[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Sports Ministry commissioned the first ever Sports Resource Centre which is expected to provide a vast amount of sports related information, and eventually will be developed into an institute of sports.
The centre is located in the compound of the National Squash Court, Woolford Avenue and is equipped with a library, computers with internet service and a conference room will also provide training in the various sports discipline and persons can be certified.
According to Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, a lot more educational and -awareness sessions need to be done for athletes in the area of anti – doping. As such, he noted that the Ministry will be hiring an anti-doping officer who will be placed at the Resource Centre to provide information on anti-doping.
“When we think about sports in Guyana, we often think about what we do on the field and pay very little on the educational side of sports…..There is an educational component of sports and we want people to understand that in the modern world our athletes will not be doing well, and therefore we took a very conscious decision that if we’re going to develop sports we have to break away from the traditional practice and start training people in the right way.”
He also stressed the importance of training, noting that previously there was very little that was done in that area and in some cases the quality of the training was not impressive.
“So there was a huge gap that existed, and we felt that it was important that we provide training….a lot of people marvelled at Jamaica’s success in the area of sport and we think that such success didn’t come over night, but they have for more than five decades built a system and put in place a sports institute”.
However, he said that Guyana needs to make a deliberate step and that is to start establishing an institution to formalise training, and this is the first step. The facility will also be available to coaches who want to conduct any particular training, and DVDs will be made available for persons who are desirous of reviewing any particular sport.
Minister Anthony said that the Ministry is also looking to develop a coaching council at the National Sports Commission, so that every year persons must apply to the council to become certified, however those who do not have the necessary training would have the opportunity to do so at the centre. He disclosed that the Ministry will also be providing sports lectures for persons to be accredited.
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