THE Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) last Wednesday evening officially launched the XXIII Goodwill Swim Meet, which will be held from August 18 to 21, at the National Aquatic Centre in Liliendaal. Dubbed the biggest participation to date, over 200 swimmers from six other countries are expected to arrive in Guyana to participate in the flagship annual short course meet.
The swimmers will come from the meet’s core countries – Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Barbados, and St Lucia – while Bahamas and Grenada will be participating based on invitations extended by Guyana.
Wednesday night’s ceremony, held at the Pegasus Hotel, featured the unveiling of the logo for Goodwill 2017, which was done by Guyana’s top performers at last year’s Goodwill Swim Meet, Danielle and Jadyn George. All those who participated in the logo competition were presented with participation certificates.
There was also the presentation of an honorary plaque to former GASA executive Charles Corbin, who was hailed as one of the pioneers of Goodwill, and his dedication to swimming in Guyana over the years.
Director of Sport Christopher Jones was on hand to pledge the National Sports Commission’s support for the Goodwill Swim Meet.
“As GASA prepares to host the Goodwill Meet in August 2017, the National Sports Commission is here to say to you, and the executives that we stand ready and willing to support and to ensure the successful hosting of these Goodwill Games,” Jones said.
Jones mentioned that the NSC is always open towards sports development.
“With this new administration there is no need to beg,” Jones declared, as his statement was met with resounding applause from the audience.
National coach Sean Baksh said that swimmers representing Guyana will soon be a part of a training programme.
Baksh is confident that Guyana will be able to field a full team at this year’s event, with the aim to improve on their records.
Over the years Guyana has failed to shine at the regional meet, in most cases because of the unavailability to field a full team.
The Rules allow for each participating country to enter a maximum of 40 swimmers.
Guyana, on the other hand, usually struggles with the quota, notwithstanding the fact that the numbers have been increasing over the years.
In several cases funding is a highly restrictive factor, while at other times Guyana does not have a sufficient supply of swimmers.
However, GASA president Ivan Persaud during his address on Wednesday indicated Guyana has seen immense improvements over the past few years.
“When I first started in 2013 we had 56 competitive swimmers, now we have almost 300 competitive swimmers. We now have to think about increasing the length of the swimming championships from three and four days to five days, because of the amount of swimmers we have. We have included all of our regions in swimming,” Persaud informed.
Director of Youth, Trevor Williams, spoke on behalf of Minister for the Department of Culture, Youth and Sports Nicolette Henry who unfortunately could not attend.