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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 25, 2015
Grammy style ceremony for National Sport awards 2016 By Stephan Sookram
THE National Sport Commission (NSC) has disclosed that the 2016 edition of its National Sport Awards will undertake a different format from that
CHRISTOPHER JONES of previous years. According to Director of Sport Christopher Jones, the new format of the premier award for sport personalities and athletes will
take a Grammy style format with the winner of various categories only knowing their fate on the night. The director continued, “On the day of the awards, that is essentially when the athletes will know whether or not he or she was successful; they would not get any pre-empted information.” During an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport on Friday, Jones indicated that this is a major part of the revamp of the NSC adding that, “I do not subscribe to such a protocol that was being used before.” He said the anyhow and ad hoc manner in which past awards were done will no longer prevail. “As such, in order for us to have a pool of people who will be fair and transparent, we will throw it out to the public. We are going to have public advertisements to identify those individuals who will essentially identify sports reps and sports person-
Flashback! Winners of the National Sport Awards earlier this year pose for a photograph (Delano Williams Photo alities” the sport director continued. He added that even though those selected persons will be in caucus, they will not know the recommendation choice of the other members or the voting choice of any other panellists, allowing for greater transparency. Guyana and West Indies spin bowler is the reigning Sportsman of the Year, while track ath-
Kennnard’s Turf Club issues provisional programme for Annual Boxing Day race meet THE Kennard’s Turf Club has released a provisional programme for its annual Boxing Day Race Meet slated for December 26 at the club’s facility, Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice. According to a release, a seven-race programme is planned for the day with the feature event being for horses classified `C’ and lower over a distance of one mile. The winning horse will receive $1M, while the second, third and fourth place finishers will earn $500,000; $250,000; and $125,000 respectively. Entrance fee per horse is $105,000. The co-feature event is opened to horses classified `E’ and Lower over a distance of six furlongs and the winner will be rewarded with $500,000, while the second, third and fourth place finishers will earn $250,000; $125,000; and $62,000. Entrance fee per horse is $57,000. Three other six-furlong races are also carded on the day’s programme:
there will be one for horses classified `H1’ and Lower with the winner receiving $250,000; the second to fourth place finishers will earn $125,000; $62,000; and $31,000 respectively. Entrance fee per horse is $28,000. `J3’ and Lower horses will also battle over six furlongs for a first prize worth $140,000. The second to fourth place finishers will receive $70,000; $35,000; and $17,000 respectively. Entrance fee per horse is $14,000 each. Horses classified `K1’ and Lower will contest a five-furlong race for a first prize worth $120,000. The second to fourth place finishers will earn $60,000; $30,000; and $15,000 respectively. Another one-mile race is also carded for the day and is open to horses classified `G1’ and Lower with the winner carting off $300,000, while the other top three finishers will earn $150,000; $75,000; and $38,000 respectively. Turfites are reminded that strict security arrangements will be implemented come December 26.
This is according to Justice Cecil Kennard, who in an invited comment told Chronicle Sport that come `Boxing Day’ turfites will not be allowed to encroach the racing track at the club’s facility, Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice. According to the former Chancellor of the Judiciary, there will be additional police presence to prevent what transpired a few weeks ago when the Rising Sun Turf Club staged its President’s Cup meet and during the feature event a few turfites encroached the track and some of them suffered injuries after being ran over by a few horses. This Justice Kennard stated will not be tolerated come December 26 when his club will be staging its annual seven-race meet. The races are being run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and horse owners are being reminded that they must pay at least $5000 for each horse they enter for a race.
lete Cassie George won the Sportswoman of the Year as well as the Junior Sportswoman of the Year awards. Motor racer Kristian Jeffrey received the runner-up Sportsman of the Year award, while squash player Akeila Wiltshire received the runner-up Junior Sportswoman award. The runner-up Junior Sportsman award went to Shemron Hetmyre, while
track athlete Jason Yaw collected the Junior Sportsman of the Year award. Multitalented athlete Alisha Fortune won the runner-up Sportswoman of the Year award. The Guyana Rugby Football Union also cashed in on the Most Improved Association award, the Sports Association of the Year award and the Sports Team of the Year award. Stabroek News’ Or-
lando Charles and Emerson Campbell won the best photographer and print journalist awards respectively, while Guyana Television Channel 28’s Avenesh Ramzan won the Best Sports Journalist (non-print), GRFU’s President Peter Green won the Male Sports Personality award and National Rugby coach Theodore Henry won the Sports Coach awar
PCB moots World Twenty20 boycott SHAHARYAR Khan, the PCB chairman, has said that Pakistan would consider pulling out of the World Twenty20 in India next year, should the proposed India-Pakistan series in December not go ahead. Shaharyar was scheduled to meet the BCCI president Shashank Manohar in Mumbai earlier last week to discuss the series, but those talks were put on hold after anti-Pakistan protests from the Shiv Sena, a regional political party. Shaharyar has already written a detailed letter to Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Shariff, informing him of the present situation with India. Shaharyar said he understood the consequences of pulling out of an ICC tournament, but felt the security situation in India would leave Pakistan little choice in the matter. “My own feeling is that we will have to go to our government and talk to them about the situation,” Shaharyar said. “What I feel is that the government will say ‘do not go to an ICC tournament in India’. That is what I sense because of the uncertain situation for a Pakistani in India. You have seen the situation there. In this environment, how can we say? We will not have security enough there. “Maybe the ICC would say ‘you have forfeited the matches’ and that’s fine, we
will forfeit the matches. But the decisions will only be taken when the doors [on the bilateral series] are finally closed. To me, the possibility of an
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan - “To me, the possibility of an Indo-Pak series is close to over” Indo-Pak series is close to over. “There are two points in that. First, all doors [to the resumption of bilateral ties] have to be closed. We will then decide on the matter in one week or so. India hasn’t confirmed or said anything, but are delaying it. We will have to decide that this series cannot happen, and after that we will decide what our policy is.” Shaharyar said that after the protests, the BCCI “did not care” to reschedule the meeting for a different time,
leaving him stranded for nearly 36 hours. However, Najam Sethi, the head of the PCB’s executive committee, contradicted Shaharyar’s statement, saying that the BCCI was in touch with the PCB “at every stage”. “Shaharyar Khan thought Shashank Manohar would phone him, but he did not call him [after the cancellation],” Sethi said.”I shouldn’t say it, and Shaharyar has also not revealed it, but when we were in the hotel, Manohar was communicating with us through his wife [who was] sitting in the same room as Shaharyar’s wife. At every stage, we knew what was happening. We were told [by the BCCI] that they will stay in touch after the meeting was cancelled.” S h a h a r y a r, t h o u g h , strongly denied Sethi’s claim, claiming that while the two wives met socially, they did not speak about cricket. “We didn’t go there to beg. We went to talk about cricket,” Shaharyar said. “It started from the ICC meeting in Dubai, where the BCCI president invited us to Mumbai because they were also interested in reviving the ties. There is a Memorandum of Understanding signed between both of us to play a cricket series, and we want to make sure it’s happening. We need time to arrange it, and that is the reason we want to talk. (ESPN Cricinfo).