With the announcement that the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) is hopeful of restarting its season sometime in August, the Super Upcoming Runners (SUR) athletics club has been preparing for this resumption and are looking forward to the day they can take to the track.
In a recent interview with SUR Head Coach Niall Stanton, it was revealed that despite the athletes and coaches being under lockdown, there have been mechanisms in place to keep the athletes in shape.
“We have been in contact with our athletes, we are in contact via Whatsapp on a daily basis, we usually send individual programs over that platform for our athletes to follow. Everybody has been under some amount of stress during the lockdown, the fact is that Covid-19 is a killer and we’ve had to use coping mechanisms as coaches and athletes. This is why we’ve been in constant contact and ensuring they’ve been doing their personalized training sessions”
Meanwhile, in looking to the future, Stanton and his charges are optimistic about the resumption of training; “Aside from those who have CXC and CAPE exams, the other athletes have been doing their training with an eye on the resumption of the season. We are hopeful, maybe in the coming months, the Ministry of Health will give us permission to resume training, as well as the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) who have suspended all Track & Field activities”.
On a positive note, Stanton noted that the AAG has been in contact with the clubs from time to time throughout the Covid-19 induced lockdown, he also revealed that they (AAG) have also given some assistance to the athletes in the form of hampers through the help of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).
Upon resumption of athletics in Guyana, Stanton reinforced the need for clubs, athletes and officials alike to follow the guidelines set forth by the authorities.
“When the time comes for resumption, we will have to follow the guidelines set out by the Ministry of Health, we will have tremendous help in that area as my wife is a Doctor and she is a part of the club’s management team”.
“Hopefully by next month (August) if we’re given permission to start, I have no doubt that there will be marked changes, we do want to resume training and we do want to be around our athletes, but everybody won’t be converging at once” Stanton explained.
In a telling statement, the outspoken coach pointed out; “The sport won’t be the same and I envision changes coming from the top right down to the lower levels, but as a club we will look to adapt. We are looking forward to a successful 2021/2022. Coming back out on the track won’t be the same but it will be a great joy to be back with them (athletes) physically”.
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