Commodore Gary Best (centre) and awardees strike a pose with their awards
Former Deputy Commissioner of Police and national rifleman, Paul Slowe, claimed the year 2010 to be a successful one. Slowe was speaking at the Guyana National Rifle Association’s (GNRA) Awards Ceremony, which was held at the Georgetown Club on December 29.
Slowe stated that participation in the Goodwill competition in Antigua and the West Indies Fullbore competition in Barbados, when Ransford Goodluck emerged as the individual champion and Guyana won the Short Range title for the first time, is one contributing factor to the year being a successful one.
The awards ceremony was graced with the presence of the Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, Commodore Gary Best, President of the Guyana Olympic Association, KA Juman Yassin and many others.
Best, in his remarks, stated that the association is a quiet but efficient one, despite difficulties encountered in preparing for events.
He further stated that major sports in Guyana like cricket and football are given tremendous attention from the public and the media, while rifle-shooting is more of a low profile sport.“Cricket and Football are the big sports, but if you look at where those sports are in terms of success as compared to Rifle Shooting, you will see that our work is very commendable,” Best stated.
Best also thanked the Housing Ministry for the plot of land in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo given to the GNRA to establish a rifle range, but added that he hoped that they could be given land closer to the city.
The sports minister, in his remarks, stated that the government is very proud of the rifle association’s achievements as they have not only made their country proud, but also placed Guyana on the sport map. He stated that the organisation has much to be proud of as they have a vision of their goals. The minister also said that he feels that other associations should take pointers from this body since they may be able to learn a lot.
Minister Anthony also voiced several concerns relating to the rifle association. “I have had discussions about getting a proper shooting gallery where people can go and practice, but one of the things of concern is the danger it might pose to the community that it is set up in. I have been told of all the safety requirements that will be installed for stray bullets so that the residents will feel safe.”
Anthony stated that such a facility is badly needed as travelling to the Timehri range is a lengthy and expensive trip for those who may want to practice.
The sports minister also gave the association the assurance that they will be considered for the Sports Association of-the-Year award. He further stated that for the first time since the national sports awards began in 1948 and Guyana’s first Sportsman-of-the-year was named in the 1950’s, a comprehensive 50-page document has been produced to guide those selecting the awards this year.
“We have such a wide variety of sports now and we spent a lot of time putting together a document on the criteria to make the selecting of the award a fairer process. I urge the associations to document all that they have done for the year in their submission to the NSC by the first week of next year,” Anthony said.
Some of the awardees for the year were: Captain Mahendra Persaud, Ransford Goodluck, Lennox Braithwaite, Peter Persaud, and Terrence Stuart.
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