Dear Editor,

I have always followed the nominations and subsequent selection of the sports-person of the year. And for as long as I can remember Boxing, Cricket, and Squash always seem to play a pivotal role in these nominations. Boxing and cricket are reasonably cheap sports and easily accessible, but the same cannot be said about Squash. I noticed that a Guyana squash 'queen' is in this year's running for the sportswoman of the year and I would like to congratulate Ms. Fernandes on her achievement.

However, a question that comes to mind is how many Guyanese know what is squash? How many Guyanese have ever seen a squash court or will ever see one in their lifetime. These questions may seem absurd, but it's a fact that only a selected few people can access a squash court. And I say selected because as far as I can remember, membership at the Georgetown Squash facilities are only available to those in a specific social/financial status.

So how can a game that is only played by a handful of Guyanese have a 'national' champion? One would think that for national champions to emerge, the game should at least be accessible to the majority of Guyanese. Is this a misnomer, or does success in North America automatically translate to success in Guyana. Can I be declared Guyana's Curling 'King'?

I think it's an insult to young Guyanese to have someone declared a national champion in a sport that is only accessible to a few.