…GOA president calls for implementation of long awaited Sports Policy.

THREE Guyanese athletes – Brenessa Thompson, Winston George and Troy Doris – have made the qualifying standard for this year’s Summer Olympics scheduled for August 5 -21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
This information was made public when the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) held its Annual Appreciation Ceremony on Friday last at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street,where GOA president K. Juman Yassin called once again for those in authority to implement the long- awaited National Sports Policy.
Thompson recently made the qualifying standard for the women’s 100-metre race, while George, a 2012 Olympian who is currently based in the United States, has made the qualifying standard for the men’s 400-metre race.
Doris on the other hand is the lone local field athlete to make the qualifying standard for the men’s triple jump. He qualified two weeks ago at a meet in The Bahamas.
As it relates to the implementation of the National Sports Policy, Juman Yassin reminded that “a lot of sports associations are struggling and they need funding.
On this Mr. President (David Granger) and Minister (Nicolette Henry) I have been harping for years that there needs to be the implementation of the sports policy.”
Yassin commended the awardees for their achievements and the awardees included Kaieteur News Sean Devers, who copped the sports journalist award, squash players, Taylor Fernandes and Larissa Wiltshire, for their outstanding achievements in sports as they played `doubles’ to win a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa last year and Godfrey Wray, Editor of the Guyana Chronicle and former vice-president of the Guyana Table Tennis Association, for his contribution to the development of sports over the years.
The GOA head also stated that national cyclist Alonzo Greaves’s one- year ban will be up in November.
Buxton Youth Development won the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) award for their innovation in sports.

Special mention was made of Guyana’s only Olympic medallist, Michael Parris and also Carl Ince who coached the Guyana squash team to a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa last year.
Minister Henry spoke of the need to have the GOA headquarters which is still in its early stages to be completed.