THE Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) will be undergoing a development programme that will see 60 long jump pits erected at various schools across Guyana, according to president Aubrey Hutson.The body is armed with approximately $5 million of funding from the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), and is further encouraged by the recent feats of world-ranked Guyanese triple jumper Troy Doris.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport, the AAG head said, “We are yet to identify which schools, and that kind of stuff, (but) we would like everything to be up and running for the new school year, so we are hoping that during the August holiday we can get in there. We’re looking to have it all completed by the end of August.”
The Association is already in possession of 80% of the funding for the programme, Hutson said, with the remaining 20% to come as the programme proceeds and funds are consumed. The overall programme would involve not only the installation of the pits but also the training of persons.
“It’s not just about digging a pit, filling it with sand and then just walking away. It’s putting down the pits and having the coaches go out there and train the teachers in the school system on how to train the children to jump, and all of those things have costs attached to them,.” Hutson explained
The programme will also involve a camp, for the athletes.
The AAG boss said, “It’s not just about the pits, there are other components. It’s also about running athletics camps and dietary programmes for school athletes. We are going to be running an August camp during the holidays, which has a training aspect, and a nutrition aspect. Nutrition is a key aspect of our athletes’ development.
“We continue to find that athletes are not able to sustain their training because their bodies are too weak for the level of training that they need to become elite athletes. So when we have them in camp we’re able to give them the right food and get them into the right habit of what to eat and that kind of stuff,” he continued.
The pit comes in a timely manner, as it coincides with recent rise to fame of overseas-based Guyana triple-jumper Troy Doris, who most recently qualified for the Rio Olympic Games with a 17.18m jump. The amazing jump left him ranking third in the world, in the current list of best jumps.
Hutson cheerfully dubbed the initiative the “Troy Doris Pits” adding that the initiative is one not only for the capital city.
“It’s not just a Georgetown thing; we plan to work in every region. We are looking at it on a population basis and we will not necessarily put it in all schools in Georgetown.
“Our premier jumper comes out of Linden so we have to ensure Linden, Kwakwani, even in Lethem, we want to work in Berbice, and in Essequibo, West Demerara, all those areas that we are seeing athletes with natural talent,” Hutson pledged
The $5M represents just one-third of the overall expenditure according to Hutson, who also noted that the Guyana Olympics Association and government will be expected to plug in the other two-thirds.
“I feel comfortable at least in that I will get commitment from the GOA, but I’m yet to have that sit-down with the Ministry of Education or any part of the government. Even if we don’t get from either party we have US$25 000 in our hands that we can at least start something. So we will probably just have to cut our programme to suit the funding we have,” he concluded.