MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, made a presentation of boxing gear to the Port Kaituma Boxing Gym yesterday in the boardroom of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCY&S) and stressed that the gesture comes as a result of the impressive prowess of some of the gym’s boxers. The Minister revealed that the boxing gear was donated to the Port Kaituma Gym because of the wealth of talent that is present there, as was evident by their recent good showing at the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association’s (GABA) Intermediate Boxing Championships.
Vanessa Robinson and Mark George won titles in the Lightweight and the Junior Welterweight divisions respectively and Benjamin Henry was the runner-up in the Bantamweight division.
Anthony said that it was however noted that the pugilists from the hinterland region were lacking in the most basic equipment needed for the sport so they are being presented with the well deserved donation.
The abundance of talent in the hinterland areas has not gone unnoticed and yesterday’s gesture underscores the ministry’s aim of conducting more outreach efforts to hone this talent for the development of the sport countrywide.
The Co-ordinating Coach of the Port Kaituma Gym, Shem Cuffy, said that the timely gesture will help to further his gym’s progress. Boxing in Port Kaituma has come a far way since the start of the boxing programme two years ago and the gym now fosters nine boxers. He thanked Minister Anthony for the recognition of his efforts and the show of faith in the boxers.
President of GABA, Steve Ninvalle, said that his association feels privileged to be receiving such support from the MCY&S.
He believes that much gratitude is due to Dr Anthony who is very fervent about his decentralisation efforts and he said that those efforts are emphasised by this gesture taking into account how remote of a location Port Kaituma is. Ninvalle also noted the talent of the pugilists, saying that they all came and performed very well.
He thanked the ministry for their ongoing support of amateur boxing as this is not the first gesture of its kind as similar donations have also been made to the Forgotten Youth Foundation, Pocket Rocket Boxing Gym and the Sixhead Lewis Gym among others.