Team TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee | teamtto.org

Emmanuel Callender joined an elite club at the Telmex Athletics Stadium, in Guadalajara, Mexico, yesterday, becoming only the third sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago to earn a Pan American Games 100 metres medal.

Callender clocked 10.16 seconds to bag bronze in the men's century final.

Lerone Clarke added Pan Am gold to the Commonwealth Games title he captured last year, the Jamaican stopping the clock at 10.01 seconds. On Monday, Kim Collins won his semi-final heat in 10.00--a new Pan Am Games record. But the St Kitts and Nevis track star was unable to reproduce that run in the championship race, and had to settle for silver in 10.04.

Twenty-seven-year-old Callender is the first T&T athlete in 36 years to secure a top-three finish in a Pan Am Games 100m final. Hasely Crawford was the last to achieve the feat, the powerful sprinter previewing his 1976 Olympic triumph with silver at the 1975 Pan Am Games, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Before Crawford, Mike Agostini was the only T&T sprinter to achieve a Pan Am Games 100m podium finish. At the 1955 Games, also held in Mexico City, Mexico, Agostini seized silver in the men's 100m. Agostini repeated the feat four years later, in Chicago, USA. However, on that occasion, he earned century silver for the British West Indies, and not as part of a T&T team.

Callender's medal was the third for T&T at the 2011 Pan American Games. Shooter Roger Daniel snapped up silver in the men's 10m air pistol event, and cyclist Njisane Phillip claimed bronze in the men's sprint.

Moriba Morain will be at the Telmex Stadium today, bidding for a berth in the men's 200m semis. The 19-year-old T&T sprinter will run in the third of five first round heats. The semis will also be contested today, while the final takes place tomorrow.

Another T&T athlete, Emanuel Mayers will compete today in the first of three men's 400m hurdles semi-final heats.

In the men's football tournament, T&T produced another good result, holding Uruguay to a 1-1 draw at the Omnilife Stadium, yesterday, to complete their Group A schedule unbeaten.

In their previous matches, T&T battled to 1-1 draws with Mexico and Ecuador. However, the three points earned by the Young Soca Warriors were not enough to secure a semi-final berth. Mexico topped the group with seven points, while Uruguay finished second with four. In today's semis, Mexico face Costa Rica, and Uruguay tackle Argentina.

In yesterday's showdown with Uruguay, the T&T under-22 team went ahead in the ninth minute through Shahdon Winchester. But Mathias Nicolas Abero drew the South Americans level in the 17th. There were no further goals in the game, and Uruguay progressed to the semis.

T&T's hockey women square off against Cuba at 6.30 p.m. today (T&T time). The winners of this match will play for fifth spot against the winners of the Mexico/ Barbados clash. The losers will do battle for seventh spot.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

By Kwame Laurence

Olympic medallist, Erin Hartwell is confident that local cyclist, Njisane Phillip can qualify for the Olympic Games in London next year.

“I think Njisane’s performance at the Pan American Games in the Men’s 200 metre fly was phenomenal. Being able to break the Pan Am record with his 9.97 second ride was amazing for himself and home-country Trinidad and Tobago. This was one of the best rides I’ve ever seen, said Hartwell.

He continued, “This record breaking performance comes on the heels of another record breaking ride he did (9.91 sec in 200m time trial) at the Colorado Springs. He (Phillip) is peaking right now and his Olympic hopes are looking great. He is rightly setting the stage for himself for the London Games. Njisane must keep it up to ensure an Olympic spot.”

Hartwell wanted the Beacon Insurance rider to maintain his top form and continue to make the most of his qualifying rides for the Olympic Games.

“Njisane must continue to stay healthy and stay at his best. He has proven to the world that he is an outstanding and dominant athlete. These upcoming meets are crucial for him to get the required points for an Olympic spot. He really needs to know where he’s at and ride hard in the World Cups (Olympic qualifiers),” added Hartwell.

The multiple Olympic medallist reiterated the importance of Phillip staying positive and keeping a calm head as he approached the qualifiers.

“ Last year I had the privilege to see him train abroad an it seemed to me that Njisane was getting better and better every week. He knows how to win races and must use this type of competitive mentality going into these qualifiers. This is the mind-set he should be in for these qualification races,” said Hartwell.

However, the top US cycling coach admitted that sealing an Olympic place was not such an easy task. He explained that all riders would be coming out to represent their countries, and Phillip will face tough competition.

“He will have to race and he would have to race hard. There would be a lot of top competitors coming out obviously to win. Cyclists from Germany, Spain and Australia would be competing for the same thing Njisane wants to achieve. It’s going to be a very competitive road for him. These cyclists are world renowned and Njisane is making an ideal name for himself. These international riders I’m sure have heard of him, and will be looking out for him,” explained Harwell.

