Former Guyana and West Indies Captain Clive Lloyd says that the school system needs to undergo a major revamp in the way sport is administered. Acting as the keynote speaker of the Georgetown Cricket Association’s (GCA) prize-giving ceremony for the Hadi’s World two-day tournament on Wednesday evening at the Georgetown Cricket Club pavilion, the former West Indies legend added that these changes are important.
“The Government of Guyana should seek to elevate the level and quality of all sport programmes in schools across the country and make it an important part of the school’s curriculum,” said Lloyd, who was also known as the Super-cat.
He continued, “There is an abundance of young men and women, from every race and creed with immense mental and athletic abilities who could be trained to compete. In my opinion, the difference between these young men and women and, let’s say, a Usain Bolt, etc. is the lack of proper training facilities – state of the art facilities – and the lack of professional coaches.”
Lloyd’s comments were echoed by the President of the GCA Roger Harper. He noted that the key factor behind the GCA’s ongoing tournament drive is its belief in the pillars of discipline and hard work.
“Tonight is about prize giving and I’m sure you all enjoy ceremonies such as this one. It is a very important occasion which comes from hard work, application and success and they are being rewarded. I want to congratulate all of you individuals and teams receiving awards here tonight,” the former Guyana and West Indies cricketer noted.
Harper called on those teams who fell just outside the awarding region to use this as fuel to get into the top spot.
It was an EASY victory by the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) after they defeated the Guyana Defence Force by an innings and 66 runs.
Captain Leon Johnson in giving the vote of thanks conceded that the competition was tough but they managed to come out on top.