THE Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association (GAWA) is heartened by the response of the crowds they have been attracting over the past week with their various exhibition lifts around the country.
“The crowd support is tremendous. Everyone is enthusiastic and the response is good,” general secretary of the association Deion Nurse said yesterday
GAWA is celebrating its 64th year as an organised sport in the country and as such has embarked on a number of exhibition showcases around the country.
Nurse said the response in the Parika areas yesterday was poor. A number of gyms did not turn up to go to the venue. Since Sunday is not a busy day in the area, as such they will be back in the area from 10:00 hrs today.
Following that, there will be another exhibition at the Georgetown Seawall from 16:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs.
Nurse said the exhibitions were sponsored by Banks DIH Limited under the Banks Malta brand name. He said that they distributed samples of the product at the various venues.
A number of other exhibition lifts are scheduled around the country throughout the month of May, while there is also a youth seminar and a coaches’ seminar planned for May 15 and 22. The youth seminar is open to everyone interested in the sport and will deal with the history of the sport, the benefits, and make video presentations of local and international competitions.
The coaches’ seminar is mainly designed to upgrade the skills of the present coaches in the country.
The one-day seminar will be conducted by national coach, Clifton Moore, who returned from Hungary with a diploma from the Hungarian Sports University. The diploma now allows him to coach in any sport discipline but Nurse said other persons could also attend.
Meanwhile, president of the association, Farook Abdool, is on a six-day coaches’ training course in Mexico and is expected back on May 12.
The course is sponsored by the Pan-American Sports Organisation and has been facilitated by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).
Abdool, elected vice-president of the association, was elevated to president when former elected president Melissa Robertson-Ogle resigned from the post earlier this year.