570 complete ‘Learn to Swim’ Programme 2019
— programme geared to identify Guyana’s best talents – Dir. of Sport
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Swimming is a great recreational activity for persons of all ages. Recreational swimming can provide you with a low-impact workout. The sport also helps maintain a healthy weight, heart and lungs, tones your muscles and builds strength.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) continues to collaborate annually with the Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth, and Sport, to host the ‘Learn to Swim’ Training Programme.
This year’s July-August session has made history as the largest with 570 youths between the ages of 6 to 16 enrolled in the six-week course.
During the closing ceremony at the National Aquatic Center earlier on Tuesday, Supervisor at the Colgrain Pool, Desiree Cummings, highlighted that the “programme allows every child to learn the art of swimming, to remove fear from the mind of the participants and for them to recognise their hidden talents”.
Cummings said from the total number of participants, 290 youths were housed at the Colgrain’s swimming pool, and the remaining 280 were accommodated at the National Aquatic Center. The programme concluded on August 16.
In his feature address, Director of Sport, Christopher Jones emphasised that more parents should consider enrolling their children in these types of disciplinary programmes since they are incubators for potential talent. “Essentially, this programme is geared for us to identify Guyana’s best talents, as it relates to swimming,” he said.
Referencing Guyana’s success in the recently concluded ‘Goodwill Games’ in Suriname, Jones said the country has the capacity to take the sport to another level. “Out of nine countries, Guyana placed fourth, and the countries that Guyana was able to beat are some of the countries that in previous years before would often do extremely well. That, in itself, is testimony to the fact that swimming in Guyana is advancing,” he added.
“Our coaches, our swim team at the National Sports Commission with assistance from the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association can produce the talent that we need so that your child or children will be able to represent this country,” the Sport Director remarked.
Ronaldo Eleazer, one of the older participants, described his six weeks as successful. Eleazer, along with his colleagues, learnt common swimming styles and recreational skills such as basic floating, streamline, breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle.