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FM
Former Member

Warm up pool commissioned - brings Guyana closer to a world class sporting power

Written by , Published in News, Georgetown, GINA, February 27, 2015, Source - GINA

 

The Warm-up Pool has been described as another necessary component in the efforts to have Guyana recognised as a world class “sporting power”. The new facility that was commissioned today by President Donald Ramotar has now fully completed the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal.

 

The Head of State expressed his wish that Guyana would be recognised at events like the Olympics and other sporting events across the Americas and the rest of the world.

 

The newly commissioned warm-up swimming pool at the National Aquatic Center, Liliendaal

The newly commissioned warm-up swimming pool at the National Aquatic Center, Liliendaal

 

The president said the Aquatic Centre now joins the Guyana National Stadium along with the soon to be commissioned Leonora Synthetic Track, as part of government’s investment in community grounds, fields and facilities to bring out the talents of persons regardless of where they live. He said, “Hopefully, our coaches, our officials can be able to spot them, to develop them and develop their talents right here”.

 

It is facilities such as these, the president added, that will help to bring people together to realise their dreams of making Guyana a “much, much better place”.

 

The facility can also be used to bring health, economic benefits and more, the president also noted. “When you satisfy a man’s stomach then it’s important that we satisfy his spirit, his culture, his sports….which as our country develops becomes as important as satisfying the material needs of our people”. Noting that while sport has become “big business”, the president added that, the main reason should still be to seek glory for one’s self, community and country.

 

The pre-fabricated 25 x 21 metre warm-up pool was assembled by Myrtha Pool Company at a cost of US$288,600. Myrtha Pool was recommended by FINA, the international governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, and synchronised and open water swimming.

 

The preliminary work was executed by D&S Construction Company and supervised by Innovative Engineering Consultancy Services (I.E.C.S).

 

Giving a brief outline of the facility, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, Alfred King explained that the larger Olympic sized pool was a necessity for the facility to be certified and used for recognised international competitions. There was a six- month delay in addressing some of the construction challenges, but these were successfully overcome, he added as he thanked the construction company and other stakeholders who made the pool a reality. The project was executed in three components, with D&S Company undertaking civil works, Myrtha Pool Company which delivered a pre-engineered pool completed with a 10-year warranty and an automated filtration system that can be monitored via the internet.

 

Director of Sport Neil Kumar noted that the facility, along with others, “is a manifestation of what this caring and responsible government is capable of doing”.

 

President Donald Ramotar addressing stakeholders at the commissioning of the warm-up swimming pool at the National Aquatic Center, Liliendaal

 

For the President of the Guyana Swimming Association, Ivan Persaud, the facility is an upgrade for local swimmers who previously competed against their international counterparts who were able to train using world class facilities. He opined that while those gathered for the ceremony sit at the edge of the new pool, as a nation, “we stand on the edge of greatness in our sport with a new facility that will allow our swimmers to practice to their full potential”.

 

He further thanked the minister and his team for their “unstinting effort” in making the facility a reality.

 

Brief remarks were also given by the President of the South American Swimming Federation Juan Carlos Ortheila and Vice President of FÉdÉration Internationale de Natation (FINA) Dale Neuburger, both of whom thanked the Guyana Government for the investment. The latter described the new facility as “a pool of dreams, dreams of young people who will have a chance to learn to swim and to realise their potential as young athletes in both fitness and competition”.

 

For the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture Dr. Frank Anthony it was a dream that was fulfilled and “another for us in the sporting community”.

 

Director of Sports Neil Kumar, President Donald Ramotar (center), Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture Dr. Frank Anthony and Permanent Secretary Alfred King presenting a trophy to the winner of an exhibition race at the newly commissioned warm-up swimming pool at the National Aquatic Center, Liliendaal

 

The facility, the minister added has already been described by an international stakeholder as the “the Rolls Royce among pools in the Caribbean”. A new organisational structure will soon be installed to manage the facility, he noted as he pledged to have more organisations use the pool. Letters, he said have already been sent to the University of Guyana, the Cyril Potter College of Education, and secondary schools to conduct physical training and swimming classes. The facility which will soon be open to the general public is already being used by the Joint Services for various types of training. The ministry has a staff of coaches and life guards on duty also.

 

The warm-up pool carries both a shallow and a deep end ranging between 1.175m and 1.82m. It is the first internationally certified swimming facility, to be built locally and has seen the successful staging of several competitions and training sessions. 

