Following the overwhelming success of its annual and established Easter iteration, the historic summer edition of the ‘Teach Dem Young’ Swimming Programme will be officially launched Saturday at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, from 13:00h.
The initiative, which is a conception of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in collaboration with the National Sports Commission, is the third programme of this nature to be rolled out by the aforementioned duo, with the recently concluded ‘Adults Learn to Swim’ platform the most recent developmental drive.
Minister Charles Ramson Jr, the event’s architect, will officially open the swimming camp.
The maiden edition of the ‘Adults Learn to Swim’ programme was conducted during the month of June and is a direct by-product of the conventional April ‘Teach Dem Young’ enterprise, which attracted more than 2000 participants.
The programme, which is aimed at the 6-18 age range, will be conducted at four facilities, which underpins its national objective.
The facilities that will be utilized are the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, the Colgrain Swimming Pool, Georgetown, the Watooka Swimming Pool, Linden and the Albion Estate Pool, East Berbice. Experienced national coach Paul Mahaica will once again serve as the programme coordinator and lead trainer.
More than 2000 applications have been received for the Georgetown segment alone.
Director of Sports Steve Ninvalle stated, “The outpouring of support for this initiative is nothing short of a proverbial tsunami. In Georgetown, more than 2000 applications have been received, and the anticipation is for that number to be matched in the other segments.
Irrefutably, the success of the Easter edition has created a tidal wave of interest amongst the populace and once again highlights the government’s steadfast commitment and approach to the development of the public, who are the most important coefficient.”
He further said, “The cost will be undertaken by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport in partnership with the National Sports Commission; a charge or price that simply cannot be measured against the backdrop of a developmental agenda geared at empowering the future generation through the development and cultivation of a necessary life skill.
Of course, and more importantly, safety is our axiom and unwritten law. Implementing a robust safety apparatus, which has been a hallmark of the previous programmes, is a compulsory reality given the large turnout.
An incident-free platform is our main objective and is compulsory if a safe environment which is conducive to learning is to be garnered.
Only through the implementation of robust safety mechanisms that these programmes flourish and continue. Given the response, we have certainly achieved such, with the past editions serving as evidence.”
