– Mc Donald foresees great success for sport in Guyana
The GOA honourees pose with their awards in the presence of GOA president K A Juman Yassin (seated third right), keynote speaker Dr Ian Mc Donald (seated second right), GOA secretary general Ivor O,Brien (seated right) and Culture Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony (seated second left)
Keynote speaker at the Guyana Olympic Association’s (GOA) Annual Awards Ceremony, Dr Ian Mc Donald, offered a burst of optimism to those in the sporting community by highlighting the promising signs which he has observed in recent years.
Speaking at a function promoted by the Guyana Olympic Association at the Georgetown Club on Saturday evening, Mc Donald said: “I, for one, sense a vibrancy in the sporting air which I have not sensed in a while.”
Mc Donald, a renowned poet and novellist, has had a rich tradition of sports in his family, which he traced from within the bowels of the 20th century. The former captain of Cambridge Tennis Team recalled that his ancestors ranged from a West Indies cricket captain to Olympians.
Mc Donald, a one-time player at Wimbledon who also played squash for some time, said that he has been the recipient of great joy as both a spectator and sportsman over the years. Having played the two racquet sports for more than 40 years, sport has played an integral part in Mc Donald’s life, and he gave his opinion on the local sport environment.
“I am very impressed with the advances that Guyana has been making in sports. I see success in many areas — in squash, in rugby, even our 20/20 cricket side in 2010 had a great victory; let us not forget them. Other sports, such as athletics, cycling, table tennis, swimming, boxing and rifle shooting, were just a few of the sports Mc Donald singled out as showing signs of development.
The 77-year-old Trinidad-born Mc Donald, who was also the recipient of one of Guyana’s highest national awards, said that he was also proud of the fact that many female athletes have been making their sport discipline, and Guyana, proud.
Some female athletes who have performed exceedingly well include Commonwealth gold and silver medallist Aliann Pompey, CARIFTA swimming gold medallist Jessica Stephenson, and CARIFTA track and field gold medallist Jevina Straker; along with South American Games Squash champion Nicolette Fernandes.
The Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, also spoke during the evening’s proceedings. He highlighted some of the projects that that ministry embarked on during the past year, along with the ministry’s plans for 2011. GOA president, K A Juman Yassin, implored the minister to give more assistance to the GOA’s projects.
The GOA presented the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Trophy to the Food for the Poor organisation for its commitment towards inspiring youth through sports and other avenues. The association also honoured Grace McCalman (lawn tennis), Randolph Roberts (cycling), John Lewis (rugby), Dennis Dias (squash), and Patrick Holder (several sports) for their contributions to sport. The GOA’s Council Member of the Year was Charles Corbin, while Colonel Linden Ross was given the award for Support of the Programme of the GOA for his work done during the 2010 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay.
Kiev Chesney, 22, Guyana Times International Sport reporter, was the GOA’s choice for the Sports Journalist of the Year Award for his coverage of Olympic sports throughout 2010. Chesney, a former junior national basketball player, and 2007 800m junior champion, also ran the anchor leg of GOA’s Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay, since he was also the University of Guyana’s 2009/2010 Champion Athlete.
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