THE 2010 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Rugby Sevens Championship logo was officially launched yesterday at the National Park Rugby field.
Speaking at the launch of what is to be a historic event, president of the North America West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA) Christopher `Kit’ Nascimento who also heads the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU), said Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) through its Cellink brand has generously come on board to sponsor the tournament which will be the first Olympic rugby tournament in the history of the sport.
Apart from thanking GT&T for their support, Nascimento who will be leaving Guyana on Sunday for Puerto Rico to attend a CAC 2010 conference said there are a number of firsts for the two-day tournament which will be held on July 24 and 25.
Among the firsts Nascimento mentioned are: it will be the very first time any CAC event will be held in Guyana; it is the first time that Guyana has bid to host a CAC event and won, and it will be the very first time that rugby will be played at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence
The former Minister of Information said a committee had long ago been put in place to oversee the success of the championship which will involve teams from The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico, and Venezuela along with host Guyana.
According to Nascimento, Colombia were to be represented, but for reasons unknown, they have pulled out, but Costa Rica have unofficially indicated that they will be sending a team.
This Nascimento said is still to be confirmed.
The organising committee is headed by Nascimento and includes former GRFU president Noel Adonis (Deputy Event Coordinator), Dr Karen Pilgrim (Event Secretary), Garfield Wiltshire (Finance Officer), Marcelle Adonis (Logistics Officer), John Lewis (Match Officer) Gem Madhoo-Nascimento (Accommodation and Special Events Officer), Terry Holder (Public Relations and Marketing Officer), Charles Corbin (Special Events Officer), Roxanne Thomas (Medical Service Officer) and Robin Roberts (Security Officer).
According to the former motor car racer, GT&T has taken on the job of marketing the tournament which the GRFU hopes will attract thousands of spectators locally.
The 2010 CAC Rugby Sevens logo was designed and prepared by one of Guyana’s finest designers, Bernard Ramsey, who currently resides in Florida, USA and who volunteered his service.
According to Nascimento, President Bharrat Jagdeo has pledged his government’s support for the tournament.
Speaking on behalf of GT&T, the company’s marketing representative Wanita Hubern congratulated the GRFU for doing a fantastic job in taking the sport to this level locally; she also congratulated for the outstanding performance over the past few years at the Regional level and said her company is very proud of the Union’s achievements.
She added that the company’s Chief Executive Officer (Major General Retired) Joe Singh who is a former national player of the sport is very supportive of the venture.