– IGG second leg officially opens

THE SECOND leg of this year’s Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) opened yesterday at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Suriname’s capital of Paramaribo with the country’s Minister of Sport Dr Ismanto Adna encouraging the athletes and officials of the three countries to play in the spirit of ‘Goodwill’.

Chess, Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Football and Cycling (male and female) are the disciplines being contested by the three participating countries in Suriname, French Guiana and Guyana with the ‘Land of Many Waters’ being the winners of the first leg which was held in Georgetown earlier this year.
“As Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs of Suriname, I would like to express our feelings of satisfaction, appreciation, and joy to host the IGG 2014, in Paramaribo Suriname.
“We are about to give the school youths again, what they really deserve in sports and culture within the Guianas and must do everything possible to assure the continuation of these games in upcoming years” Dr Ismanto Adna said while delivering the key address at the opening ceremony.
The IGG begun in Suriname in 1967, initiated by Guyana’s Deryck Whitehead along with Orlando Amson, Abbdul Raman and Eddie Van Genderen of Suriname with the intention of strengthening relationships among the three countries using sports.
Football, basketball and athletics were the core disciplines contested then, until swimming and volleyball were added and, most recently chess, table tennis and badminton.
According to Adna, his country is in full support of the IGG, pointing out, “We want sports to develop consistently, and want to give, therefore, the youths the ability to be aware of the benefits of sports and physical activity in order to have a healthy and productive community. We also want them to deal with and respect victory and loss. The IGG have proved to be the event that supports this aspiration.”
Meanwhile, Guyana’s Director of Sport Neil Kumar applauded Suriname for playing a part in preserving the game’s rich history and said that he’s more than pleased that Guyana can play a significant role in helping in the continuity of the games.
Guyana will not be represented in football. Kumar apologised for his nation’s absence which he said was due to the ramblings in the sport. The long-serving sports director however promised their participation next year.
Head of the French Guiana delegation, Jean-Claude Mariema, shared similar sentiments as both Guyana and Suriname, but said that he looks forward to his country playing hosts to the games in the near future.
Suriname’s Permanent Secretary of Education Dr Robert Peneux stressed the importance the games play in bringing a balance between sports and education and called on the nations to safeguard the games for as long as possible.

(By Rawle Toney in Suriname)