… Ministry of Sport to upgrade ‘Six Head’ Lewis gym
WITH the aim to further enhance the fistic sport of boxing at the amateur level, as well as swimming, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) with the aid of the Cuban Embassy has acquired the services of two qualified coaches in their respective field to commence working with the local fraternity.
At a simple press briefing held in the ministry’s boardroom yesterday, 44- year-old Isabel Maria Couso Fals who had a lengthy discussion with the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) and 45-year-old Francisco Hernandez Roldan were introduced to the media.
Raul Gortazar Marrero, Cuba’s Ambassador (Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary) to Guyana through an interpreter said it was a privilege for his country to be associated with Guyana in sports, having already done so through health and agriculture – a fact that was later expounded by Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony.
“Cuba was very happy at the moment because of the collaboration with the brother country Guyana and they are not working on the health sector alone, but different sectors such as health and agriculture and now sports,” said Marrero.
He said he considers the appointment of the two coaches of boxing and swimming as important and they will, in due course, see Guyana perform exceedingly well in both sports discipline, while new markets will be opened within other sports disciplines, as Cuba is ready to continue working with Guyana in this regard.
The Ambassador applauded Dr Anthony and the MCYS for the hospitality that was extended to Fals and Roldan, saying that it allowed Cuba to extend its arm further to Guyana with regard to assistance in other sports discipline, as it sees fit.
In his remarks, Dr Anthony said it was a proud moment for Guyana, since his ministry has been working on getting the coaches here for quite some time and because of the collaboration between Guyana and the Cuban Embassy, it recently became a reality.
“As Ambassador Marrero stated earlier, Guyana and Cuba enjoyed a strong relationship in the fields of health and agriculture and for the very first time, we are looking to strengthen that relationship through sports and I think this is now opening up a new engagement between the two countries.”
Highlighting Cuba’s strength in numerous sporting disciplines, such as boxing – where Teofilo Stevenson readily come to mind – chess, swimming, athletics and many other areas, Dr Anthony said the Spanish-speaking country has been lending expertise to other countries, helping them to develop their capacity and skill base.
“We are very pleased that Guyana can have that privilege where coaches from Cuba will be coming on a regular basis to Guyana, to assist in building the capacity of our local people. This is truly developing a new relationship, a new area and we are very pleased about that,” stated Dr Anthony.
According to the Minister, the Government of Guyana is looking to lift the quality of amateur boxing in the country, doing so in a number of ways while taking it to a different level, citing the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis gym in Albouystown as the main facility for same.
“The Government has established that gym which has been around for some time.
We have not been able to maximise the use of that space before, but will be doing so now, with the arrival of the Cuban coach who will be permanently based at that facility.
“We would be converting that gym into an ongoing elite training centre, where the best boxers from the various gyms around the country, will be going there for elite training under the guidance of Roldan and even though the gym is not fully equipped, the Ministry of Sport has given an undertaking to equip the facility with all the necessary equipment so the boxers can have the best at their disposal,” Dr Anthony said.
He added, “Upstairs of that very gym, there is space for a dormitory and that has not been used in that way before, but such will change … boxers who are residing out of Georgetown and require a place to stay to undergo their training will have a place to do so. It is not just a commitment to bring the coach here and do work, but we are also changing things at the gym and utilising the space.”
Dr Anthony said meetings were held with the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association, where a programme was worked out with regard to moving the abovementioned process forward, while Roldan will be visiting gyms to do talent-spotting,
with the identified boxers being invited to the ‘Six Head’ Lewis gym for elite training, while coaches and officials will also be identified for the purpose of upgrading.
“We know that there are communities who are interested in boxing and we are hoping that with Roldan’s countrywide visit during his extended period of stay – as the initial contract is for one year, but we are hoping to have him here for two – we can start boxing clubs within those communities.”
In alluding to Fals’ role, Dr Anthony said the coach would be based at the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal.
“Once again, because of space and the capacity of people who can coach swimming, we want to change that by offering courses for persons who are interested in coaching and train them to meet minimum standards, like a level one or two coach, etc.
“We will also be working with officials, teaching them the basics of officiating at swim meets and that will be followed by courses for elite swimmers. The programme that is being worked out will go from preliminary swimmers (persons now learning to swim), to elite swimmers,” said Dr Anthony.
He said his ministry recognised that one coach cannot undertake all those tasks, and therefore it is committed to recruiting local coaches into the programme and while they have advertised, not many applicants have submitted applications, but when that is done they will commence the process of hiring.
He said the ministry will not stop with the input of the two coaches, but they are looking to have an athletics coach and talks in that regard have commenced with the Cuban Embassy, with the aim of doing so as soon as the athletics track is completed.
Prior to Minister Anthony making his brief remarks, MCYS Permanent Secretary Alfred King and Director of Sport within the National Sports Commission Neil Kumar welcomed both coaches to Guyana, while King released the qualifications and background information for both Fals and Roldan.