Beach football in Linden recently received a boost with the commissioning of a beach football facility at the Bayroc Sand Reserve’s Sports Club and Fitness Centre ground, Wismar.
The venture was made possible after the Bayroc/Cool Runnings Beach football club was awarded a grant of Gy$1 million last year through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s community grounds development programme.
The facility had been under construction since last October. The project saw the construction of the 50ft concrete bleacher, a 30ft concrete wall for advertising and signage and the laying of the sand pitch.
It has the capacity to accommodate at least 300 spectators. President of the Cool Running football club, Rollin Tappin, who also worked along on the project, said the facility will certainly boost the growth and development of not only beach football, but also beach volleyball in the community.
He noted that while it has been a challenging couple of years for the sport in Guyana, he is optimistic about the future of the game and is confident that the country will make its mark in the discipline internationally.
At a simple commissioning ceremony, Leslyn Boyce representing the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports declared the Bayroc beach football/volleyball facility open.
In her feature address to the gathering, she apologised for the absence of Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, and emphasised the ministry’s continued support towards the development of sport throughout Guyana. She also complimented the organising committee for completing the project.
Also in attendance was Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon, who spoke of the sacrifice it took to complete such a project and a need to preserve the facility. Technical Development Officer of the Guyana Football Federation, Lyndon France, also gave brief remarks on behalf of the local governing body for football.
Meanwhile, in the lone friendly match played in the evening, Cool Runnings needed kicks from the penalty mark to overcome the Coomacka Youths after regulation and extra time ended 4-4.
Jermaine Grandison with two goals led the scorers, while Marmarlaque Davidson and Ron Fiedtkou scored one apiece for Cool Runnings, while Kerron Daw scored a double for Coomacka.
