Ninvalle declares tournament open

THE Winfred Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Championship got underway on Friday night at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, following remarks by President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle.

The 2023 Championship is the largest to date since its inception in 2016 with a total of five countries participating. Those nations are hosts Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), Grenada, St. Lucia and Barbados.

During his address, Ninvalle, who has been an administrator for many years and knows the hardships in preparing and sending teams to participate in overseas tournaments, explained that, “I understand fully what it took to reach these championships. And, I am happy that you made sure that you sent a team to the most important tournament that we will have in the Caribbean.”
Ninvalle continued, “If we do not have good Schoolboys, Juniors and Youths (boxers), then we may not have good elites (boxers). This is where it starts and that is why the Caribbean sees it fit to have this tournament.”

Ninvalle welcomed referee/judge assessor, James Beckles from T&T, and underscored that, “Boxing is not a one-pronged sport, we need good officials, administrators, coaches and referee/judges. These are important elements in our journey to having great boxers”

He concluded that, “This tournament is not about one country winning. This is about nurturing the nursery of our sport.”
The three-day boxing championships concludes this evening. Fight time is 18:00hrs.