Sports database can increase Guyana’s chances to score in 2020 Olympics
GUYANA, GINA, Tuesday, September 06, 2016
The establishment of a National Sports Database in Guyana can improve Guyana’s chance of earning a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. GY Direct a networking company will be responsible for setting up the sports database.
Director of Sport, Christopher Jones in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) revealed that $2.8M will be expended for the project. According to Jones, some data collected from a few associations suggest that Guyana has athletes who have tremendous potential.
“We have identified a few athletes, various disciplines that based on their association, federation indication, they can medal in Olympics, so essentially we are preparing them now for 2020 Tokyo games,” the Sports Director explained.
The first phase of the works for the GY Direct Company includes the development of an Application for mobile devices that notify users in the vicinity where games will be played, and the date for the first phase. Jones explained that, “they have the ability and the capacity to create such a database that we are talking about, and not only a database, but a modern one that would speak to varying aspects.”
The database also caters for athletes’ health through a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Public Health. Jones noted that should an athlete sustain a serious injury, the medical costs would be borne by the Government.
Additionally, Jones said that the database will not only feature information on athletes, it would also have a Facebook page, a website, and will chronicle and feature athletes of the past, and their accomplishments.
The database will be used to monitor training and development of athletes and this should make it easy when selecting participants to represent Guyana. The first phase of work is expected to conclude by the end of September, 2016.