– GASA sees the programme as critical to sport’s development

THE National Sports Commission (NSC), on Monday, launched its annual ‘Teach Them Young’ Easter vacation swimming programme at the COLGRAIN Pool.

The programme which caters for children ages 6 – 16, will conclude on April 22 and will be conducted by a team of qualified coaches.

Linden (Watooka Pool) and Berbice (Albion) will also host the programme for children in their respective areas.

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, welcomed the large group of children at the refurbished swimming facility in the City while telling the gathering that the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, insisted on making the programme free of charge, to accommodate as many participants as possible.

Ramson, Ninvalle said, was the driving force behind the programme’s return for the first time since the advent of COVID-19.

“I just want to urge the organisers, that safety be the watchword…with that in mind, we will make sure that there’s an ambulance here to make sure that the parents will be comfortable knowing that the children are well taken care of,” Ninvalle said.

With swimming being one of the core sports identified by the NSC and Ministry, Ninvalle is hoping that the Government’s academy for swimmers is given the same reception as their holiday swimming programme.

Cristy Campbell, one of the NSC’s commissioners, told the gathering of parents, guardians and other officials of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA), “when this programme concludes, it will not be the end of the development of talent, because, in another two weeks, we are also preparing to launch the National Swimming Academy.”

“You can look forward to our continued support for swimming, and I would also like to use the opportunity to ask the coaches and participants to adhere to the precautionary measures,” Campbell stated.

Meanwhile, GASA’s president, Dwayne Scott, said he was happy to see the massive turnout, adding “I hope this transfers interest into reality and this interest can be developed into potential swimmers; potential national representatives for Guyana.”

The NSC’s Teach Them Young swimming programme is over 25 years old and started under the tenure of former Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, and is held during the schools’ Easter vacation period.