DEMERARA Distilleries Limited (DDL) officially announced their donation of $1.2M worth in Gatorade energy drinks for use by the athletes who will contest the 50th edition of the GTU National School’s Athletics, Swimming and Cycling Championships, which is set to run from November 9th through to the 12th.
Speaking to media operatives and officials of the Ministry of Education in the boardroom of the ministry yesterday, DDL’s Brand Executive Ms. Alexis Crawford said that DDL is very pleased to make the donation. She related that ‘nationals’ is a very anticipated event on students’ calendars and as such they are happy to contribute to bettering the event.
Crawford said that Gatorade, a product synonymous with many major sporting organisations around the world, is recognised and used by international athletes everywhere in the world and DDL wanted to afford the students its benefits.
Guyana Teacher’s Union (GTU) President, Colin Bynoe said that the GTU is happy that DDL is onboard and said that so many corporate sponsors being involved this year signifies the time for the event to go beyond what it had been in the past.
Bynoe said that having Gatorade available for the athletes’ consumption also makes him happy because it is unlike other energy drinks which are injurious but are nevertheless being touted to youths today. He also noted that DDL has already begun to distribute the products at inter-school and inter-zone championships.
Nicholas Fraser who is the Head of the Physical Education Department within the Ministry of Education noted that Gatorade is one of the leading brands in sports nutrition and is endorsed by a lot of prominent and famous athletes and as such he is happy to have it available for use at the national school’s championship.
Fraser promised to make sure that the donation will be efficiently used and he notified those present at yesterday’s ceremony that there are systems in place to ensure that the athletes have full access to the product in order to combat dehydration and fatigue that are a by-product of the rigors of the championship.