Guyana’s national indoor 400m record holder and University of South Carolina standout, Arinze Chance has landed his second major endorsement in Guyana with sports equipment and apparel giant, MVP Sports.
Chance is also the Brand Ambassador for Powerade, which is distributed by Banks DIH Limited.
“For any athlete to succeed, they need support and financial support is the most important form of support; athletes need encouragement,” Chance indicated in a release to the media.
He added that his experience from competing across the world has taught him some valuable lessons about the sport and the importance of incentives for athletes cannot be understated.
Chance, who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, indicated that he cannot thank MVP Sports enough for their timely gesture.
He said that training and competing in the United States and anywhere is expensive and MVP Sports will help him cover those expenses since his goal is to compete in as many events leading up to the World Championships.
“MVP Sports is definitely putting me closer to where I want to be with regards to support, being able to get to more competitions, and being able to support myself as an athlete in the United States. It’s not just about living expenses, and supplements, it is more than that, like therapy. So, I am definitely grateful for what MVP is doing for me,” he said.
The elite athlete, who competed at the Joint Services event in Guyana over the weekend, before returning to the United States of America, “extended gratitude” to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MVP Sports, Ian Ramdeo for his support.
“I learned that athletes from other countries get an incentive before they even attend those Games. We are lacking this in Guyana, there is no support before, during, or after competitions and there is no incentive for doing the sport we enjoy,” the outstanding student-athlete said.
He related that his counterparts right here in the Caribbean – Trinidad, Jamaica and others – are far more incentivized and supported at all levels than athletes here in Guyana and the results can be seen in those countries’ performances internationally, along with the added national benefit of sports tourism there.
“We need solutions, athletes need to find comfort in representing this country. It’s not only about national pride, but sustenance for themselves; athletes need to get money. Once athletes get an incentive to compete, they will do well, once the athletes do well, the association and the country looks good,” the national sprinter continued
Chance believes that associations need to work closely with the Private Sector to learn more about the business of sport.
He said that both of his endorsements were achieved through his individual mobilization when the association should be the vanguard.
Chance was awarded a full athletics scholarship to the University of South Carolina in 2018 and broke the school’s 16-year-old 400m indoor record a year later.
His personal best outdoor time is 46.05 seconds while his indoor best is 46.15 seconds.
