Junior National player Tamara Hunter (with ball) ‘triple threats’ to keep the ball away from one of the defenders during the final scrimmage of the YBG Girls Developmental Jamboree at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall
South Basketball Guyana (YBG) successfully held its first-ever Girls Basketball Development Jamboree last weekend at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall; and YBG President Chris Bowman was pleasantly surprised by the level of talent that was on show.
Bowman told Guyana Times International Sport that the exercise created a unique opportunity for his organisation to assess the level of talent and interest of girls in basketball at the school level. Prior to last weekend, Bowman said, the only conclusions that could have been made would have been assumptions, since there had not been such programmes locally. Close to 25 girls attended the programme during the two-day exercise.
“I think it was a very successful two-day weekend, and we now have a good sense of the level of female basketball at the school level”, Bowman said.
“This programme was sort of a building block, and (it) gave us the opportunity to assess the present level and, more importantly, identify the areas that we need to place our focus,” Bowman added.
Defence! Some of the girls assuming the defensive position of readiness during day two of the YBG Girls Developmental Jamboree at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall
In the competitive developmental environment that the YBG Girls Jamboree created, Bowman said, the group of girls from two schools in particular — Marian Academy and Saint Stanislaus College — showed a good grasp of the game. Bowman added that the girls from those two schools already possess some sort of skill. “Before this, we felt that the girls were simply beginners and that we would have to introduce them to the start of basketball development programme; but I was pleasantly surprised that the girls from Saint’s and Marian’s are already on the developmental curve,” Bowman added.
Apart from those two schools, girls from Tutorial High School, New Campbellville Secondary and the Institute of Business Education (IBE) also attended.
