THE Guyana Softball League has (GSL) completed a very successful tournament in Cuba which left the Cubans very excited and wanting  more tournaments, which the GSL has promised to organise in the not-too-distant future. The president of the GSL, Halim Khan, was present for the tournament which coincided with the Guyana’s Independence celebrations and was held in the Hiron Medical School ground in Havana on Sunday May 29. Sixteen teams comprising both males and females competed separately with Group Five taking the male category and Group One to Five Combined the female category of the competition.
In addition to the matches, there were a number of off-the-field activities which brought interest and a carnival-like atmosphere to the day which showcased a number of Guyanese dishes and drinks.
A number of performances kept the people alive and everyone showed enthusiasm and expressed their emotions on the staging of this first-ever tournament in Cuba, while a display in art, craft and fashion of the different cultures in Guyana was soaked up by the people.
The day was graced with the presence of a number of important ambassadors and representatives from the Cuba Cricket Board, The Caribbean Association, MINREX (Foreign Affairs), Escuela Latino Americano de Medecina (ELAM), Instituto Nacional de Cultura Fisico de deporte y Receacioon (INDER) who are responsible for sports in Cuba, and ICAP among others. potential
The Independence Tournament was opened by Ambassador to Cuba, Miss Mitra Devi Ali declared that softball cricket in Guyana can bring lots of people together and at the same time promote healthy lifestyles, ensuring that the populace enjoys a more fruitful life. She said the same would apply to Cubans. She then faced the first ball to open the tournament.
Khan said the GSL has been promoting this game for a number of years and have seen the rise of, and the values attached to, the game as well as the unity of people being exploited to the fullest by the people who have participated in all of the GSL tournaments.
Meanwhile, INDER representative, Humberto Herrera, will be working with the GSL to further develop the sport by introducing softball cricket in all primary schools in Havana from September, 2011, and every 15 days, there will be doing outreach programmes which will involve competition between teams to help promote softball cricket.