GUYANA, the most dominant team on the regional youth boxing scene, will again hope to hoist the title when they host another edition of the Winfield Brathwaite Caribbean Schoolboy Championship from August 20th to 22nd at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The competition, which first rang off 10 years ago, is the premier youth boxing competition in the region, serving as a nursery for the amateur boxing ranks of the region.
The championship has berthed boxers who have gone on to represent Guyana and the region in world championships and Olympics.
Head coach for the local contingent, Lennox Daniels, says he has a strong group that can deliver what is expected of the host country.
“It has been a long preparation. We knew the championship would be in August, so we started basically preparation from February/March. The president, Steve Ninvalle, it is his brainchild, so he has been putting a lot of competition into the system. We were preparing for this moment to compete. There are so many boxers that I expect to see good performances, like Ken Harvey, among others. I see Guyana winning most of the medals, not because we are home but because they are well prepared and the confidence is there.”
He says early preparation has made their job easier, as the boxers know what to do and how they can achieve their goals in the square circle.
Guyana is fielding an 18-boxer squad over several weight classes.
Meanwhile the Guyana Boxing Association says they have also confirmed teams from Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Curaçao, the Bahamas, and Suriname.
This year’s competition is sponsored by the GBA and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports.
Meanwhile, the GBA will host certification programme designed to bring referees and judges in line with the requirement of World Boxing Organization today.
The programme will be led by Trinidad and Tobago’s James Beckles, a three-star referee and referee assessor.
The event is set to field close to 40 referee judges from across the nation.
The GBA says this is vital as the referee will now have to operate under World Boxing rules, the international governing body now recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Guyana is now affiliated to WBO and still hold membership with International Boxing Association (IBA).
