Compete in the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship – Henry

NICOLETTE Henry, Minister of Education, upon declaring the 58th National Schools Championship open, encouraged the hundreds of student-athletes from across Guyana to compete in the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play during the six-day event.

Athletes from 15 districts, representing the 10 administrative regions, will compete in the disciplines of swimming (Aquatic Centre), cycling (National Park) and track and field (National Track and Field Centre) at the championships which, according to the minister, “is important to the process of harnessing the talent of our developing student-athletes.”

In her brief address following a colourful opening ceremony, Minister Henry also stated that, “This championship is a sports scout paradise because it showcases our top athletes who I know will go on to represent our country both regionally and internationally. This event is the pinnacle of our school sporting calendar and also an inspirational testament of what collaborative team work can achieve.”

Banks DIH Limited, the championships’ longest corporate supporter, also came in for praises from Henry, as she challenged other entities to support the games and help to preserve and encourage the games which is rich in the country’s history.

Regional Executive Officer of Region #3, Denis Jaikarran and Second Vice President of the Guyana Teacher’s Union (GTU), Julian Cambridge echoed similar sentiments as Minister Henry in their address to the athletes.

District 10 athletes Esau Lawden, Ronardo Greene, Shavin Greene and Nikita Fiedtkou had the honours of lighting the Game’s Flames, which will only be put out when the curtain come down on Friday.

Last year, behind the exploits of Daniel Williams, Chantoba Bright and Deshanna Skeete, Upper Demerara/Kwakwani, District 10, won their consecutive and 16th overall title, which saw them continuing their reign as the most successful District in the history of the Championships.

The ever-improving South Georgetown (District 13) finished second, while North Georgetown (District 11) was third.

Rounding off the top five finishes last year were West Demerara (District 3) which finished and East Georgetown (District 12) and Cuyuni Mazaruni (District 7) tied for the fifth position.