LAST year’s top sports persons in the sugar industry were awarded by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) recently as the personnel director declared that sport was the core of any civilisation.

In a small ceremony at LBI Estate Sports Club on April 13, Personnel Director Lakeram Singh presented the awards to Male Sports Personality Vejai Farhad, Female Sports Personality Ameta Carroll and Best Sports Group Uitvlugt Estate.

Male runner Wazim Habib, Female runner-up Dorette Sandy and Group runner-up GUYSUCO Apprentice Training Centre Hostel (Port Mourant) also received their awards.

Farhad, a laboratory attendant at Blairmont factory, participated in cricket, volleyball and softball at the inter-estate and regional levels and was selected to represent Guyana at volleyball in Trinidad & Tobago where he was adjudged best player of the championships in which Guyana won all three matches.

The 19-year-old is the captain for the junior volleyball, junior cricket and softball teams.
Carroll, a junior bookkeeper at Uitvlugt Estate, represented the estate at softball, dominoes, whist and mixed circle tennis, and is a member of the estate’s Sports Committee.

The personnel director offered congratulations to the winners, saying that GUYSUCO “recognised excellence”, and the annual presentation ceremony this year was small compared to years gone by.

Singh said that sport had a very “old history” at the sugar estates and the sugar industry had the best infrastructure to facilitate sport.

‘Sport is an expression of completeness. It is central to any civilisation.”

The sugar official said sport was the best measurement of a person’s character.

“If you want to know the character of a person, just observe that person in sport.”

Singh said that sport was a good measure in recruiting persons in some organisations.

“This is a very important dimension to tell the recruiting officer of the person you are.”

The personnel officer referred to West Indies batsman Brian Lara, who, though was a brilliant player, had a “deadly influence on the team”.

Singh pointed out that the level of participation in sport was not at the level of yesteryear.

“Participants used to seek out the organisers to pick them to play so that they could represent the estate.”

GUYSUCO’S Sport Development Officer, Joe Solomon, congratulated and encouraged the sport personalities to continue performing.

The former West Indies player referred to new West Indies batsman Narsingh Deonarine of Albion, who he contended should have made the regional team two years ago, “but was hindered by his behaviour”.