OVER 150 athletes are set to take part in tomorrow’s 10k and 5k road races, while maximum participation is expected in the track and field segment of the Jubilee Road Race and Track and Field event which will begin at 06:00hrs.The road races will start off from the GNS Sports Complex on Carifesta Avenue, while the track and field segment of the event, which was originally scheduled to be held at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground, has been moved to the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, beginning at 11.00hrs.
The organisers, Guyana Ex-Athletes Association from New York, in collaboration with the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), yesterday at a press conference held at the GNS Complex, promised that the event will be an exciting one.
Organisers said that registration for the road races will remain open until the day of the event, from 05:00hrs, while registration has already closed for the track and field segment. All of the major clubs are set to participate.
The 5k consists of two categories, the 16-20 age group and the Under-16 category. The 10k will feature a Senior and a Masters category. For the senior category cash prizes will be up for grabs from the first to fifth positions, with $40 000 for first place, $30 000 for second, $20 000 for third, $15 000 for fourth and $10 000 for fifth.
Cash prizes will also be there for the Masters category where the top male and female will each receive $20 000, while second-placers and third-placers will receive $15 000 and $10 000 respectively.
Two members from the Guyana Ex-Athletes Association, Burgette Williams-Ford and David Thomas, who were at the head table of the conference, disclosed that this event had been a long time coming and they are happy that they are finally able to execute it.
Thomas also emphasised that this is by no means the only way that the organisation will be looking to lend support to athletics in Guyana. Much more can be expected in the future.
“We have tried in the past to do an event as ex-athletes to promote sports, and athletics to help the youths in Guyana and with the new government we have been successful in being able to do that, so this is our first event.” Thomas said
“We have some long-term goals and it would include helping to get the schools involved more, the Ministry of Education involved. We are working on making it happen so that we can expose more Guyanese athletes overseas.
When I turn my television on and look at track events there is not a Guyana flag there and we are hoping we can change that.”
Williams-Ford also remarked, contrary to the usual tune of lack of financial support, that garnering sponsorship for these future events will not be the problem; the issue will be in the money being accounted for.
“There are a lot of people willing to give money to help the athletes or help any organisation here, but the problem is credibility: where the money went? It’s not that people don’t want to give. Charity is a big business, and people forget where they start once money comes into hand.
So getting sponsors is not a problem, but people want to know where the money goes. Once you can prove (to persons) here is where your dollar went, it will not be a problem.” Williams-Ford explained.