, said, “It’s not how you start, but how you finish. If we start with this group, I see that when it comes to the end, we will have many more people here. It would be remiss of me if I did not applaud the efforts of some of our senior boxers, including Desmond Amsterdam. Colin Lewis, Abiola, and Alesha Jackman for seeing it fit to turn out to be something like this. It shows that their hearts are with boxing, as are all of us at the head table and all of you who are here.
We decided to make this academy a reality not because the executive wants to pump its chest as being the first to do something but because we think something like this is needed. We need to bring young and fresh blood to the sport of boxing. Maybe you don’t know, and some of you are too young to know that boxing has the only Olympic medal that Guyana has won. Boxing is the only sport where we have won world titles, and this is a sport that some people see as someone going out to intentionally hurt you, but we see it as an art and something that can be rehabilitative.”
He further said, “It is an expensive exercise, but we see it as something fitting and something that is needed, and this academy will not be run in Georgetown alone; it will be run in Berbice, Linden, and other parts. So, if you ask me, and I hope to be honest at all times, boxing is moving. Last year, we would have had, for a very long time, the most international tournaments that we would have sent fighters to and participated in.
This year, we expect to do the same thing. We would have had 16 U-16 competitions last year, and this year we intend to improve that. I must say thanks to the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport, the National Sports Commission, and the government of Guyana for assisting us in all of our endeavours. As a matter of fact, as we speak, the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport has ordered and paid for three competition rings for boxing in Guyana. What that says is that we are better able to decentralise the sport and be able to have a quality ring in Berbice and in other places, so I want to say thank you to the honourable Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., because that is the sort of support that we need if we are to take boxing to where it should be and where we want it to be.”
Ninvalle disclosed, “Very soon, a team will be leaving Guyana to go to the Champion of Champions in St. Lucia, and we have shortlisted a squad. I don’t think the entire squad will make the team, but we are working assiduously to make that a reality. What we also want to do is focus more on the female component of boxing. Before, we would have had one or two, but now that I will sit and see four, five, and six, it says that we are going in the right direction, and I would want to say to the two Jackman sisters that you must take this on and shoulder it as your burden to make sure that you keep doing the right things so as to encourage other young women to come to the sport. They will be looking to see what you do, and it’s very important that you act as leaders so that we can have many more females coming into the sport of boxing.”
“The reason we have our one star, who will soon go to a two-star referee or judge here, is because we want this to be a comprehensive programme. There is no way that we can be boxers and good boxers without knowing the rules, so while you are physically capable, we want to make sure that we equip you with the rules so that you can become a much more rounded person and boxer. The longest journey begins with your first step, and your first step is never your best, but it gets you started. This may not be our best step in having this academy, but it has gotten us started, and as I sit here, I want to assure you that this will be an annual affair because in August we expect to have a longer-running academy, but rest assured that this will become something of an annual nature,” he added.
