Coaches and Administrators upskilled in landmark First Aid initiative

In a major push to bolster safety standards across the sporting landscape, over 50 coaches and administrators gathered at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Monday for a specialised First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training workshop.

The initiative, a collaboration between the Guyana Lifesaving Association, the Canadian Life Saving Society, and the National Sports Commission (NSC), marks a strategic shift in the professional development of the nation’s sporting personnel.

Beyond technical coaching, the programme equips leaders of Guyana’s athletes to serve as immediate first responders in medical emergencies.

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, described the training as an “unparalleled and historic” step for the country.

“The government of Guyana sees the safety of sportsmen and women, administrators, and every Guyanese as something important,” Ninvalle said during Monday’s opening session.

The Director emphasised that this training is part of a broader, systemic effort to build capacity within the sports sector.

This includes the recent certification of 13 waterfront lifeguards following a three-day intensive course at Lake Mainstay, as well as the successful re-certification of 15 existing lifeguards earlier this year.

Under international standards, these certifications are subject to periodic renewal—a process the NSC is enforcing to ensure personnel remain ready for any situation.

The urgency for these skills has grown in tandem with the record-breaking interest in the NSC’s ‘Learn to Swim’ programme. Participation has surged from 1,500 registrants in 2025 to over 3,000 for this year’s Easter sessions.

Recognising this increased public engagement, Ninvalle confirmed that the First Aid workshop will become an annual fixture on the national sporting calendar.

“What we will learn from this First Aid programme, let us not keep it to ourselves, let us share it,” Ninvalle urged the attendees. “The NSC aims to ensure, with the resources we have, that we continue to train and develop personnel.”

By integrating emergency response into the coaching curriculum, the NSC aims to build a more resilient sporting ecosystem where participant safety is as important as performance quality.

More so, Patrick D’Almada, representing the Canadian Life Saving Society, underscored the universality of the skills being taught. “First aid is a life-saving skill, and we know something could happen to anybody,” D’Almada noted.

The relationship between Canadian society and Guyana’s sporting bodies is one built on longevity: having first partnered in 2012, the collaboration has included training sessions in 2014, 2015, 2024, 2025, and now 2026.