A proposal to enforce good governance following the problems experienced by local football officials was a leading item on the agenda at the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) General Assembly in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Caribbean officials have been at the centre of scandals at the heart of football's world governing body in recent years, with Cayman Island's FIFA vice-present Jeffrey Webb among those arrested by Swiss police acting at the request of the United States Department of Justice on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy during May's FIFA Congress in Zurich.

Another former FIFA vice-president, Trinidad and Tobago's Jack Warner, was also banned for life from taking part in football-related activity last month after he was found to be a "key player" in illegal money making schemes.

This followed a string of controversies surrounding the official in the past.

It was Warner's compatriot in Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee President Brian Lewis who raised the need for a Good Governance Code during the 13th General Assembly of the regional 20-member body.

The recommendation was approved and work is now expected to "commence immediately on this aspect of CANOC’s advancement as a world leader in sport administration".

“There is a definite inclination to ensure that CANOC plays a leading role in the application of good governance philosophy, principles and practices in sport," said Keith Joseph, the body's general secretary, who is also secretary general of the Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Olympic Committee.

"Given the international focus placed on FIFA and the startling revelations emerging from the investigations it is important that we in the Caribbean take the necessary steps to ensure that CANOC as an organisation and each individual National Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Association affiliated become exemplars of good governance."

This marks the first concrete example of a body in the Olymic Movement specifically citing problems within in FIFA as a reason for governance changes.

There remain concerns, however, about whether the situation will blight the reputation of other sports and bodies, with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach having earlier this month warned FIFA must act "swiftly to regain credibility"

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Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee member National Sport Organisations will meet Professor Leigh Robinson and other members of the  TTOC Good Governance Commission   the week of 2 -7 November.

“There is a definite inclination to ensure that the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees
(CANOC) plays a leading role in the application of good governance philosophy, principles and practices in
sport”. So said Keith Joseph, General Secretary of CANOC.

CANOC held its 13th General Assembly in Paramaribo, Surinam, on 11 October and one of the critical issues
emanating from the discussions was the importance of CANOC undertaking to include in its By Laws, a Good
Governance Code.

According to Joseph, “The subject was raised by the CANOC International and NOC Relations Commission,
headed by Brian Lewis, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and a member of the
CANOC executive.” The Assembly approved the recommendation and work is expected to commence
immediately on this aspect of CANOC’s advancement as a world leader in sport administration.

Joseph further stated, “given the international focus placed on FIFA and the startling revelations emerging
from the investigations it is important that we in the Caribbean take the necessary steps to ensure that
CANOC as an organisation and each individual National Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games
Association affiliated become exemplars of good governance.“

CANOC was officially established in 2003 at its inaugural General Assembly held at the Jaragua Hotel, Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic.

There are really only two types of story plots; a person goes on a journey, and a stranger comes into town. This exciting story is encapsulating both of these elements.

My journey towards the podium at the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio has taken me all over the world to compete for my livelihood, gaining priceless race experience in the process. Now the story gets even more interesting with the plot taking on a new twist as a stranger comes to town.

Unfortunately, it is still delusional to believe that it would be possible to attain such lofty heights in the sport of swimming while working towards it alone in Trinidad. I would love to be able to live in my own country while pursuing my sporting dreams, but the reality is that I would simply be putting myself at a huge disadvantage.

Being based year round in Trinidad as a professional swimmer is a case of trying to go above and beyond with very limited available resources, while my rivals from developed nations have everything that could possibly aid them in their preparations at their disposal.

It’s frustrating to say the least, but being a perpetual underdog is a huge part of what it means to compete for T&T in a sport that we still don’t have proper facilities for. The playing field, or rather gladiatorial arena, is definitely not a level one. The obvious doping that is being allowed to run rampant in the sport of swimming lately is heartbreaking. I am strong, and fit, and will surely get stronger and fitter over these coming months of hard training.

However the gut wrenching truth is that no matter how hard clean athletes train, we will never be able to be in better physical shape than doping athletes whose bodies have become pharmacologically enhanced so that their blood carries more oxygen, they recover more quickly and have greater power output.

Fortunately, this is swimming and not cycling or track. Due to the density of water, swimming is the most technical of all sports because we must rely on efficiency of movement and minimising frontal resistance and drag, just as much as power. It’s because of this dynamic that I believe that skillful, clean swimmers like myself still stand a chance, and so I continue to chase the dream.

Training for the Olympics in sprint freestyle swimming is analogous to forging a sword. Sparks fly as a lump of steel that is white hot with burning desire to become a sword is hammered. This folds the steel in upon itself thousands of times to make it strong in every direction. Then, once the strength of the blade is satisfactory, it must be sharpened.

