Historic School Nationals Championship commences

November 27, 2017

DPI, GUYANA, Monday, November 27, 2017

Over 1500 of Guyana’s best student-athletes from 15 districts are going head to head for various championship titles in the 57^th National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships. The National Schools Championship officially opened on Sunday at the Leonora Track and Field Centre.

‘Nationals’ U-16 200M and 400M record-holder and South American Youth Games gold medallist, Deshanna Skeete, lights the symbolic games torch.

This is the first time the premier school event is being held at the facility.

Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for sports, Dr. George Norton, observed events such as the National School’s Championship allow young athletes who dream 0f becoming Olympians, to hone their skills toward this goal.

“School sports are a big deal and we all must recognise the significance of these early competitions for it plays a great part in the lives of great athletes,” the Minister said.

Dr. Norton told the athletes that he is looking forward to 100 percent participation from each of them. He also called upon coaches to play a more integral role in the lives of the athletes. “I call upon you coaches to stop being the spider in the web waiting for the athletes to come and get entangled in your web and I urge you to be the harpy eagle where you go out looking for them,” Minister Norton said.

While competition is expected to be high, athletes were encouraged to show sportsmanship. Minister of Education Nicolette Henry delivering remarks called on the athletes to “let sportsmanship be paramount.”

Minister of Education Nicolette Henry (centre) with Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton along with other government officials.

“Track and field athletes are known for their high levels of sportsmanship, it is a tradition that it is an inherent part of the sport and I trust that this tradition is reflected in the championship. It is at schools that the seed of sportsmanship are grown born and new talents emerge” the Minister stated.

The Ministry of Education’s mandate, Minister Henry disclosed, is to ensure Physical Education is available in all schools across the nation. She observed that competition is important to the process of harnessing the talent of our student-athletes.

“You can analyse the career paths of many professional athletes and you will discover that it was in their school years while competing at school levels championship that their individual talent shone through,” Minister Henry explained.

Additionally, the Minister called upon stakeholders to work along with the Ministry of Education on programmes that the Ministry currently provides or to develop new national championships in other sporting areas.

Track and Field events will be held daily from 9:00 am at the Leonora facility, beginning today until Friday, December 01, 2017. The swimming events will be held at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal.