AAG launches South American Juniors

By Treiston Joseph

The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) on Friday morning launched the 42^nd edition of the South American Junior Championships, that will be held here in Guyana on June 3 and 4.

Speaking at the launch at the National Resource Centre in Georgetown, President of the AAG, Aubrey Hutson, highlighted that his association will be ready to host, and success will be determined by the efforts of all stakeholders involved in the sport.

“We know as well that there is always the question of whether we can do this; Is Guyana ready for this? Guyana is going to be as ready for this as any South American country based on you the media putting a positive spin on what we do and what we are trying to achieve and everyone who have a relationship with athletics, from the Guyana Olympic Association, Government of Guyana, people in the sports fraternity coming out and giving us the necessary support that is needed.

“My message today is that we must make this happen in a big way, there is no turning back at this point, most of the countries have already secured their tickets to be here…so the success of this championship again is going to be heavily dependent on us,” Hutson stated.

Hutson also shared that all measures are in place for the successful hosting of the event.

“Most of the preparations for us are in place…why I like these championships because it goes back to a quote that you know, necessity is the mother of all invention; if these championships were not coming we might not have gone through all these preparation, so sometimes you need to create a situation so you can push yourself,” Hutson, said, adding that a number of equipment will also be purchased for two-day meet.

Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, shared the importance of such an event coming to the shores of Guyana.

“We recognise that if we want to give every opportunity to represent this country that first and foremost the support must be given to them, to have international tournaments of this stature being hosted here in Guyana adds to just beyond having the tournament here in Guyana. It’s an opportunity to showcase and its tourism package, with E-Governance onboard it provides the opportunity for us to take Guyana throughout the world,” Jones noted.

In addition, Errol Nelson of Banks DIH, who will be the official beverage provider of the event, thanked the AAG for their partnership, along with representatives from Tourism Authority and the National Data Management Authority. 

Meanwhile, top coach Lyndon Wilson shared that coaches are working tediously with all the athletes to ensure that they can perform at peak level come the time of competition. The event will be the first major IAAF calendar event to be held in Guyana.