The Guyana Rugby Football Union was slated to have a Sevens tournament last weekend, but had to put it on hold due to the deplorable state of the adopted field in the National Park.
The Union’s usual field, which is situated more to the north-east of the park, is in even more disrepair since early 2017 when the National Sports Commission in collaboration with the National Parks Commission undertook operation restoration on the field.
In an interview with News Room Sport on Wednesday (June 27) Director of Sport, Christopher Jones said he is anticipating the rehabilitation works on the field will be completed before year-end.
He explained a combination of the weather and a lack of material has been a major bugbear.
“When we commenced work on the field, material is the problem we ran into, we were getting support from Public Infrastructure when they were doing the round-about. The amount required was not the amount they could have offset and you don’t want to use sand and loom because that will further damage the ground,” Jones explained.
He added, “Public Infrastructure would have cited to us the mud from desilting of drains is the best soil type you can use; we did it at the East Ruimveldt Community Centre ground and it has lush green grass.”
Should the works start fully, it will take two to three months to fully settle and Jones also stated they will add lights to the facility.
The concern for players, officials and fans comes as a result of impending preparation for the upcoming Central America and Caribbean Games in Colombia.
In 2010, the team won gold at the Games and the players are hopeful they can emulate that performance, but lack of proper facilities to train continues to be a grave issue.
