Agard becomes first Guyanese to gain CABA badge
Guyana Chronicle
January 24, 2007
GUYANA’S Ramona Agard is the first Guyanese to gain a Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association (CABA) refereeing badge.
The 30-year-old female, topped the CABA examination for boxing officials which was held in Trinidad and Tobago last year.
Agard, who is the second female in the Caribbean (Evon Joefield of Trinidad and Tobago is the first) said that following the rules was her ticket to success.
“I read my rules carefully, I took control when I was in the ring, and I showed that the care and protection of the boxers are the two most important things.”
According to recent information from CABA, Agard topped a field of over 20 participants from St Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Dominica and Jamaica.
Other local participants took the course, and they all passed the theoretical but none passed the practical.
Affeeze Khan, president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA), said that the local boxers were encouraged to receive more training in the practical aspect so that they can re-sit the examination.
For Agard, Khan was advised to make recommendations for her to try to gain the Continental badge. Agard, who has been a boxing fan since she was a child, is excited about sitting the Continental examination. She said after success at this exam she would look towards achieving the pinnacle of amateur refereeing by acquiring an Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) badge.
When Agard took her first local course in 2003, she topped the class and finished ahead of 15 participants with a whopping 96.5 percent. (Faizool Deo)