AS thousands of students will be enjoying their end of the school year vacation, hundreds of camps, particularly Sports, will be organised around the country. Significantly the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will be hosting more than one hundred camps, while various sports Associations/Federations, churches and other social and civic organisations will be doing the same.
In recent years the popularity of Sports Camps has grown drastically. Parents, coaches and other members of the sporting fraternity have come to realise the benefits of exposing our young students to sports. Students who are exposed to multiple sport disciplines at a young age are more likely to develop a positive attitude towards sports and physical fitness. Also, coaches and organisers can more easily identify and subsequently hone talent when their charges are younger.
The social interaction among youths in these Sports Camps is an amazing thing to witness. Children often organise themselves into teams for team sports. With little fuss batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeepers and fieldsmen are established and this then allows the coach to easily demonstrate various techniques of the different aspects of the game.
Sports Camps also provide a perfect platform to teach our youths about the importance of discipline, manners, cleanliness and respect for people and property. It is easier to ensure that our youths develop proper attitudes towards society and discipline at an early age when these teachings are mixed with and reinforced through sports.
Our youths are also given the opportunity to socialise with people from different social and cultural backgrounds which fosters social understanding and integration.
Children are also more receptive to positive social messages such as “Say no to Drugs, Crime and Violence”. Therefore, Sports Camps are a perfect place for coaches and mentors to reinforce these positive social messages and the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Our Swimming programme has already attracted more than one hundred applicants.  The Swimming coaches and the staff are overwhelmed with the public response.  Most heartening is the fact that parents are displaying a keen interest in their children’s activities and are giving much valued time and attention to their children.
The beginners’ programme at the Colgrain Pool promises to be a resounding success. It is indeed delightful to see children Under-10 years splashing in the water in their determined efforts to learn to swim. Mr Gary Heywood, your letter is indeed a source of inspiration to our staff and coaches in particular.
This year National cycle coach Hassan Mohamed will be conducting his 36th ‘Teach Them Young’ cycling camp at the National Park. It cannot be denied that our Annual Cycling Camp at the National Park is the reservoir for cycling in this country.
Almost all our national cyclists came out of our school vocation camp at the National Park. This is the 36th year since we started sponsoring the cycling camp.  The first two cyclists who came out of the cycle camp at the National Park were Hector Edwards who is today a Lecturer at the University of Guyana and a genuine sport administrator and Leo Ramalho, who was also a former top cyclist.
Our National Cricket Coach who is working with the National Sports Commission will also be organising a Cricket Camp for the very young at the Guyana National Stadium and around the country. National Sports Commission coaches Yadram Latchman and Daniel Richmond will be holding two camps on the East Coast of Demerara; while there will be several special cricket camps in other areas.
National Football coach Gordon Braithwaite will be organising football clinics and a tough six-week camp in Georgetown. Football viewership is hot and the determined Braithwaite is raring to have several camps around the country.
Hats Off! to the synergies between the Guyana Table Tennis Association and the National Sports Commission, hundreds of students will be at our table tennis camps. National Sports Commission coach Linden Johnson is already seeking help to better cope with the school vacation camps for table tennis.
However, the aggressive and hardworking Table Tennis Association Executive seems prepared and capable of implementing the camps across the country with great success. There will be special table tennis camps in Berbice, Linden, Bartica, Essequibo, West Demerara, East Coast and Georgetown.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport already introduced more than 100 table tennis boards around the country.  Minister Anthony is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to distribute a further 30 high-quality table tennis boards. This will certainly help Guyana to excel and dominate the Caribbean at table tennis.
The National Sports Commission and Street Solutions School Basketball programme is the only nursery programme for basketball in this country.  The Basketball fraternity is indeed grateful for our schools’ basketball programme.
This year there are several basketball camps around the country and all eyes will be on the aggressive and successful Ann Gordon in Kwakwani.
The National Sports Commission will be working with most of the National Sports Associations and Federations to organise camps around the country.
Our students must make the best use of these opportunities and parents must be fully supportive. Camps will enable our students to develop a positive attitude towards sports and develop genuine interest in specific sport disciplines.