– GASA says he hasn’t fulfilled the requirements
Guyanese-born swimmer Delroy Tyrrell, who has represented Trinidad and Tobago internationally, is yet to make headway in his effort to switch sporting nationalities and has written to Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) President Dwain Scott seeking an update on the situation.
Tyrrell, GASA, and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) came to an agreement on July 27, 2024, that the backstroke swimmer would switch allegiances and represent his native land on the international circuit.
A year on, in an email seen by this publication, Tyrrell says, “Unfortunately, as of 31st July, 2024, a little over a year has passed; I have not received any update from GASA as it relates to the subject above-changing my sporting nationality.”
He further questions if the submission of the application for switching his nationality was done and if it was done for proof of the date of submission.
He further asks if it wasn’t sent, why the application was not submitted, and when it would be submitted.
However, when Stabroek Sports reached out to GASA’s Scott, he told this publication that there has been no progress because of Tyrrell not fulfilling certain FINA requirements, the global governing body of the discipline.
Scott said that the problem was not with GASA but rather with World Aquatics.
“The nationality issue is with World Aquatics. Mr. Tyrrell got a response from World Aquatics on the matter. The nationality requirements must be evidently met for this to apply. GASA doesn’t control that, but more so Mr. Tyrrell himself.”
He further explained, “You must first meet those criteria, one of which is you must be a resident of Guyana, and that residency must be in excess of one year.
That has not been fulfilled. That is the key one. You can do what you want in and around Guyana, but your residency must be fulfilled.”
“You have to provide proof of residency; that’s the most major requirement, and you can’t say that you’re living in Guyana, but you’re in residency in the US, and you’re swimming in the US. This is on record because you’re swimming as a collegiate in the US. What do you think that World Aquatics will assess it as?” Scott stated.
He further compared Raekwon Noel, who recently represented Guyana at the Paris Games.
He noted that while Noel is US-born, he lived in Guyana for more than 15 years, and it was something that came up when it was time for Noel to represent Guyana.
Tyrrell is a backstroke swimmer who represented Trinidad and Tobago internationally, most notably at the Carifta Swimming Championships (2017, 2019) and the CCCAN Swimming Championships (2017).
