The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport/National Sports Commission (NSC) annual ‘Teach Them Young’ swim camp commenced Monday, and well over 1500 are set to participate in learning the life skill.
The camp, which started decades ago, will see its largest numbers, and according to organisers, given some late entries, that number could reach 1700 for all three zones –Region Four, Berbice, and Linden.
The latter two zones will commence on Tuesday, July 19, and in the past, the overall attendance at these camps would be around 300 -400.
Charles Ramson Jr., Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, explained the camp is a “carefully designed one” so the attendees can benefit.
The Minister then gave the parents a charge to take a deeper interest in the lives of their child or children, noting, “you have got to take that interest in your kids too…encourage them to pay attention to the coaching and the lessons that they are learning.”
More so, Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, indicated there was detailed planning to execute such a project as over 45 coaches will overlook and train the athletes, while parents are encouraged to visit the sessions.
“It is historic because the level of organization and the way we have continued to listen to associations is a microcosm of how the Government of Guyana is working towards developing sport in Guyana. Never before in swimming or any other programme run by our Ministry, we had this amount of participants”, Ninvalle conveyed.
Commissioner of the National Sports Commission, Cristy Campbell, said the significant increase is a testimony to the consistency and investment the NSC is making in all sports.
Dwayne Scott, President of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GAS), reiterated, that the camp is geared to furnish the youths with the fundamentals of the sport, with the hope of them also going on to join clubs and go on to represent Guyana in the future.
For this camp, sessions in Region Four will be held at the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal and the Colgrain Pool on Camp Street from July 18 to August 12.
Sessions in Berbice will be held at the Albion Estate pool from July 19 to August 10 and in Linden at the Watooka pool from July 19 to August 5.
The camp caters to youngsters between ages nine and 18, with sessions being held from 09:00h to noon daily.
