GTA rewards athletes, coaches at 2021-2022 awards ceremony

Following in the footsteps of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), who had hosted their

2021-2022 awards ceremony two days prior, the Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) moved to reward their ath- letes and coaches on Friday night.

Hosted at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street, this awards ceremony saw players receiving cash prizes in addition to trophies for the first time in the GTA’s history. This is according to President Cristy Campbell, who also hinted at aspects of her agenda for the year ahead.

“I can assure you that I’m putting my best foot forward to serve and represent our sport, to enhance our facilities, to increase our prize monies for players, and to also create opportunities for our coaches,” Campbell expressed.

Gracing the awards ceremony with his presence, Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, made remarks concerning the development of the sport in the year ahead.

“If you think that 2022 was a good year for Tennis, I’ll ask you to hold on until you see 2023. There is so much that is being planned, and there is so much that has happened within the

Concacaf

The Guyana senior men’s national team the Golden Jaguars will have to play their 2022-2023 CONCACAF Nations League ‘home game’ on March 28 against Montserrat at the Wildey Turf Stadium in Wildey, Barbados.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has confirmed that the League B, Group B Match #99 will kick-off at 19:00 (7 p.m.) local time (19:00 ET).

According to a missive from the GFF, the decision to move the match from Guyana to Barbados was approved by CONCACAF following a thorough review of facilities here, including the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC) at Leonora, WCD.

GFF General Secretary Ian Alves, in a letter to CONCACAF, explained that the pitch at Leonora is in poor condition, “inclusive of sparse grass coverage in many areas.”

“The stadium authorities have recently treated the grass for infestation, which makes it possibly injurious to the health of players. This situation would have to be monitored and evaluated in a few weeks to ascertain the reduction or total removal of this threat,” the letter added.

Guyana is second on the table, behind Haiti in the 2022-2023 CONCACAF Nations League. The Golden Jaguars will also play Bermuda on March 24, and the Bermuda Football Association has expressed its willingness to host this match, Alves has confirmed.

In early January, the senior men’s national team resumed training with Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz at the GFF’s National Training Centre at Providence, East Bank Demerara. Guyana must win both matches to qualify for the Gold Cup.

The last international game that the Golden Jaguars contested at the NTFC was on July 11, 2022 against Haiti. In addition, last year,” the Director of Sport told the room filled with athletes, coaches, parents and administrators of the sport.

Ninvalle added, “This is not something that the Sports Commission is doing because of the fact that we’re forced. We’re doing this because we genuinely care about the direction that sport is going in Guyana. That is why you would have seen an approach that is pragmatic and that is strategic. That is the way that we would want to see sports, and that is why we’re holding hands with the Sports Associations and we’re hav- ing constant dialogue with them; to understand fully where they want to go, and what our role is,” Ninvalle added in his pledge of NSC support to the GTA.

When it was time for the awards, Gerald Scotland found himself being named the most improved player for 2021-2022; and Nathan DeNobrega was named the boys’ champion while Renola Jordan was announced as the girls’ champion. Kizzy Richmond copped the ladies champion title, while the men’s champion was Donny Anderson.

Meanwhile, Coach Andre Erskine scooped up the cov- eted Best Coach award for the period considered.

Other prizes, compliments of Trophy Stall, were also distributed at the award ceremony, which saw Leyland Leacock and Jordan Beaton receiving the Trophy Stall men’s doubles accolade.

Fiona Bushell and Ronald Murray were on the receiving end of the Mixed Doubles award, while Nicolette Fernandes and Kristian Jeffrey were runners-up.

The pair of Leacock and Murray also clinched the Over 35 Doubles prize, while Andre Lopes and Sandeep Chan were the runners-up.