DESPITE not hosting a local version to select a winner, Guyana will have a representative competing in the regional finals of the Guinness Skills Competition in St Vincent and the Grenadines, according to Banks DIH Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste.

Speaking to Chronicle Sport in an exclusive interview, Baptiste said his company did not host a local version to select a winner because of time constraints.
“We felt that the time was too short to host a skills competition so we opted not to run off one,” said Baptiste, who noted that despite this Guyana will still compete in the regional finals, with the winning team selecting a player to do so.
Addressing the issue of the skill competition Baptiste said that the perception by many persons in Guyana as to what a skills competition is a myth noting that it involves more than their imagination.
“Many persons believes that a skills competition involves someone doving a ball or stuff like that, but it is more than just that. A skills competition allows the players to demonstrate their skills, perform stunts and do other stuff with the ball that many may view as being unbelievable,” he said
The Guinness local boss declared that Guyana will host the skills version next year in an effort to select a winner to represent Guyana at the Guinness Caribbean Skill Competition, adding that this will afford them an opportunity to put the necessary things in place so that Guyana can select its representative.
“We will be hosting a skills competition next year and while we are competing this year we also will look at the level and quality of players so as to put the required systems in place,” he said.
Drawing reference to last year’s Caribbean tournament, Baptiste said he foresees the competition getting bigger next year.
“Last year after we had hosted the local version of the five-a-side tournament, a number of past players and other persons expressed interest in the competition and this year we saw the level and quality raised as a number of past players and even other persons came forward to compete”.
This, Lee said, is an indication that not only is the competition growing but also the interest and quality and he expressed satisfaction over the support given by the public thus far in the competition, noting that this augurs well for the continued growth of the tournament.
While not disclosing what is at stake for the top finishers of the regional skills competition he said that the prizes are very attractive and Guyana will be competing against representatives from St Luca, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and host country St Vincent and the Grenadines.