THE Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) will be represented by president David Patterson and vice-president Dawn Holder at this year’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Congress, which will be held in St Thomas on February 2.

Speaking with Chronicle Sport yesterday, Patterson noted that Guyana will be strongly represented, highlighting several policies and proposals they intend to put forward to the CBC to see the development of the game locally.
“There’s plenty that we need to let the CBC know as it relates to charting the course for basketball development in Guyana,” said Patterson, citing that Holder, a former Magistrate and an Attorney-at-Law, is a good mate to properly propose the plans for the GABF to see basketball flourish in the South American state.
With 2013 being the year of the CBC Basketball Championship, Patterson is hoping that a host country could be named and hopefully it will be a nation within the southern half of the Caribbean.
“We’re hearing all sorts of places but nothing concrete,” said Patterson, stating, “We heard Jamaica one time and the next time I heard Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), but nothing concrete. What we’ll be hoping for is that at the congress some host country can certainly be named because it’s not much time left for countries to prepare.”
Apart from the fact that Patterson had stated Guyana will be represented at this year’s championship, he said that several other issues are also important to the GABF.
“We had previously asked for there to be a level one coaches’ clinic and nothing has been granted to Guyana. There was one course where coach Tom Newel was here through the Olympic Solidarity, but nothing from FIBA/CBC though it was promised since the previous meeting I attended,” said Patterson.
Patterson said also that Guyana should have benefited from a referees’ certification clinic and that too will take centre stage in St Thomas.
“Apart from the pre-certification course which was done by Glyne Clarke, Guyana should have benefited from a referees’ certification course, but nothing as yet.
All these things we had lobbied for, but nothing has been coming our way. What we had with Mr. Clarke was commendable, but that’s just part of what we had asked the CBC/FIBA for. There was one in Barbados recently but Guyana needs to benefit too,” said the GABF head.
With Patterson at the helm of the sport, Guyana, apart from making a return to the CBC Championship, has frequented the CBC Congress and other important meetings involving Caribbean territories.