– FINA official hails National Aquatic Centre  as “great investment”

By Avenash Ramzan

With the aim of constantly expanding the pool of local swimmers, the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Sport, is looking to integrate the University of Guyana (UG) and the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) into its long-term plan for the development of the sport.

Delivering remarks at the commissioning of the multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art, 25-metre warm-up/warm-down pool on Friday morning at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony told the large gathering of the Administration’s vision to tap into the sporting talents that exist within the education system.

FINA Vice President Dale Neuburger

The main swimming facilities around the country – the others being Castellani and Colgrain pools – are currently being utilised by competitive swimmers only, but according to the Minister, that will now change with the completion of the 25-metre facility at Liliendaal.
“We wrote to these two very important educational institutions, because we believe that students at the University ought to have a very strong background in sport, and more so we want to provide them with the avenue to have a swim club at the University. So we hope in a very short time that they would take up our offer to come and utilise these beautiful facilities,” Dr Anthony explained.

He added, “We’ve also sent out a similar letter to CPCE, and the reason being because we see this as a very strategic move. We feel that if teachers come here and train – and we would also provide training in terms of coaching and so forth – that when they go back to their respective communities and to their respective schools that we would have a friend in that school would be teaching swimming and other sport. So, we see this as a very good alliance that we can have with the teachers’ college.”

The Minister further stated that invitations have also been dispatched to surrounding schools to use the facility during the day, as the national swimmers usually train early in the day and in the evenings. According to Dr Anthony, secondary school students are also welcomed to do their Physical Education evaluation at the venue.

The Minister was also pleased to report that an offer was made to the Joint Services to make use of the Aquatic Centre, and they have since made good on that offer.

In driving home his point to have more persons outside of the swimming fraternity utilise the services offered at the Centre, Dr Anthony said they would be exposed to a facility of the highest quality.

“Someone once said to me that when you think of swimming pools in the Caribbean, you can actually count the swimming pools that are of really high standard, and when they visited here and they saw this pool, they said that we have the Rolls-Royce among pools in the Caribbean … and that is saying quite something,” the Minister said to rapturous applause.

International plaudits
Friday’s function was also attended by two top officials of the international swimming community, Vice President of swimming’s world governing body, FINA, Dale Neuburger, and President of the South American Swimming Confederation (CONSANAT), Juan Carlos Orihuela Garcete.

Both men, who were visiting Guyana for the first time, said they were impressed by the facility at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown and commended the Government for its investment in the sport.

Neuburger said, “I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the Government because this is great investment in facilities, but it’s a great investment for our kids, our young people. And I hope that each of you students in your school uniform – looking very, very good – would soon be in the pool in your swimsuits, both learning to swim or beginning a career in competitive swimming. I hope those things occur.”
Neuburger pointed out that the opportunities for the hosting of international competitions were now “great”, and he was looking forward to the day when swimmers from South America and the Caribbean will grace these shores for prestigious meets.

“I also look forward to some of the other additional upgrades to the facility we mentioned this morning, including electronic timings and scoreboards and other facilities. This will be one of the great facilities in this region that can host many important events and boost sport tourism for Guyana,” he related.

Neuburger and Garcete both promised to return to Guyana and assist in the development of athletes and coaches to reach their full potential.

Garcete promised, “I would like to say today on behalf of CONSANAT that we from CONSANAT will bring courses, training, equipment, and even scholarships to this beautiful country of Guyana and its swimmers.”

Also delivering remarks was Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, who said the realisation of the project was the continuation of a vision of the Bharrat Jagdeo Government, which was subsequently fulfilled by the Donald Ramotar Administration.

At the commissioning of the Olympic-sized swimming pool weeks before the 2011 General Elections, officials of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) spoke of the need for a warm-up/warm-down pool, a request Jagdeo said would be fulfilled once his party was re-elected.

“Today, Ladies and Gentlemen, just in front of your eyes, is a manifestation of what this caring and responsible Government is capable of doing. As a matter of fact, over the years, the PPP/C Government has demonstrated its ability to carry out its mandate as it relates to the policy direction in sports. One of the many functions of the National Sports Commission and by extension, the Government of Guyana, is to provide for the establishment, erection and maintenance of sports and other recreational facilities,” Kumar highlighted.

He added, “Friends, the construction of the National Aquatic Centre, right here, and the regular upgrade of the Colgrain Pool must be seen as serious undertakings to provide for the development of our swimmers. Because of the construction of the National Aquatic Centre, two Guyanese swimmers went to the London Olympics [in 2012]. We are proud to report that over the last two years, we at the National Sports Commission trained 228 very young swimmers and approximately 100 of them have graduated to swimming the 50-metre pool.”
GASA President Ivan Persaud said the sport now stood “at the edge of greatness”.

“Finally, we have a facility that will allow our swimmers to participate to their full potential. Finally, we have the missing piece of the puzzle that has confounded us all these years,” Persaud pointed out.

He continued, “You will recall I mentioned that apart from the facility, much more is required for success at the highest levels. And so this must be seen as the start, not the finish of an ongoing regime of support. Indeed, though the pool proper was constructed two years ago, and to the casual eye seemed complete, it took this phase of construction to provide the warm-up pool. With this much-needed facility in place, we are sure to see our swimmers’ performances improve.”