… $5M in cash and prizes up for grabs
THE Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is collaborating with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCY&S) and the Guyana Softball League (GSL) to usher in 2010, which will be GT&T’s 19th year in operation, with a massive countrywide 10/10 softball tournament.

The event was officially launched yesterday during a press briefing held in the MCY&S boardroom and is aimed at fostering community involvement in Sports and Culture and also coincides with the celebration of Guyana’s 40th anniversary as a Republic.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, expressed his pleasure that GT&T has put together such a grand event. He said that it is a very timely undertaking as the GSL was not able to officially announce their arrival on the scene with such a grand event last year. Anthony stressed the fact that the initiative complements the ministry’s tireless plot to institute sports at the community level about which he is very pleased.

“This year marks a special occasion for GT&T as we will usher in a new age of technological advancement,” related GT&T’s Chief Financial Officer, Yog Mahadeo. He said that this attests to GT&T’s continued commitment to fulfilling its social role. In that respect he said that the entity is proud of its contribution to Guyana’s development, a cause to which GT&T takes a multi-faceted approach.

The CFO said that this is the celebration of the big year ahead for the company; he said that softball was chosen as the medium for their message because it serves for a complete integration of all Guyanese, as softball cricket is a national past-time that is played on all levels and in all places from backyards to professional pitches.

Wystan Robertson, Marketing Director of GT&T, said that softball is used as a medium of interaction at all levels and as such his entity thought it wise to package such a phenomenon with compelling rewards to amount to what he prognosticates to be the largest competition in the history of the GSL. He believes that GT&T’s 10/10 softball tournament will be a fitting tribute to the game loved by all Guyanese.

According to Robertson, no one will walk away empty-handed, as cash prizes will be offered to everyone that competes in the round of 16 in which every team will receive $10 000. The teams competing in the quarterfinal will receive $20 000 while those in the semi-finals will receive $50 000 and the runner-up team will cash in $250 000. The champions of the inaugural hosting will receive $1M.

The sponsors expressed their pleasure at being involved in such a ground-breaking exercise and related that they jumped at the opportunity to assist with the venture which was deemed as a very innovative way to revive softball in Guyana.

Registration for the tournament is free of charge and application forms will be printed in the Guyana Times publication starting Friday January 8. The registration process will run until January 25 and the rulebook of the Guyana Softball League will be in full effect.

The tournament will commence on February 6 and will culminate with a grand finale at the Guyana Cricket Club ground, Bourda on March 21 with a Caribbean-style entertainment package.

The corporate sponsors helping to make the event possible are: Impressions, Guyana Times, Cellphone Shack, Gizmos and Gadgets and Survival Supermarket.