District 10 (Upper Demerara/Kwakwani), which is usually the most dominant force at the National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships, added another feather to its cap by dominating the inaugural inter-district Kayaking Championship on Monday.
All but five of the districts which compete at ‘Nationals’ were present and District 10 was literally miles ahead of the competition by winning all four races to cop the overall championship title.
District 9 (Rupununi) finished second, while there was a tie for third between District 2 (Pomeroon) and District 7 (Potaro/Siparuni).
On the individual side, Shaneeza Cornelious of Linden Foundation Secondary won the gruelling 1600m race, after she took an early lead via a strategy to stay close to the banks of the Demerara River.
Shanez Debideen of District One (North West) took second and Duane Williams of District 15 (New Amsterdam) got third.
In the Boys’ individual race, Iwayne Torez of New Silvercity Secondary also produced a sublime performance to win way ahead of Stewart France of District Two (Essequibo Coast/Pomeroon) and Zain Andrews of District Five (West Coast Berbice)
The relay events took the format of one teammate doing a 400m sprint on land and then tagging their partner, who then did the 1600m of kayaking, which, like the individual races, ended at Watooka Guest House.
Essequibo Coast/Pomeroon slotted in behind Upper Demerara in the female relay and Rupununi rounded off the other podium spots, while in the Boys’ event, Bartica and Rupununi were second and third respectively to District 10.
Deon Anderson, Proprietor of Elite Kayaking and Nature Tours, who organised the event, hailed it as a success and is eagerly looking to build stronger partnerships with the Ministry of Education for the event to be added to the ‘Nationals’ programme.
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Guyana Tourism Authority also partnered for the event, which was sponsored by Schlumberger Guyana.
