By Treiston Joseph
Guyana will host the 2017 South American Under-20 Championships at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, in June. This confirmation came at the Consudatle Congress being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and members of the South American Competition Committee will be visiting Guyana shortly to inspect and assist in the preparation for the championship.
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana, Aubrey Hutson, who is in Brazil for the Congress, related to News Room Sport just after the confirmation was made what the event coming to Guyana means for the nation.
“This is going to be a big plus for Guyana, bringing this level of competition to our shores, we saw what happened two years ago when the Peruvians came to run our 10k so just anticipate the same type of competition coming to our shores that will truly put our athletes to the test and it will also give the Guyanese viewing public an opportunity to see athletics of a high quality that resides in the South American area,” Hutson noted.
Hutson also shared that the event gives Guyana the opportunity to prove that the country can deliver an international event.
“We are trying to prove to the world that we have the ability to host international competition, I think after successfully hosting this one we can start setting our eyes on PanAm championships, the Carifta Games and other events even Commonwealth Games if we can add some more stands to our venue and increase our hotel capacity, I think this is the first step in us getting the true international events to Guyana and again it’s going to be a test to the administration of sport in Guyana and also the government of Guyana to see how best we can operate… also the private sector getting involved in ensuring the success of the event.
“This event will be broadcast live throughout South America; the South American media will be here and it’s nothing about excitement on my part and the other members of the AAG and it’s now up to us to put our shoulders to the wheel and see what we can do,” Hutson told News Room Sport.
The South American Under-20 Championships will be held from June 3-4 at Guyana’s only synthetic facility.
