“EDUCATION is more than academics. I certainly believe that.” Minister of Sport, Nicolette Henry said yesterday to a gathering of swimmers at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC) during the closing ceremony of the annual Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport/National Sports Commission August Vacation Swimming Programme. Minister Henry told the swimmers that being involved in sports such as swimming was a very good direction towards becoming well-rounded individuals.
“I believe that in order for you to be fully developed and reach your full potential, you need to be exposed, and to participate, and to compete in sport, and in culture, and in arts. It is only through an integrative approach that you can reach your full potential.” Henry advised.
The Minister, along with Director of Sport Christopher Jones, was on board to offer words of encouragement to the swimmers who completed the six-week programme, which had first begun at the Colgrain Swimming Pool on Camp Street.
The programme, which was meant to cater for some 120 swimmers, attracted a robust 160 swimmers, all between the ages of 6 and 16 years old. The swimmers underwent training in the fundamentals of learning to swim.
Henry articulated the dynamic benefits that the involvement in sport had to offer towards the development of the budding youngsters.
“Sport is very important to human development because it allows you to first of all get involved in what we call teamwork, because sport is a participatory activity. It also allows you to hone skills such as leadership, discipline and of course competitiveness, and collaboration – those are very important skills that will help you when you become adults. Those are the skills that you will require to function in the world of work.” Henry related.
Jones stressed that the end of the swimming programme was by no means the end of the road for them in swimming. He implored them to continue their pursuits in swimming, reminding them that the NAC was now open to the public, so they could return and utilise the facility to further develop their swimming skills.
Highlighting that the development of Guyana’s youth is important to the government, Jones pledged the support of the Government of Guyana in upholding the continuation of the swimming programme to get children involved.
“Because you are a big deal, the Government of Guyana will continue these swimming programmes to ensure that we continue to feed the various swimming clubs out there so that Guyana can produce the best set of swimmers.” Jones stated.
Resounding praise was meted out to the parents of the swimmers by Jones and Henry, as well as president of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association, Ivan Persaud,.
Informing the swimmers that they could one day rise up to represent Guyana as a swimmer, Persaud touched on Guyana’s performance at the recently concluded Goodwill Swim Meet which ended in Trinidad last weekend and saw the Guyana team return home with 29 medals, of which seven were gold medals.