secures U.S. scholarship
GUYANA’s leading distance runner Cleveland Forde has been offered a scholarship to train and study at the Colby Community College in the United States.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport, ‘The Little Kenyan’ as he is familiarly known, said he has been offered a scholarship to do an associate degree in Computer/Information Technology Service with the Kansas City College, while at the same time being afforded the opportunity to continue his athletic career.
According to Forde, while competing in a road race in Trinidad, he met Trinidadian athlete Richard Jones who benefited from a similar scholarship at the very college and Jones recommended him (Forde) to his coach in the U.S. who subsequently contacted Colby College and the scholarship materialised.
However, the semester starts next Tuesday (January 13) and Forde is still awaiting his I-20 form to make his application to the U.S. embassy here in Guyana, but according to the national record holder for the 1500, 5000 and 10,000 metre races, the I-20 form has already been posted and he is just hoping he would be able to secure a U.S. visa in time to start the semester.
He said he hopes to compete in cross country races (12K) as well as track races (1500 and 5000m) while at Colby College.
President of the Guyana Olympic Association K. Juman Yassin told Chronicle Sport he (Yassin) does not think Forde would get his visa on time since he is still awaiting his I-20 form.
According to Yassin, it was only on Christmas Eve day that Forde informed him (Yassin) that he secured the scholarship.
Yassin confirmed that Forde did his own ground work to secure the scholarship and what he (Forde) is asking of the GOA, is for sponsorship which his association is willing to assist with.
Yassin pointed out that Colby College is an associate college and they participate in the NCAA and the programme I saw from the coach is a good one that will take him to 2012 (London Olympics).
Forde who only last year completed a four-year training stint at the Kip Keino High Altitude Training Centre in Kenya said once he gets his visa, he would complete his associate degree at the Colby College then move on to a four-year institution to further his studies.
The South American 10K champion (Guyana leg) said while he was in Kenya, he successfully completed a Management of Information Systems programme.
Strauss thrust into England captaincy hot seatTHE England captaincy baton has passed from one South African-born cricketer to another with Andrew Strauss named as Kevin Pietersen’s replacement for the tour of West Indies. That, however, is where the similarities end.
Strauss was the obvious candidate for the ECB in their moment of crisis, but it still marks a remarkable turnaround for someone who, even as recently as the India Test series, was under pressure for his place. However, back-to-back centuries in Chennai have secured his long-term future at the top of England’s order. England will now crave some of that stability in his leadership.
Many feel it is an honour that should have already come Strauss’s way on a permanent basis, two-and-a-half years ago, after he impressed during a locum spell in 2006 as a stand-in for Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff. He secured a 2-0 series win against Pakistan, but was then overlooked to lead the Ashes tour in favour of Flintoff.
Although this appointment is only for the four Tests against West Indies which start on February 4 in Jamaica, it is hard to see beyond Strauss for the full-time post.
“He led the England team with distinction in 2006 when Michael Vaughan was injured,” was Hugh Morris’s brief comment on Strauss’s promotion.
It is believed Strauss has been given assurances that he is not a stop-gap captain, although discussions are ongoing as to whether his role will include limited-overs cricket.
At the time of appointing Pietersen as captain last August, Geoff Miller, the national selector, made it clear the ECB intended to have one captain for both formats.
Strauss, however, hasn’t been part of the one-day set-up since the 2007 World Cup, but has always harboured ambitions to return to the limited-overs side. With the ICC World Twenty20 coming up in June and a 50-over World Cup two years away, England’s one-day strategy is again in turmoil.
For now, though, Strauss has two weeks to get his mind right before the squad departs for West Indies on January 21. Suddenly, he has the weight of a nation on his shoulders. (Cricinfo)
