THE upcoming Inter-Guiana ‘Goodwill’ Games will get started with the basketball competition at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), while volleyball will be held simultaneously at the National Gymnasium, when that event begins here in Guyana on October 21 and runs until October 23. Both competitions start off at 13:00hrs, at their respective venues, while activities continue later the same day with the opening ceremony at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, starting at 18:00hrs.
The athletics component will begin immediately after at 19:00hrs, according to the schedule that was announced by Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, at a press briefing held yesterday at the National Sports Commission (NSC) headquarters.
The press conference also had in attendance representatives from each of the seven sporting disciplines that will be participating at this year’s Games, as well as representatives from the various sponsors on board for the event.
As the schedule of the events continues badminton, which will also be at the National Gymnasium, gets underway, on Saturday, October 22 at 09:00hrs. This will be followed by the continuation of the male and female volleyball matches.
Back at the CASH the futsal football begins at 13:00hrs, and will be followed by the continuation of the basketball competition. Swimming will commence and conclude on Sunday, October 23, at the National Aquatic Centre. Also set for Sunday is volleyball at the Gymnasium and futsal, table tennis, and basketball at CASH.
The closing ceremony is set for 20:00hrs.
Jones noted that all the disciplines have been busy putting together, and preparing, their teams for the Games, where they will compete against their counterparts from Suriname.
Representatives from the different teams were also on hand to speak of how the preparations have been coming along.
Speaking on behalf of the table tennis was national coach Linden Johnson, who declared that his team will not be taking the abilities of the Suriname team for granted, and will be working assiduously to groom the Guyana team.
Johnson noted that the team is one that has shown much promise and several of the players recently performed at the regional level.
Swimming team manager Leon Seaton described the team as a “vibrant” one, though the team suffered a blow as three of the selected swimmers had to be replaced. Swimmers Amy Grant, Philip DeNobrega and Nathan Hackett will no longer be on the team They are being replaced by Nikita Fiedtkou, Daniel Scott and Jamal Skeete.
Athletics has already named a 28-member team, while Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) president Gokarn Ramdhani said training for the eight-member badminton team has been going excellently.
Jones also took the opportunity at yesterday’s briefing to thank the corporate sponsors who have come on board to throw their support behind the event. Sponsors include Digicel, Banks DIH, Impressions, and E-Networks