…Swimming and cycling out this year

THE 2025 edition of the National Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships was on Wednesday launched at the National Centre er for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) in Kingston.
This year the revamped championships will showcase the country’s top secondary school athletes, reinforcing the Ministry’s commitment to youth development and sports excellence at the Leonora Track and Field stadium from March 11 to 13.
The championships will no longer feature swimming and cycling disciplines and is to be organised by a management committee which includes representatives from the Athletics Association of Guyana, Teachers and Ministry of Education officials along with representatives from the Fire Service and Police.

Dr Ritesh Tularam Deputy Education Officer Technical says the remodeling of the games is geared towards the benefit of the student athletes.
“The whole intentional drive behind why not November of the preceding year is because the Ministry of Education in its planning wants to ensure that our athletes, the students who are participating in these activities across the regions, we want to ensure they are given a platform, so they can scaffold in that career projection,” Dr. Tularam said.

He noted this is the goal of the Ministry to develop well round athletes and better gear them towards participation at regional competitions.
“Persons competing at the nationals in November of that year we would have recognised as well that they are not channeled accordingly to ensure they benefit from the regional games and the international games and so the whole remodeling and depositing of the nationals sees our athletes benefiting significantly heading into the CARFITA games,” Tularam says unlike previous editions the ministry will take over management of the activities and not the Guyana Teacher’s Union (GTU) but they will run the games with experienced personnel that have been part of the games for decades.
Dr Mark Lyte who is part of the management committee of the games emphasised the crucial nature of the games, “Today (Wednesday) we gather at this wonderful location, not just to celebrate competition but to reaffirm our commitment to youth development in sports and the holistic growth of our students, these championships that we now are prepared to welcome in a few weeks’ time, they are extremely important to the development of our students athletes and sports in general.”

The events is sponsored by the government of Guyana and their main beverage sponsor, Banks DIH limited and will see around 2000 athletes in this year’s competition competing for bragging rights, honour and gold medals for themselves and school districts.
The Regional segment of competition has been completed in the various districts and is now set to culminate at the national level.