It was a busy weekend at the Pegasus Suites and Conference Centre in Kingston, Georgetown, for the heads of the Caribbean’s National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) hosted their General Assembly and Workshop in the land of many waters.
A plan that has been in the pipeline for quite some months, CANOC President Keith Joseph explained during an interview how they settled on Guyana as a host venue this year.
Joseph reflected, “When Guyana applied to host the event, we were pleased because over the last few years in particular, Guyana has made tremendous strides economically, and one of the areas in which Guyana has excelled is in sport, particularly in track and field. We’ve been looking at the performance of Guyana in the last three editions of CARIFTA Games and that has given Guyana a new impetus.”
“Not that Guyana has ever been bad in sport. It’s important for us to be able to showcase the development of our Caribbean countries. We are happy that we’ve seen Guyana come through some very difficult economic circumstances and have now taken their place, rightfully, among the sporting nations in the Caribbean,” he added.
Discussing the elements of their agenda over the weekend, which also included a financial management workshop hosted by the IOC, Joseph divulged some of their current objectives and aspects of their much-talked-about “strategic plan”.
“In terms of our own regional development in sport, we believe that sport has a place as a strategic pillar in national development and, by extension, regional development. So, what we want to do is assist our members in building capacity, in preparing for succession planning so we have successive generations of leaders, and gender equity, and the foundation must be sport for all,” the CANOC President noted.
He went on to divulge, “The strategic plan is to take us to a pathway where we build our brand, where we engage in higher levels of communication among our members, and where we work together as members of the Caribbean sport fraternity to locate sport as a critical filler in national and regional development, and I think, if we do that, we will be as successful as any other nation.”
Responding to enquiries about Guyana’s growing potential in hosting events, the CANOC President recognised Guyana’s development, hailing it as a step toward Caribbean leadership.
Joseph highlighted, “When we were here in January for the retreat, we had an audience with the President, and one of the things he was talking about was, ‘Is the private sector contributing enough to sport? Is it left only up to the Government, etc.? I know of Aliann Pompey, and when she has her meet, I know Kirani James came here. I’ve seen the development of the stadium, and I understand the plan to build more stadiums across Guyana. We can only have an improvement of what Guyana has done so far, and we believe that Guyana is now in a position, not just to help the leadership of the Caribbean locally.”
“You’ve had a history of scholars, alongside a history of sportspeople, and I think if we merge our academics with our sporting developments, Guyana can play a more important role in leading the Caribbean out of the present state that we’re in,” he went on to opine.
Meanwhile, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr also graced the CANOC event over the weekend, delivering remarks.
In his progressive presentation, Minister Ramson spoke on three thematic areas focusing on the shift of perspective towards Government collaboration and opportunities for the region in the dynamic global situation. Minister Ramson offered a sketch of Guyana’s evolving sports landscape and its vision for development. He interacted warmly with top sports leaders and commended the Executive Committee of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) for its proactive leadership and collaboration. The Minister emphasised that the Ministry and the GOA are working in close alignment to advance sport governance, athlete welfare, and international competitiveness, reflecting a shared commitment to strengthening the Caribbean’s collective role in global sport.
CANOC’s AGM and workshop began on Thursday last and concluded on Sunday.
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