Repeatedly hammering the white hot blade is like training for improved power, speed and endurance. Sharpening the blade of the sword is mastering technique. When wielding the sword, if the blade is razor sharp, then less force is needed behind it to slice cleanly through even the toughest armour. It’s this highest possible level of razor sharp technique mastery that I am seeking to use against those other gladiators that have the immense dark force of doping behind their dull blades next summer. And this is what brings the stranger to town.

I have settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the year to train with the Club Wolverine Elite team and work specifically with my longtime coach Mike Bottom and his protege Mark Hill. Mike first taught me to become a sprinter back in 2006, after a sudden, severe knee injury forced me to change events. Mike and Mark Hill, are simply the best coaches around when it comes to technique, and I am very fortunate and grateful to have them on my side.

There is no getting around the solitude that comes from going on a journey alone, coupled with being a stranger in town. However it has allowed me to realise that if you get lonely, then to put it simply, you are bad company.

I know my rivals read this column online, so, in this ultimate arms race I won't get into the fine nuances of technique here, nor the details of my training regime. It’s easy to get hung up on temperamental details and fixate on the things that aren’t exactly the way you want them to be yet, in this day to day quest for unattainable perfection.

It takes a special kind of long term vision along with nurtured optimism that comes from seeking out and patiently recognising the little things that are slowly coming together as the blade gets sharper. For a perfectionist, it’s liberating to realise that you don’t have to be perfect, just consistently great.

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While many consumers are considering cutting ties with FLOW, the Trinidad and Tobago's Olympic Committee is signing up with the communications giant.

Today, FLOW / Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited and the TTOC announced the signing of a partnership between the two organisations that will enhance T&T's drive toward ten (10) or more Olympic Gold Medals by the year 2024 (#‎10Golds24)

Both parties signed a five (5) year, multi-million dollar agreement will ensure that will ensure a steady FLOW of funding toward the development and promotion of the TTOC #10Golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation fund.

The fee is broken into $TT one million dollars per year going toward the TTOC in the form of $TT six hundred thousand dollars cash toward the athletes and TT four hundred thousand dollars for brand ambassador representation.

Managing Director, Consumer Group, Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited, Brian Collins said FLOW TT is delighted to partner with the TTOC along the Going for Gold journey.
"Both Brian Lewis and I believe there is nothing more important than helping our Trinidad and Tobago athletes to improve their performance and achieve their goals of Olympic glory".

"There will be support for athletes for Rio 2016, right through to Tokyo 2020," he explains. "We hope our relationship continues beyond 2020"

Discussions between the two parties were taking place for almost a year prior to today. TTOC President Brian Lewis in his welcome address told invited guests and members of the media “welcome to the future”. He added, “Tapping into internet GDP and the economic promise of the online age is the way the TTOC must go if it wants to transform the way it markets itself and brands.”

The partnership allows the TTOC to explore opportunities in the social and e-commerce economy added Lewis. Honorary SEcretary General Annette Knott was high in praise for the #10Golds24 initiative which has really excited Corporate T&T to get on board with the TTOC, especially after the move by president Brian Lewis to take part in the marathon.

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Representatives from the Government of Sri Lanka have met with a delegation from the Olympic Movement here in the latest of a series of discussions aimed at ensuring the independence of National Olympic Committees around the world.

The meeting comes after a law proposed in 2013 which imposed restrictions on sporting bodies, including barring high-ranking officials from standing for re-election.

A similar meeting was held with officials from Kuwait, in which a deadline of October 27 was given for the Gulf country to make the necessary changes to a proposed new sports law in order to avoid a resumption of a ban from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Unlike Kuwait, Sri Lanka has not been suspended from the IOC or other bodies in the past but was warned in April by IOC autonomy tsar Patrick Hickey that their proposed law "goes against the principles and rules of the Olympic Movement and our previous agreements".

Representatives from the IOC, as well as the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, the Association of National Olympic Committees and the Olympic Council of Asia met with a Sri Lanka group led by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara and the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka.

Reviewing progress made in the revision of the sports legislation was the aim of the meeting, as well as as "reaching mutual understanding to ensure the legislation is compatible with the basic principles and rules that govern the Olympic Movement".

"All parties agreed to fully respect and comply with the principles and rules of the Olympic Charter and the statutes of the International Federations," the IOC claimed afterwards.

It was also agreed that the revision process for the sports legislation will be completed by the end of this year, with a failure to meet this presumably risking Sri Lanka's IOC membership.

A lack of automony and constructive relations between the Sports Ministry and the NOC were cited as one of the reasons earlier this year for the OCA stripping Sri Lanka of its hosting rights of the 2017 Asian Youth Games.

It was originally meant to be held in the coastal city of Hambantota - which had also bid unsuccessfully for the 2018 Commonwealth Games - but had been shifted to capital Colombo last year before being removed from the country completely.

Indonesian capital Jakarta has since been awarded the event in its place.

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