PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar will on March 3 receive the Queen’s Baton as it journeys through Guyana on its way to Glasgow, Scotland for the official opening of the XX Commonwealth Games.The Queen’s Baton Relay is a much loved tradition of the Commonwealth Games and symbolizes the coming together of all nations and territories in preparation for the four-yearly festival of sport and culture.
Addressing members of the media, yesterday, President of the Guyana Olympic Association Kamal Juman-Yassin said the baton will arrive in Guyana on March 2 and on the following morning it will be handed over to President Ramotar at State House and President Ramotar is expected to take it along the route for a short distance.
“I know President Ramotar walks every morning as a form of exercise so I hope he will walk with it for a short distance,” Yassin quipped.
Yassin said the Baton will traverse a few of the streets in Georgetown before making its way to the Providence National Stadium before going to Aishalton in Region 8 and it is tentatively set to pass through Annai in Region 9 also.
The British High Commission in Guyana in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and the GOA will host a reception on the evening of March 3.
Yassin said the GOA asked several schools to participate in the Relay and they have all agreed to have their students be a part of the activity.
The GOA’s committee responsible for Guyana’s leg of the relay is headed by Dr. Karen Pilgrim who gave a detailed account of how the Baton was made and what it is capable of doing.
According to Dr. Pilgrim, the Baton brings a message from her majesty the Queen of England and throughout its journey through 71 nations (a distance of 190,000 kilometres) it will be under tight security.
She said the GOA is very pleased that the Baton which is currently in South Africa will be here in Guyana for the two-day stay.
Yassin informed that the British Broadcasting Centre is monitoring the movements of the Baton and airs where it’s at every morning, “so this will be a very good opportunity for Guyana to showcase how we live”.
Yassin who is the vice-president of the Americas during the journey of the Baton will take the Baton to Canada and Belize as it journeys back to Scotland for the official opening of the Games which commences on July 23 and concludes on August 3.
The Queen’s Baton Relay commenced on October 9 last year to unify the two billion people of the Commonwealth, in a celebration of Sport, Diversity and Peace.
In a special message at the Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty the Queen placed her message to the Commonwealth into the iconic baton to launch it on its way and it will return to The Queen who will read it aloud to officially declare the Games open.
Written By Michael DaSilva