Patterson sees 2010 as a productive year for basketball
“IT’S Guyana intention to participate in the 2011 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Games,” declared president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) David Patterson during an interview with Chronicle Sport yesterday. Guyana’s last participation at the games, formally known as the CARICOM Championships, was in 2007 when the event was held in Puerto Rico. It was then under the late Godwin McPherson that the side had encounter visas problems and featured only overseas-based players.
The last CBC championships was held in the Bahamas and Patterson noted that a venue for this year’s games will be deliberated and made known at the CBC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) set for the Bahamas on February 5 where Guyana will also be represented.
However, the Member of Parliament (M.P) under the Alliance for Change made it clear that Guyana will not be hosting this year’s tournament.
“If normal procedure is upheld, these games will be held in a country in the ‘southern’ half of CBC (based on an unwritten agreement whereby games are alternated between the South and North).
The advantage for Guyana – if games are held in the Southern Section – would be cheaper airfares as well as the fact that no in-transit visas will be required for players and officials. It is anticipated that both male and female teams will be there,” Patterson said.
While Guyana’s female players lifted the trophy in 1996 in Trinidad and Tobago, the men have so far only accomplished a second-place finish in 1994 with the games hosted at home.
Local players, the GABF president highlighted, will have their chance to be spotted for selection to the National team during the hosting of the National Club Championships (Male and Female) which he said is set to be held between January and February.
He added that International Games will also be held “whereby overseas eligible members will participate for opportunity to represent Guyana as well. DC Jammers, and other players from outside Guyana will play against our local shortlisted players, after which the final squad will be selected by the end of May/June; but this is dependent on CBC games-schedule.”
Patterson further mentioned that while the primary focus of his federation this year will be to have Guyana’s male and female teams participate at the CBC championships, they are also concentrating on other important areas of development such as the FIBA levels one and two coaching clinics which are scheduled for the first quarter of this year.
“Additionally we have several other plans like the referees’ pre-certification clinic. This is for persons who would like to be referees. CBC will be sending its technical official here to ‘run’ these guys through their paces, to see if they are ready to sit the certification exams. He will advise them on their areas of weakness. This is scheduled for this month (January),” said Patterson.
The GABF, Patterson says, will also look into capacity-building for its sub-associations where “a series of seminars will be held with sub-associations to improve their current capacity, (namely in areas such as registration of players, administration, etc.). Similar exercises are to be held with clubs to improve their internal capacity”

2010 REFLECTION
Patterson and his other executives were elected in February of 2010 and he pointed that their AGM is once again set for next month.
Reflecting on the performance of his sub-associations, primarily Linden and Georgetown, Patterson said that last year was a trying year for both sub-associations and that they (GABF) are currently reviewing their progress and will comment later, but they are pleased to see that announcement of the AGM for the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) is set for January 30.
“It was an honour to be elected president last February, the newly elected federation had several hurdles which we had to overcome. Basically the federation was in the red. However through the effort of the executives, we are currently back in the black. We have re-engaged with CBC, we attended both the FIBA AGM as well as the FIBA Women AGM, and some of the programmes mentioned above are direct results of this participation. We expect to see much more in 2011,” Patterson noted.
With the assistance of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) the GABF had sent Ann Gordon of Kwakwani on a coaching stint overseas and Patterson said that Gordon has reported upon her return that the clinic was very successful and will enhance her delivery of basketball countrywide but more in her community.
“We were able to have senior male international basketball in Guyana after more than three years,” Patterson said, relating to the tour of DC Jammers. “We have established a Referees and Table Officials Association, which will enhance administration of the sport and greater communication and working relationship with our sub-associations”
“We were able to send two youths and a coach to the FIBA Youth World Camp in Turkey which was extremely well received by the participants.”
However, Patterson cited his failure for 2010 as not having Guyana’s female team participate in the 11th Annual Gillian Brazier Basketball tournament in Antigua and “additionally, CBC had promised a FIBA Level II coaching clinic last October, but this was cancelled by them at the last moment and the non-establishment of at least one additional sub-association (East Coast), all of which we will complete this year”