‘Important to have optimum use of facilities’- Sport Minister

Through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, there has been ongoing upgrades to sport facilities countrywide and the subject Minister, Charles Ramson Jr., said the aim is to ensure there is optimum usage of those facilities by all citizens.

Appearing on local radio station, HJ 94.1 Boom FM, this week, the Minister explained the reasons for him allowing all Guyanese to be able to use the National Stadium (outdoor) for recreational purpose and the investment into upgrades to staple facilities such as the National Racquet Centre, the National Gymnasium and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

“We are getting to the final stages of the work that is being done at the Racquet Centre and the Gymnasium. We are building an outdoor bathroom and shower and we are doing a similar one at the Sports Hall,” he revealed.

“We would have recently opened the National Stadium for persons to go and exercise and play sports and it is very important for us at the Ministry to have optimum usage of our facilities,” he added.

The Sport Minister further indicated that the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, will soon be accessible for day/night activities by the public and the Ministry has already spent approximately G$27 million for those upgrades.

Ramson Jr. said he has met with the National Sports Commission, which was appointed by the government of Guyana on May 20, and had appointed Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, on Sunday (May 30).

“I met with them today (June 1) and I shared with them the overall vision of the Ministry and what role they have in optimising the use of these facilities as well as implementing the role of our academies.”

Those Academies the Minister referred to are linked to the Ministry’s Core Sports.

To be classified as a Core Sport, the National Association would need to have a nursery supported by the Sport Ministry and NSC as a driver of talent; they must host National tournaments and have Elite Sport Academies, which are intended to function as High-performance camps for top performers at those National tournaments.

When the Minister took office in August last year, he personally engaged with various National Sport Associations/Federations on a fact-finding mission to assess how they can further grow.

Ramson Jr. said he will now transfer most of those duties to the NSC.