PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar on Friday night told his audience at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) and National Sports Commission (NSC) 2011 National Sports Awards ceremony, sports is an important element of national development.
Delivering the feature address, President Ramotar also promised to have constructed a cycling velodrome which would see local cyclists cease battling for supremacy on the carriageways of Guyana, along with a warm-up pool, as requested by the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association.
Below is a full excerpt of President’s Ramotar’s feature address:
“Tonight’s award ceremony is a tribute to your work and a reaffirmation of the value of sport to national life. As I said recently during my address to an awards ceremony hosted by the Guyana Olympic Association, sport is an important element of national development.
“I do not consider it an incidental element of human existence and so we have always given high priority to the development of sport and have created a ministry dedicated to its development rather than simply annexing sport as part of another major ministry.
“My government views the organisation of sport as an integral part of human development, and as such is fully committed to the development of sport and to the improvement and elevation of our sportsmen, sportswomen and sporting associations.
“Tonight we are here primarily to salute those Guyanese individuals and bodies who have distinguished themselves in local and foreign sporting arenas and who have been selected as the outstanding sporting personalities and associations for 2011.
“To those athletes who have found favour with the judges and have been selected for the coveted awards for 2011, I extend my sincerest congratulations. Your country holds you in high regard and your achievements are worthy of admiration and applause.
“Tonight we toast your accomplishments and honour you as fitting champions. You have now joined the pantheon of stars who have received such awards in the past and of whom we are rightly proud.
“You are all important role models. You inspire countless others through your successes on the field and as such, I urge that you continue to be good role models to those who aspire to walk in your footsteps.
“I trust that you will continue to excel in your sporting careers. I look forward to you attaining further heights in your respective disciplines and in so doing achieve greater glory and fame for yourself and country.
“And I hope that when your better days are past that the cheers will not be silenced, as I am bothered by the fact that often when the glory fades and fame recedes many of our athletes are too easily forgotten and ignored.
:This is a sad indictment. No national champion deserves to be treated this way. I want to therefore particularly encourage our sporting associations to remember and utilise the talents of those who once made their country proud.
“Many of them still can make an important contribution to the development of our young people. Many are still willing to serve in various capacities. Many are still revered in the eyes of the public and have knowledge and advice that can be passed on to the younger generation.
“It would be terrible if all that accumulated knowledge, wisdom and experience go a-begging.
“I urge that the NSC give consideration to at least erecting a wall or wall of fame for those who have won the prize of sportsmen and sportswomen of the year and to express our appreciation and love for their contributions and example. They are part of our history and we must not forget what they achieved.
“I am particularly pleased with the creation of awards for our outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen from the various regions. I think this is a good initiative that will serve as an incentive for improvement in performances and to reward athletes who have done well in the various regions but who have not made the final cut for the major awards of sportsmen and sportswomen of the year. These awards will also give indirect credit to the regional sporting associations for their work.
Mr Chairman: We must also show our appreciation to our sporting organizations. I join in congratulating the sporting associations and federations that are being honoured with national awards this evening.
These organisations are important to the success of our athletes. Without good associations, our athletes will face daunting challenges in achieving their goals and sport as a whole will suffer.
“While it is not my administration’s wish to meddle in the affairs of sporting bodies, we must insist on greater accountability and democracy within sporting associations. Power tussles there are not unique to politics. They exist in many spheres including within sporting bodies.
“But when these disagreements lead to stagnation, when our athletes are affected and when important stakeholders have no recourse to remedies, the government is duty bound to not just sit up and take note, but to act in the interests of all.
“We would prefer if we did not have to intervene but where there is a need to act we will not hesitate to do so.
“Thankfully, we have many good sporting associations and federations in Guyana. Some of them are up and coming. Others have been around for some time.
“I know of the countless individuals who continue to give of their time, effort and money towards improving these associations and we are thankful for this effort. Most do it for the sheer love of the sport and the satisfaction of giving back. That is noble and honourable. Without their dedication the development of sport would be seriously retarded.
“I am therefore grateful for the work of these individuals and their sporting associations for their work in pushing the development of sport.
“I look forward to working with them through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to further advance sport in Guyana.
“As you the associations chart your plans for the future development of sport, I wish to call attention to the fact that our talented athletes are not just confined to the coast. We have an abundance of talent throughout Guyana including in the hinterland.
