GIFTLAND Sports Maxx, located in Giftland Mall at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, has joined the party for the 6th edition of the Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic under its Under Armour and Asics brands to reward outstanding athletes in two of the six international races.In a deal announced recently, the two middle distance races will be rebranded Under Armour 800m Men and Asics 1500m Women. Both races carry a US$500 total purse with $250 going to the winners, $150 and $100 to second-place and third-place finishers respectively.
In addition, the Store will outfit the winners of both races with respective apparel to the value of $50 000 each, raising the incentives for athletes competing in the races on the weekend of August 15-16 in Linden.
The apparel for the athletes will include track suits, running gear, training gear and sneakers. The arrangement is expected to be a long-term one with Giftland Mall’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ian Ramdeo signalling those intentions.
According to Ramdeo, athletes are in need of much more than just physical development. Ramdeo also said that following the event, one male and one female athlete will benefit from Giftland’s Ambassador Programme for a period of one year.
So in addition to the direct incentives, athletes will also have the opportunity to vie for places in the programme that will ensure their airfare to compete overseas, apparel, supplements and other training to improve their academia and general performance.
Ramdeo believes that athletes must be improved at the grassroots level where they are prepared with the capacity to speak to the media and become ultimate role models. The long-term project will see athletes benefiting from exposure to educational material.
The Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic’s Colin Boyce and Edison Jefford concurred that athletes’ performance off the field is just as important as on the field. They welcomed the Sports Maxx initiative while committing to working with the Ambassador Programme.