Gov’t commits to normalising Bocce sport in Guyana

─ pledges support to athletes

The government has pledged its support for the Bocce sport, as it aims to make it well known across Guyana.

This was revealed by Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle on Tuesday, when he welcomed home athletes at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), who participated at the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games (SOWSG) in Berlin, Germany.

Bocce is an Italian game. The basic principle of the sport is to roll a bocce ball closest to the target ball, which is called a palina.

The game is a first at the SOWSG and the first for Guyanese.

Ninvalle noted that, “From the National Sports Commission and by extension the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Government of Guyana, we want to say thank you and congratulations to this team, and want them to rest their minds, assured that the support and backing of the National Sports Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is there.”

Meanwhile, the athletes conveyed how grateful they were to represent Guyana in a foreign land.

Daniel Samsundarl said, “It’s the first time I traveled to Germany and it was very beautiful. Everybody was so kind to us. I would like to thank our coaches and the ministry for helping to train us for the past six months. I’m thankful for the one game that I played and ended up getting a medal.”

The other two athletes are Stephanie Ramotar and Rachel Mottley. The three teens managed to secure one gold, three silver, and one bronze medals.

The team was headed by Wilton Spencer, and Lavern Lee-Alleyne who serves as team coach.

Guyana was among 19 Caribbean countries that competed in 26 sport disciplines from June 17 to 25.