New track and field club fuels US interest
By Edison Jefford
Stabroek News
February 1, 2007
It has only been two weeks since the formation of a new track and field club here and already the potential of the club has influenced overseas-based coach Clifford Wong in playing an active part in the club's development.
Two weeks ago, when Stabroek Sport first reported on the formation of the club, the executive was still not formed and a name was still to be decided by the growing membership.
However, Chairman of the Interim Management Com-mittee (IMC) for the club, Keith Campbell told Stabroek Sport yesterday that the club has been officially named Running Brave Athletics Club.
Wong's interest in the club was fuelled by the report carried in this newspaper two weeks ago. Speaking with Stabroek Sport via email the coach said that he has always been a fan of Guyanese athletes.
"I've always been a fan and supporter of the athletes back home," Wong said. The US-based coach is the chairman of a non-profit organisation called Friends of Guyana Athletics (FGA).
The organisation is attempting to put together a men's team to compete in the 2007 Penn Relays on April 27 and 28 in Philadelphia, USA. The team will compete in the US vs the World 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
"I competed for Guyana in 1996 (at the Atlanta Olympic Games) and always wanted to assist athletes back home with my non-profit organization," Wong said, adding that he is also a track and field agent who can assist the club by taking it to the next level.
Wong is the track and field coach of the George C. Marshall High School track and field team.
He said that he is aware of "some potential business persons" who would like to support the top athletes in the club.
Wong said that he hopes to establish a working relationship with the officers of the new club and he would be willing to assist with the setting up of a website for the club. "Hope we can work together to take the guys to the next level," he said in the email.
Guyana's top 100m sprinter Rawle Greene said that Wong's initiative would certainly take local track and field to the next level. According to Greene athletes such as Chris Campbell stand to benefit.
Greene and Campbell are among the athletes in the Running Brave club. Campbell is a graduate of St Joseph's High School and St Stanislaus College with a Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) certificate as well as 'A' level passes.
"Wong could assist Chris (Campbell) to get a scholarship. He is a real asset, we intend to send him some videos of our performances so that he could help us with our programme and preparations," Greene said.
Greene said that Wong's assistance to the club is a timely one since Guyana on a whole is punishing to find good coaches.
According to Greene, Wong could help the athletes with control of stride patterns and speed.
He said that those areas are technical areas that are being ignored locally because coaches just don't know what to do. "In Guyana all we do is just keep fit," the top sprinter said.
Some of the officials of the club told Stabroek Sport two weeks ago that the club is expected to take Guyana by storm. The official launching is set for this weekend at a venue to be announced.