Minister Henry puts Olympic medals into prospective

Nov 06, 2016, Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ls-into-prospective/

By Edison Jefford
The Ministry of Education’s Department of Culture, Youth and Sport is committed to taking the necessary steps that will foster greater development of sport in a way that will eventually lead to Guyana’s attainment of more Olympic medals.
Minister of Education with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Nicolette Henry was pellucid with the Department’s commitment on Thursday when she delivered the feature remarks at the launch of the 56th National Schools’ Championships.
“I wish to assure you that the Ministry of Education’s, Department of Culture, Youth and Sports will continue to work diligently to provide as many opportunities as possible, through sports, to enable our athletes to realise their true potentials,” Henry said.
“We stand committed to ensuring that our athletes get the types of training that will bring us the Olympic gold medals,” the Minister added in her remarks at the National Centre for Education Research and Development (NCERD) Headquarters in Kingston.
She said that Government recognises that a lot more needs to be done to ensure that the abilities of promising athletes are developed and sustained. Henry believes that they have to take a further step in the direction of the development of talent.
“We’ve seen a lot of talents in our young people, be it cricket, football or athletics; but we must go a step further in terms of providing whatever it takes to harness and work towards the development of those talents,” she said.
The Minister indicated that a few months ago she challenged sports associations to come up with solutions to the problems that face sports in general and its development in Guyana. She said that everyone is aware of the problems, and therefore all stakeholders “must make concerted efforts to address these problems”.
“No one here will disagree with me that we have young people here with the talents to win the Olympic medals if they are properly and adequately trained. It is high time that we give athletes the attention and support they need in order for them to develop their fullest potentials,” Henry suggested.
She said that the Department has been doing its part for athletes. From allocating tax waivers to sponsoring athletes’ airfares for international competition, and other financial contributions, the Department has been at the forefront of helping athletes.
However, the Minister said that a more systematic approach will be taken with the advent of the National Sports Policy by mid next year and the inclusion of sports on the schools’ curriculum. It is those steps, she believes, that will create greater development in sports.
According to Henry, the spinoffs from a move in that direction will be immense. They include an increase in self-esteem, healthy lives, building a sense of co-operation and team spirit and setting a base for talent spotting, training and coaching to become world class.
In addition, the Minister indicated that there are economic benefits attached to the development of sports. She said that sports entrepreneurship and management and the advent of sport leagues have considerably increased the money-earning capacity in sports.
“It (sports) has also opened newer avenues for the livelihood for people across the globe. Further, sports does not only bring economic gain, but it is a tool to forge national unity or social cohesion,” Henry added.
Aware of those facts, she said that Government will be doing its part to develop sports, but those efforts will require wider stakeholder support. Apart from sport associations, she also pleaded for the Private Sector to consider doing more for sports.
“Some entities within the Private Sector chimed in with their lot but a lot more needs to be done generally if we are going to produce world class athletes,” she said. Guyana is currently a holder of one Olympic medal, a bronze in 1980, from the gloves of boxer, Michael Parris.