Over 286 athletes, including returning US-based scholarship holders, will compete at the ninth edition of the Guyana Overseas-Based Sports Association (GOBSA) Independence Track and Field Classic on May 24 at the National Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara.
The meet, David Thomas’s brainchild, promises a full day of competition, scheduled to commence promptly at 09:30h.
Altethics Association of Guyana (AAG) First Vice-President, Mark Scott, confirmed the strong registration numbers and highlighted the presence of returning talent. “So far, we have 286 athletes registered for this meet.
We have overseas-based Guyanese on scholarships; they’re here for the meet. For example, we have Cassie Small and Revon Williams, two names who will be competing on Saturday.”
Scott also elaborated on the introduction of the hurdles events, “This is the brainchild of what we had recently with the training programme with Mr Sanchez, the two-time Olympian. It was not initially on the programme, we thought it best that it should be included in this programme.”
The inclusion of the men’s 110m hurdles and the women’s 100m hurdles will be a major highlight of this year’s event.
This decision follows a successful elite training programme conducted by former Olympic champion Felix Sanchez, a camp supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Competition will be fierce across four categories: Under-12, Under-15, Under-18, and 18 and older.
While younger athletes in the U-12 and U-15 divisions will be vying for medals, the U-18 competitors will be rewarded with cash vouchers and prizes such as electronic tablets.
The senior athletes in the 18 and older category will compete for significant cash prizes, with $30,000 awarded for first place, $25,000 for second, and $20,000 for third.
Spectators are encouraged to attend, and the admission fee is $500 for children and $1000 for adults.
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