Hercules Basketball Academy hits Bartica this weekend

The second annual Hercules Basketball Academy will hit Bartica this weekend, catering for youth between ages six and 18.

A collaborative effort of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation and Plaisance Guardians, the event which takes place from today to Sunday, has received corporate backing from Grace Kennedy Remittance Services and Banks DIH Limited, as well as the National Sports Commission.

The event is being coordinated by national basketball coach, Junior Hercules, who was on hand to receive a sponsorship package from Tina Gibson, the Marketing Assistant of Western Union.

Hercules said the initiative tipped off in 2018 with much success.

“We reached out to Grace Kennedy at the time, who has a strong presence in the Bartica community, through both Western Union and Bill Express and that collaboration started in 2018.”

Gibson said: “We’ve been giving back a lot to the sports industry and this is so because we see the importance of sports in Guyana and also it is our corporate duty to give back and to help develop the young minds of our next generation.”

Hercules said the camp will focus on the fundamentals of the sport, specifically dribbling, passing and shooting, along with general life skills to cater to the career path of the youngsters.

“In addition to that, we will focus primarily on rules because we recognised last year while we were teaching there was an absence of understanding as to what this rule meant, what are the implications, so we hope to touch on that equally as well,” Hercules explained.

The camp will come to an end with an IQ Test, based on what would have been shared during the sessions, following which certificates of participation will be given to the youths.