… Teams resume training at facility

PAGE 28 of the May 15 edition Stabroek News headlined ‘Kumar stops b/ball teams from training at CASH’. The revelations of the story saw Director of Sport Neil Kumar gain widespread criticism and condemnation, since it is under his National Sports Commission (NSC) control the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) falls. At present, the Sports Hall, the only indoor facility that could accommodate the sport of basketball, is being used by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) to prepare their male and female National U-19 teams, as well as for practice sessions for teams preparing for the Inter-Association Championships.
The report stated that the GABF was banned because of its president Nigel Hinds’ objection to having Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) being designated as the entity responsible for selecting Guyana’s National U-19 team to participate in July’s Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) between Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname.
Kumar, when contacted, said that he never banned anyone from using the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and is surprised as to how such a report was made in the first place.
“I have no position because to begin with, I never banned anyone from using the Sports Hall. I don’t know how they could say I banned when I never even hinted to that. Whoever it is that’s behind this whole thing have their own motive but I have no time with that. Tomorrow (Friday) I will issue a release to that effect,” said the Director of Sport.
The teams were locked out of the facility on Wednesday evening but a visit to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall by this publication revealed the players all going through their normal paces at practice.
In an invited comment, Hinds said that it was after a series of telephone calls and discussions with the Sport Director, that the players were allowed access.
“We turned up and the gates were locked, asked the guard who I was told has a key to the venue, and he stated the he doesn’t know anything about having a key. But when we eventually got on to Mr Kumar, the same security got up and opened the venue. This can’t continue happening and it ends now,” Hinds said.