Giftland honours commitment
TRUE to their word, Giftland OfficeMax who always find it a pleasure in giving back to the community, honoured their commitment to the Guyana Tapeball Cricket League (GTCL), when they presented that entity with $100 000 yesterday as sponsorship to their upcoming Clash of the Titans Twenty20 tournament.

At a simple presentation ceremony held in their Water and Holmes Street office, Sales Representative of Giftland OfficeMax, Tule Adams, handed over the cash to president of the GTCL Shane Austin in the presence of GTCL’s Organising Secretary Kurt Wilson and Managing Director of Oasis Ride Taxi Service Emsley Baptiste, who is another sponsor of the tournament.

In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, Adams expressed his employer’s delight at being associated with another sporting event in Guyana.

“We at Giftland OfficeMax always find it a pleasure when it comes to serving the community in whatever way we can. As you are aware, we have just finished partnering with the Banks Power Stout tapeball competition and with a love for sports, we had no hesitation in sponsoring this tournament.

“We sponsor a lot of tournaments, which is not only our way of giving back to the community, but also helping with the success of sports here in Guyana, as organisers do their best to revive the respective sport they are involved in,” Adams stated.

Asked to give a brief comment, Baptiste who confessed to be a diehard cricket fan, said he felt it is a good venture and while acknowledging that sports is good, he viewed it as an important way of making a contribution back to the community.

Meanwhile, Wilson stated that registration for the tournament has been slow, with 45 teams registering so far and attributes this to the upcoming Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) 10/10 tournament which is scheduled to bowl off tomorrow.

“With 72 teams indicating to us their willingness to compete in this tournament, but are awaiting the outcome of their first round matches in the 10/10 tournament, we do expect the registration process to pick up after the first two rounds of that tournament” said Wilson.

With an admission fee of $6 000 per team, Wilson said that the GTCL, which is not associated with the Guyana Tapeball League, does not focus on registration fees from the teams, but accruing sponsorship for the tournament.

“We want the teams that have already registered for the tournament and those who are looking to do so, to feel at ease when it comes to the prize money that is up for grabs, has been secured, for at the end of the day, while the collection of the registration fees is important, teams need to know they are compensated at the end of a tournament and not told they have to wait on the money.”

Austin took the opportunity to thank both Giftland OfficeMax and Oasis Ride Taxi Service for their generous contribution and called on corporate Guyana to come forward and support this tournament which is being played among teams in Demerara.