Guyana collected 77 medals across two major regional archery championships hosted at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, from October 22 to 25, delivering a strong performance while showcasing the country’s capacity to stage international sporting events.
The Eighth Caribbean Development Championships (CDC) and the inaugural Caribbean Championships (CC) attracted athletes from 18 countries across the Caribbean and Central America, who competed in recurve, compound and barebow disciplines.
Guyana’s largest medal haul came at the developmental championships, where its archers recorded 61 medal-winning performances, comprising 24 gold, 23 silver and 14 bronze medals.
Of those 61 medals, 49 were won outright by Guyanese archers, while 12 came through combined-national teams. The format brought together competitors from different countries, including Guyana, the Bahamas, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago, encouraging regional cooperation.
The hosts added 16 medals at the inaugural Caribbean Championships, securing four gold, nine silver and three bronze to bring their overall tally from the two events to 77.
Among Guyana’s standout performances were Fatima Gani’s gold medal in the Recurve Under-15 Women’s division and Juanita Persaud’s victory in the Barebow Senior Women’s category.
The championships represented more than a medal-winning opportunity, providing a platform for regional cooperation, youth development and international networking while raising Guyana’s profile as a potential destination for sporting events.
Archery Guyana President Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon praised the athletes for their resilience and character, emphasising the importance of sportsmanship alongside competitive achievement.
“The target measures your accuracy; your conduct reveals your character,” Persaud-McKinnon told the visiting delegations.
She also remarked that Guyana had been “pointing arrows in the right direction since 1966.”
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr., who officially opened the championships, highlighted the Government’s commitment to expanding the country’s sporting footprint and supporting emerging athletes.
The successful staging of the tournaments also attracted praise from World Archery Americas Secretary-General Sergio Font, further underscoring the significance of the event for Guyana’s ambitions in sport tourism.
Accessibility and inclusion were also central to the championships. The National Commission on Disability played a key role in ensuring the competitions were accessible, reinforcing Archery Guyana’s commitment to broadening participation and making the sport available to people of different abilities.
The hosting of the two championships, combined with Guyana’s 77-medal performance, marks an important development for the country’s archery programme and its efforts to strengthen its presence on the regional sporting stage.
