LAST Tuesday, in the studios of the National Communications Network, Scotiabank renewed its ties with the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) and the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) by co-sponsoring their Annual Magazine, Awards ceremony, Tribute to Teachers programme along with an Essay and Spelling Bee competition.
Marketing Manager of Scotiabank Jennifer Cipriani handed over a cheque for $250 000 to CEO\Secretary of the RHTYSC Hilbert Foster and Secretary of the BCB Angela Haniff, to facilitate the aforementioned.
The RHTY&SC has set itself a total of 200 programmes\activities for the year and if achieved, would represent a record for the club which is widely considered Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation as the most they have completed in a calendar year is 185.
Special emphasis would be placed on programmes under the sub-heading of sports, culture, charity, pro-education, anti-drugs, youth development, awards/honour system and community enhancement.
Speaking at the ceremony, Foster explained that the main reason for the club’s achievement over the years is dedication and hard work by its members as well as the massive support they received from donors and sponsors, such as Scotiabank.
He thanked the Bank for its support and hailed the entity as one of the main pillars for their rise to the top.
“For the last six years, the bank has assisted us in a massive way by sponsoring several activities and has also supported us with $100 000 in toys at last year’s Christmas season.
“We are very grateful for this assistance as we seek to fulfil our God-given mandate to make positive differences in the lives of youths, the elderly and less fortunate,” added Foster, who also singled out Cipriani for special mention.
Speaking on behalf of the BCB, the burly Foster said this year would be a historic one for the Board, since they will be celebrating their 75th anniversary, after being founded in 1939 to administer the game of cricket in the Ancient County.
“The BCB intends to make the Diamond Jubilee event a grand success by organising cricket tournaments on the field at all levels and also to host numerous off-the-field activities with emphasis on coaching, awards, charity, personal development and education,” said Foster.
He added, “Today we are pleased to join hands with the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), who during our Diamond Jubilee year, would be sponsoring the seventh edition of the BCB/Scotia Bank Cricket Academy, which has been very successful to Berbice’s cricket and has produced numerous players.”
They would also be sponsoring an essay competition for secondary school students on the topic ‘Berbice Cricket at 75 Years’, with the top three winners receiving prizes and trophies, compliments of the sponsor and the BCB.”
He cited as examples, Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai and Shimron Hetmyer, two players who have gone on to represent Guyana at the Under-15 and 19 levels and now are members of the West Indies Under-19 World Cup team.
Some other players who have represented Berbice and are products of the camp are Shemaine Campbelle, Shawn Pereira, Kevin Ramdeen, Romario Shepherd-DeJonge, Dominique Rikhi, Sharaz Ramcharran and Phaffiana Millington, among others.
This year’s edition of the Academy would be hosted at the Area ‘H’ ground in late July and will last for a period of one week, where 70 students would be taken through their paces by Michael Hyles and Winston Smith, with special emphasis being placed on batting, bowling, fielding, physical fitness and wicket-keeping.
“They would also be involved in several lectures on topics of interest, such as the ‘Importance of Discipline and Education’, The History of Cricket, Public Speaking and the History of Berbice Cricket amongst others,” Foster stated.
The BCB, like so many years gone by, is confident that at the end of the Academy, all the young cricketers who would have attended same would be in a better position to not only be role models to others, but also be successful on the cricket field in their respective discipline. He thanked the sponsor, especially Cipriani, for its support on behalf of the BCB.
Cipriani in a brief remark said that the bank is committed to supporting communities and they are pleased to be part of events organised by both the BCB and the RHTY&SC.

(By Calvin Roberts )