“I am particularly interested in working on a programme aimed at boosting the development of the abilities of our sportsmen and women in the hinterland so that they would not be left on the sidelines of development.
“So far I am pleased that some associations are doing much more work in rural communities and in the process unearthing a great deal of talent.
“But I believe that a more structured programme should be attempted immediately to boost the development of sports in hinterland region.
“I look forward to the blossoming of this idea since I am confident that it will yield great rewards for the development of the skills of our hinterland athletes.
“My government is also particularly keen on fostering greater community participation in sport.
“We shall continue to upgrade sporting grounds and facilities throughout the country and to ensure that greater use is made of community centres.
“The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph 10/10 softball competition and Fastball football tournament are examples of competitions that get to the very heart of community participation.
“We need much more of these initiatives since not only will there be increased participation but such activities bring our people closer together and have benefits for social cohesion.
“In ensuring that we expand participation in sport I believe that we must encourage physical activity from an early age. The government is prepared to engage in widespread consultations on making physical education compulsory in our school system. There should be also more competitions in schools. This is something that I feel very passionate about.
“But not only our children should be involved in physical activity, I want to encourage all Guyanese to be more physically active so as to reduce the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases.
“I urge all Guyanese regardless of your age or station to take part in some form of daily physical activity so that we can build a healthier nation. As we build a strong foundation for the development of sports, we must not forget those who for reasons of disability or infirmity are unable to participate in the mainstream sporting competitions.
“I intend to ensure that our differently- able are not locked out from the recognition they deserve and the opportunities to excel also in sport.
“Their courage is no less than any of us and they deserve recognition and greater attention to their needs. These needs of course are special and I intend to ensure that we can have our own local Paralympics for the differently-able beginning this year.
“Mr Chairman: This year is an Olympic Year. My government is committed to supporting Guyana’s participation at this year’s Olympics in London. The Olympic Games is the world’s premier international sporting event, the grand stage of international sporting competition bringing together nations from all over the world. For athletes Olympic glory is their crowning ambition.
“Guyana has so far only produced one Olympic gold medallist and what a fantastic servant he has been for boxing in Guyana. Not only has Michael Parris achieved Olympic glory for Guyana but he has been a fine ambassador for the sport of boxing. I hope that his example will inspire us to further glory in London this year and in future Olympics and I am pleased that Guyana will continue to be represented at this year’s Olympic Games.
“Those who seek personal and national glory under our flag can be assured of the enthusiastic support of all Guyana. We must more importantly begin to plan for our participation in the 2016 event which is scheduled to be hosted in Brazil.
“By then we would have completed our athletic track and our athletes would have had the opportunity to train at home at a world class facility, just as how the National Aquatic Centre allows our swimmers to have the experience of training daily in an Olympic-size pool.
“I am not fazed by the criticisms that have been made by our investment in sporting infrastructure.  There were many prophets of doom lamenting the fact that we built the National Stadium and predicting serious fiscal problems and the possibility of it becoming a white elephant.
“Today, that facility is being used to host international and local events in variety of sporting disciplines. We will continue to invest in facilities for our sportsmen and sportswomen.
“We are committed to the construction of a velodrome so that our cyclists no longer are relegated to competing and training on our roadways. And I will ensure that a warm-up pool which was requested by the Guyana Swimming Association is built at the National Aquatic Centre.
“If we are to produce world champions in sport, we have to move to another level of training.
“And we are discussing within the government the idea of elite and specialised coaching and training programmes so that we can take our finest athletes and make them world-beaters.
“I am prepared to work in partnership with the sporting associations and through public/private partnerships to develop academies of excellence geared to turn out champion sportsmen and sportswomen.
“My government is interested, as I have mentioned previously, in working in partnership with sporting associations under a new model, one that sees the respective associations taking the lead.
“Government does not always have to be the trailblazer. In the government, the stakeholders of sport have a friend who does not need conversion to their cause.
“I look forward in the future, to us developing a harmonious relationship so that we can produce the next generation of sporting heroes and heroines.
“For tonight, however, let us savour what we have. Let us bask in the fine company of these remarkable sportsmen and women who tonight we are honouring with awards that will speak for all-time of that wonderful year that they had, and hopefully of many more rewarding years ahead.”