THE Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) will again join hands to facilitate the staging of the second international Goodwill Boxing Tournament.
At a press conference held yesterday at Olympic House GABA president Steve Ninvalle said that 15 countries have been invited to the November tournament with eight already committing to participate.
“We envisage that this would be one of the biggest held in Guyana in decades and it is important that we have all hands on deck if Guyana is to see the smooth and successful running of this tournament.”
So far, Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, French Guiana, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago have emailed their commitment to participate. St Lucia would be sending a 10-man team, headed by President David `Shakes’ Christopher.
French territories Martinique, Haiti and Guadeloupe are also interested in participating. The tournament is scheduled for November 26 to 29 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The GABA has budgeted $6.5M to host the event which has the GOA as its main sponsor. The National Sports Commission and Director of Sport Christopher Jones are already on board.
The GABA boss disclosed that just about one third of the budget is already covered.
GOA president K. Juman Yassin said the tournament is an investment in the preparation of local boxers. He noted that last year’s tournament was highly successful and that his association has been keeping a close eye on boxing.
Yassin used the forum to call on amateur boxers to show discipline and commitment. “Mr Ninvalle and his executive have been doing a good job. However, they can do their best but if there is no commitment or dedication from the boxers they we will go nowhere,” Yassin declared.
According to Ninvalle, Guyana and the Caribbean have benefited from the staging of the first tournament, which was the brainchild of Yassin. The GOA president was the force behind the first competition held in February last year which attracted four countries.
“Following the inaugural tournament there was a call for a meeting of Caribbean presidents which, in the long run saw the election of someone from this region on the AIBA Executive Committee. The Caribbean now has a motto which says One Voice, One Goal, One Caribbean,” Ninvalle stated.
Meanwhile, a national squad will be shortlisted soon to go into training from the Goodwill tournament. GABA technical director Terrence Poole and chairman of the Coaches Commission Sebert Blake are expected to hand in a list of 15 fighters to the executive by this weekend.