{"id":26626,"date":"2025-02-20T14:47:47","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T14:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/?p=26626"},"modified":"2025-02-20T14:47:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T14:47:49","slug":"president-ali-opens-caribbeans-first-doubles-squash-court-in-guyana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/president-ali-opens-caribbeans-first-doubles-squash-court-in-guyana\/","title":{"rendered":"President Ali Opens Caribbean\u2019s First Doubles Squash Court in Guyana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n\n<p><em>By Celestine Chacon<\/em><br><em>February 1, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guyana has taken a major step in sports development with the opening of the Caribbean\u2019s first doubles squash courts at the Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Dr. Irfaan Ali officially declared the facility open today, marking a significant investment in the country\u2019s sporting future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state-of-the-art squash facility, valued at over $60 million, was launched by the government through the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The initiative aims to enhance Guyana\u2019s sporting infrastructure and provide better opportunities for local athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Longtime President of the Guyana Squash Association, David Fernandes, expressed his appreciation for the government\u2019s support, highlighting that investing in sports infrastructure is crucial to nurturing talent and fulfilling potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year marks the 60th anniversary of squash in Guyana, making the opening of the new facility a fitting milestone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister of Sport Charles Ramson Jr. credited the president\u2019s strong commitment to sports and youth development for the sector\u2019s ongoing success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Ali, in his feature address, underscored the role of sports in national development, emphasizing its potential to drive economic growth and tourism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He pointed out that sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry and that Guyana must strategically position itself to benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new squash facility includes three full-size courts, a spacious seating area for spectators, and extended parking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports reported that $27 million was spent on the building\u2019s exterior and structure, while an additional $41 million was allocated for the courts and interior fittings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The opening ceremony was attended by key stakeholders, including commissioners of the National Sports Commission and executives from various sports bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With this latest development, Guyana continues to expand its sports infrastructure, positioning itself as a hub for athletic excellence and international sporting events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Celestine ChaconFebruary 1, 2025 Guyana has taken a major step in sports development with the opening of the Caribbean\u2019s first doubles squash courts at the Racquet Centre on Woolford&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[363,350,352],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-transformation","category-news","category-sports"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26626"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26627,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26626\/revisions\/26627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}