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Another great accomplishment by the Ministry of Sports.   I have always said the only two Ministers that actually work are the Minister of Sports and Education...The rest of them needs to go..

alena06
Originally Posted by alena06:

Another great accomplishment by the Ministry of Sports.   I have always said the only two Ministers that actually work are the Minister of Sports and Education...The rest of them needs to go..

I think the Min of Agriculture is also doing well.

Nehru
Originally Posted by GT Stingaa:
a lil note to GINA Webmaster, building a pool does not qualify ayuh as a "world sporting power"

wonda which Olympic dis idiot dreamin of

information for GT Stingaa .. these facilities provide benefits the people who visits them.

 

Becoming a "world sporting power" emerges when participants are engaged in various competitions -- whether local or international.

FM

Guyana had good swimmers...

 

~~~~~

 

Walter Percy Spence (March 3, 1901 – October 16, 1958) was a swimmer from British Guiana (present-day Guyana) who competed for Canada in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1932 Summer Olympics. He immigrated to the United States and held several national swimming titles there.

 

Spence was born in Christianburg, British Guiana, the oldest of eight children—four brothers and four sisters. His father was Scottish and worked as a big game hunterand guide, while his mother was Indian. The Spences would swim in the Demerara River; six family members bore scars from piranha bites suffered while swimming there. Walter and two of his younger brothers, Wallace and Leonard, became champion swimmers. Two of the four Spence sisters also swam competitively, although not at the level of their brothers. 

 

He competed for Canada in the 1928 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 4x200 m freestyle relay event. He was also sixth in the 100 m freestyle event and sixth in the 200 m breaststroke event. Four years later he was fourth in the 4x200 m freestyle relay event.[1] He was also fourth in his semifinal of the 100 m freestyle event and fourth in his semifinal of the 200 m breaststroke event and did not advance in both occasions.

 

He later represented British Guiana at the 1938 British Empire Games.[2] He won the silver medal in the 220 yards breaststroke contest and finished fourth in the 110 yards freestyle competition.

FM
First twin engined aircraft operated by a private company. Flown to Guyana by Capt John Phillips
 

John Ian Frederick Phillips affectionately called ‘Big’ John was born on March 08, 1933 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana). He is a former champion athlete, swimmer boxer commercial pilot, flight instructor, entrepreneur, geologist, and family man. 

John Graduated from Queen’s College in 1949/50 when the school was located on Brickdam.

As a teenager, John was British Guiana’s National Swimming Champion from 1947-51 and was British Guiana’s Single and Double Sculls National Champion from 1948-1950, an achievement he repeated in 1967 and 1968. John was also a boxing enthusiast and trained as a boxer from an early age. He was often compared by his peers for his boxing skills and agility to the great world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson.

After leaving Queen’s College, John went to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). His works responsibilities took him to Kitimat, northwestern British Columbia. It was there that his boxing prowess gained more attention when he entered a local boxing competition. ‘Big” John became heavily favored and went on to win the North Western Heavyweight Boxing Championship by defeating Roy Toomes of Canada (c. 1954). John has the distinction of representing British Guiana internationally in the July 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Whilst studying in the USA, he represented Fullerton College as well as the University of Oklahoma in Conference Swimming Championships. At Fullerton College in California Big John became the first student ever to be nominated for both the Academic and Athletic awards in the same year! He was an All American Swimmer in 1955-57.  

In 1965 John handily won the highly publicized cross-Demerara river three-quarter mile swim race (Vreed-en-Hoop Selling to John Fernandes’ wharf) in 16.5 minutes. 

 

 

FM

...I have always said the only two Ministers that actually work are the Minister of Sports and Education...The rest of them needs to go..

 

...I think the Min of Agriculture is also doing well.

 

Surely you jest. Minister of Education: Govt's squarest peg has no clue about education.  She is a publicity hog and milked the distribution of the $10,000 for photo ops.  That had no nexus to education. The education system is about 50 years behind. The fat one said she became minister after wrapping tape on pencils at Freedom House.

 

I like Anthony- probably the humblest of all the ministers.  He is a Jaganite at heart.

 

Agriculture- did you miss the fact that Black Bush farmers were burning tires last week.  Did you not see the Doerga/Jinnah videos?

 

Ramsammy said the Surendra pumps were here and then they could not find them.  He can't count 12 pumps?

 

Ramsammy getting ready to sign a deal with the Chinese to take the Corentyne fish?  How about the spy equipment?

 

There is no amount of bleach that could sanitize these PPP/Crooks.

 

 

FM

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