MINISTER of Culture Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony on Tuesday evening declared open the Ministry of Education/Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) 52nd National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, urging the participants to let good sportsmanship prevail during the events.

“When you come to Nationals it means that we have the cream of Guyana’s athletes performing here, and therefore, we would expect not only keen competition, but good discipline and good sportsmanship because sports is not just about what you do on the field but how you do it,” Minister Anthony said.
He lauded the Ministry of Education for hosting this activity for the 52nd year, and also congratulated all the persons who would have worked from their various districts and regions so that their top athletes could participate.
“We would like to see more and more participation, and from 1 700 participants here shows that these games are expanding and we have more and more regions coming out in bigger numbers,” he said.
Over the years, Government has been investing in developing world class facilities for athletes and this year’s championship is being held at two of those – the Guyana National Stadium and the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal.
“We, as a Government, see sport as a very important aspect of national life, and over the years we have been continuously investing in the development of sports, not only in the school system, but generally,” Minister Anthony pointed out.
He also spoke of the synthetic athletic track and field at Leonora that is being built. “By next year, that track and field will be laid and therefore in the future Nationals will be hosted at the home of athletics and that is at the synthetic athletics track and we expect that even more records will be broken,” he said.
While Government works on sports infrastructure and sports in general, Minister Anthony urged teachers to encourage their students to become more involved in sports activities and charged the participants to be ambassadors of sports in their schools and communities.
President of GTU, Colin Bynoe, stated that the hard work of all stakeholders in preparing for this championship must be commended. “ I’m sure that there were several hurdles to cross in getting here, but because of God’s grace you were able to make it to Nationals this year,” he told the participants.
He said that the athletes have the opportunity and skills necessary in order to make them candidates for the next National Olympics.
Reading a message, on behalf of President Donald Ramotar, GTU vice-president Malcolm Marcus stated that the Head of State congratulated the GTU and the Ministry of Education for their collaboration in this championship and for their ongoing commitment for the holistic development of schoolchildren.
“The longevity of this championship and the enthusiastic response received from schools and the public are significant of the event’s continuing relevance in society of the means of promoting athletics,” he read.
This event is sponsored by Digicel and is set to conclude tomorrow. Last year District Number 10 dominated the competition