THE financially strapped Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) is seeking to raise three and one half million dollars to send a 13-member team to defend its Caribbean Championship title it retained in Barbados last year, after winning the inaugural championship here in Guyana in 2015.

The championship is scheduled for December 13 to 16 in St. Lucia and the GBA has registered 13 boxers, two referee/judges and three coaches for the event.
The 13-member team of boxers will be spearheaded by Keevin Allicock and Colin Lewis , who both won gold medals at the last Caribbean development tournament (now Caribbean Championship), with Allicock going on to win a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games in The Bahamas earlier this year.

GBA’s president Steve Ninvalle is optimistic that the local boxers will make a successful defence of the championship title.
However, the issue at hand is how will the team get to St. Lucia without funding.

According to reports, Ninvalle is quoted as saying “last year, we were forced to walk 100 miles to raise funds to send an 11-member team to Barbados and we received very little help then. That team won 10 gold medals and one silver. My sincere hope now is that the pledge and promises made when the team returned home are now made a reality.”

Ninvalle continued “We have dominated the Caribbean and in recent time have shown that we are capable of taking the best that the Commonwealth has to offer.”
Meanwhile, Referee/judges Lawrence Asannah and Maynard Wilson will sit exams while in St.Lucia, and once successful, they will be rewarded with their AIBA One Star badges.
Guyana, along with 17 Caribbean Islands, will contest this year’s championships in St. Lucia.