By Rawle Toney, in Suriname (compliments Department of Public Information, National Sports Commission)

GUYANA will get going at this year’s Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) in Suriname, when they battle the host country in football (male and female) volleyball and basketball.
At 10:00hrs, Guyana will begin their quest to retain the track and field title; a feat which should be an easy, since the Land of Many Waters is equipped with some of the Caribbean’s most talented youths who have excelled at several international events this year with distinction.

Simultaneously, Guyana’s female football team will go into action at the Frank Essed Stadium, after which the 2017 IGG – the Golden Jubilee edition – will see a colourful opening ceremony at the Ismay Van Welgin Sports Hall from 16:00hrs.
Coach Gavin Nedd’s volleyball team will swing into action after the opening ceremony in their bid to not only retain their IGG title, but also to do so in dominating fashion.
The team, according to Nedd, is “more than ready to tackle the Surinamese”, since his team is made of some of Guyana’s best players at the U-18 level, who were preparing continuously ever since the announcement of the games earlier this year.
Also at the Ismay Van Welgin Sports Hall, Guyana’s basketball team, coached by Abdullah ‘Zico’ Hamid, will seek to reclaim the title which Suriname have put a stranglehold on for the past few years of the IGG.

Hamid’s team is made up primarily of players from Guyana’s FIBA Centrobasket squad, while adding the likes of Timothy Thompson to help boost his chances of heading back to Guyana with the title.
Hamid will look to one of basketball’s most fluid young scorers, Kevon Wiggins, to handle the bulk of the scoring while Thompson, who had played at last year’s IGG tournament, forms part of the alliance for Guyana, who will also have to contend with Suriname’s toughness in the sport.
Guyana will wrap-up day one of the IGG with male football, one of the marquee events of the games, especially taking into consideration the rich rivalry between the two countries in the sport.

Boasting a star-studded team, head coach Sampson Gilbert believes that much is at stake and as such, he hopes that his troops can stick to their game plan and play within the confines of the system he drafted.
With the likes of Jeremy Garrett, Cecil Jackman, Ryan Hackett and Sherral Daniel, Gilbert believes that he has a team that is more than capable of toppling Suriname.
Director of Sport Christopher Jones reiterated his claim that Guyana’s ulterior motive is to beat Suriname at home.

TRACK AND FIELD TEAM:
Girls: Toyan Raymond (100m, 200m), Binka Joseph (100m), Deshauna Skeete (200m, 400m), Kezra Murray (400m, 800m), Joanna Archer (800m, 1500m), Shaquka Tyrell (1500M, 3000m), Leyanna Charles (3000m), Chantoba Bright (long jump, triple jump), Tatyanna Blair (long jump, high jump), Virlyn Gibson (triple jump, high jump), Mian McPherson (shot put, javelin), Jamacia Scott (shot put, discus), Prudence Codrington (javelin, discus)

Boys: Tyrell Peters (100m, 200m), Umkosie Vancooten (100m, 200m), Daniel Williams (400m, high jump), Samuel Lynch (400m, 800m), Daniel Melville (800m, discus), Murphy Nash (1500m, 5000m), Ronaldo Wishart (1500m, javelin), Rickie Williams (5000m), Anthony Williams (long jump, triple jump), Ronaldo Greene (long jump, triple jump), Tarique Boyce (high jump), Jermine Simmons (shot put, javelin and Lennox Henry (shot put, discus).

Kenisha Headley and Quincy Clarke will coach the squad while Nadine Trotz and Carolyn Garraway will act as managers.

BASKETBALL: Andrew Wiggins, Stanton Rose, Jermain King, Akeem Crandon, Timothy Thompson, Shamar France, Nigel Bowen, Jaheel Young, Aton Fileen, Jamal Gilkes, Andrew Johnson and Akil Vaughn.
Abdullah Hamid is the team’s head coach, Kirk Fraser assistant coach and Troy Green manager.

CYCLING: Adelie Hodge, Marcus Keiler, Curtis Dey, Jason Cameron, Shenika Barker, Yonka Barker and Deance Welch.
aSWIMMING: Andrew Gordon, Antonia Rodrigues, Daniel Scott, Nathon Hackett, Leon Seaton, Alex Winter, Nikita Fiedtkou, Teshana Hunter, Anna Isaacs, Accalia Khan, Kenita Mahaica and Lian Winter.

VOLLEYBALL: Kirstoff Shepherd, Akil Vaughn, Omari Joseph, Hellod Singh, Andy Rohoman, Jaleel Roberts, Samuel Jordan, Ronaldo Bobb, Montel Denny, Daymyon Alahamad, Ronaldo Griffith and Kellon Leitch.

FOOTBALL (FEMALE): Indera Amardeo, Vicky Jonannis, Althea Austin, Odessa Smith, Lendey Adolph, Anastacia Horsham, Shania Riley, Naomi Aaron, Ashana Williams, Stacy Adams, Amanda McKenzie, Tiandi Smith, Latesha Sutherland, Shontel Greene, Jamaica Hunte, Sasha Rodrigues, Anulissa Johnson and Selena Chan.
Head coach Akilah Castello and assistant Tricia Munroe
FOOTBALL (MALE): Jervis Cumberbatch, Simeon Hackette, Cecil Jackman, Jeremy Garrett, Kevin Padmore, Shomol Smith, Marriheo Eastman, Raushan Ritch, Orin Moore, Ryan Hackette, Ryan Dowding, Nixon Robertson, Chris Macey, Anton Peters, Shane Haynes, Brandon Atkinson, Sherral Daniels, and Lorenzo Miller.
Head coach is Sampson Gilbert.