… Guyana looking to make it lucky 13

THE anticipation and excitement of Guyana clinching a historic 13 consecutive Junior CASA Championships has been building and was evident in the speeches and expressions of those who made remarks when the event was officially launched yesterday at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street.

The Junior Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) will officially start here in Guyana on Sunday, with the individual competition, where team captains Taylor Fernandes and Benjamin Mekdeci among others will be chasing titles.
But it’s the team competition, and Guyana’s hunt to continue their stronghold on the team title that has everyone buzzing.
“There has been so much work and preparation going on, on and around the courts. We’re ready,” remarked Guyana Squash Association president Robin Lowe.

Guyana has a whopping 21 overall team titles in the history of the competition, with the last 12 titles coming in consecutively.
Guyana’s closest and keenest rivals, Barbados, have only six team titles in the competition’s history, including a shared title with Guyana in 1993. They have continued to try, and continued to fail, to snatch that seventh title, as Guyana keep them on their toes.
However, this year’s competition brings another opportunity, but the general consensus from the Guyanese side is that though 13 is usually associated with bad luck, it’s going to be a number that Guyana will be proud of at the end of this year’s competition.

“We’re very prepared this year to showcase Guyana, showcase our talent. I think we have number 13 in our vision. But we won’t be able to do all of this, however, without out sponsors,” Lowe said.
The competition was made possible by a number of big sponsors, including DIGICEL, Banks DIH, Ansa McAl, Exxon Mobil, Bounty Farm Ltd and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).
Representatives of several of the sponsors were present at yesterday’s launch to share their pride and elation to be part of such a prestigious competition where Guyana have such a remarkable record.

“It’s exciting to be a part of this. When the Guyana Squash Association came to Exxon Mobil and presented this opportunity, and said: Do you want to be a part of squash in Guyana? I said, 12 years running as Champions? Yes, sign me up, I’m on board. We want to get on board with something like this. We want to support youth, we want to support you the players,” said Exxon Mobil’s Kimberly Brassington.
Banks DIH Troy Peters and Ansa McAl Sean Abel shared Brassington’s sentiments in their addresses.

Also making remarks were the team captains, Fernandes and Mekdeci.
“I stand very proud to be this year’s captain because I’ve seen how hard my team have worked and I can see how committed they are and I’m really excited to see everyone participate in this tournament,” said Fernandes, who will be playing her last year in the competition, as she will be aging out of the junior category.
The same goes for Mekdeci, who did his training over the past few months, in the USA where he’s currently studying at Drexel University.

Being away from the team over the past few months, Mekdeci said he was happy to see since his return how the players have developed.
“I can see the growth that each player has made and I couldn’t be more proud of every single junior here,” he shared.
After its start on Sunday, the competition will run straight through to July 8 and will be held at the courts of the Georgetown Club and the National Racquet Centre.