He concluded, “It’s going to be a long and hard process for Njisane. I personally think that once he continues his current form, he would surely turn some heads at the Olympics. Presently he’s injury free and hasn’t complained about anything. I hope that he continues his form. One thing I like about Njisane is his ‘Trini-swagger’ and how he finishes and conquers in style. I hope he especially keeps this up.”

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

By JONATHAN RAMNANANSINGH

Here in T&T, how can we get vested interests to coalesce into common interests? That question surfaced in my mind while watching the Rugby World Cup final, won 8-7 by New Zealand on Sunday. It was a drama filled match. France as they always do, confounded the pundits who had predicted a comfortable win for the all-conquering New Zealand. France it was even said, did not deserve to contest the final such was the desultory nature of their form during the tournament. In the back story to the rugby World Cup final, can be found tangible examples of what is required to achieve success- notably, good  leadership and the willingness to subsume vested interest for the common interest. France set aside well publicised dissension between coach and players while New Zealand had to overcome the suffocating expectations of four million New Zealanders and a reputation as chokers on the rugby World Cup stage, to put to rest 24 years of futility, agony and pain.

Their win on Sunday and the tremendous battle waged by the French team had more to do with the triumph of common interest over vested self-interest and inspirational leadership than talent and skill. In most societies, the biggest obstacle to success is politics. Politics and politicians thrive on creating the impression that only they can solve problems not the other person or party. The compelling argument that is made is that the only way a country can get what is needed is by supporting one group or the other. In sports it is the same thing. Sport politics is a major obstacle to success. Many decisions are made impatiently and enacted before thinking things through. Long term governance responsibilities are ignored. Those who are singularly focused on politics say and do things that they know are not true. In this country, the things we have in common are more important than the things that divide us. Our hopes and dreams as a people, as a society as a community depends on our leaders.

Permit me to return to Sunday’s match for two sterling examples of leadership. Thierry Dusautoir, captain of the French team, did everything possible to find a way to win for his team and to provide inspiration for his teammates. Even in a losing battle he was voted man of the match such was his effort. The other was Richie Mc Caw, the New Zealand (All Blacks) captain, his effort and inspiration and example proved pivotal. However long and hard the road maybe, good leaders feel compelled to rise to a challenge and do everything in their power to achieve victory for those they lead. Quitting is unthinkable. Passion cannot be diminished. Great leaders are driven to endure to the very and oft times bitter end. When the pressure is on great leaders are at their best. As I watched the All Blacks and France go toe-to-toe, I asked myself: Why as a society have we stopped producing and developing good or great leaders?

Sport draws from society. Good leaders become great not because of their power but of their ability to inspire and empower others. They change the lives of the people they lead for better. In the summer of 2009, when Dusautoir was appointed captain of France the reasons given were: “He (Dusautoir] inspires those around him and is a good communicator. He has the respect of everybody within France and within the game.”Those attributes are a good starting point to identify leadership potential. T&T has no idea how good it can be in the world of sport. It is time those who have either had leadership thrust upon, anointed, appointed or elected really start believing that we are ready to breakthrough and break out. But it first requires leadership with the desire and ability to put common interest first. The mantle of a leader carries with it the duty, obligation and responsibility to lead by example, to get things done , to achieve results and an environment, that inspires success.

By Brian Lewis

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Trinidad and Tobago rugby is in shock at the news of the sudden death of talented centre Kendall Mootoo.
21 year old Mootoo a former St Mary's College student played for Caribs rugby football club and represented T&T at under 19,development and national senior men's 7s and 15 a side rugby.
Earlier this year Mootoo made his senior 15s debut against Barbados and Guyana. He was described by Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) chairman of the selectors and Men's senior team manager Curtis Nero, as a disciplined, courageous and dedicated young man who always represented his country with pride and dignity.
"Kendall had a very bright future. He was one of the players who would have played a significant part in our rugby plans in the lead up to the Rio de Janiero Olympics 2016. I extend deepest condolences to his parents, sisters, friends and teammates. Today is a very sad day" said Nero.
Mootoo's national and club teammates used Facebook to post messages and console each other as the well liked and pleasant young man and rugby talent was fondly remembered.
Some of his teammates who would have played with him at the under 19 team to national senior team level were distraught at the news.
Nero declined to comment on the specifics of Mootoo's death out of respect for the bereaved family.
"Kendall was always respectful and willing to go the extra mile. He never gave less than 100 percent. He could be depended on and trusted with the responsibility of wearing the national colours. Words cannot express the sense of loss and sadness."
Mootoo represented T&T at North America and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Caribbean under 19 rugby championships between 2006 and 2009.
In May this year he was one of thirteen uncapped young rugby players selected for the 2011 Caribbean senior men's 15 a side rugby championship.

In July 2010 he made his national men's senior team rugby sevens debut when Trinidad and Tobago participated in the historic Central American and Caribbean (CAC) games at  the National stadium Georgetown, Guyana.

Wayne Kelly captain of the national team at the CAC Games said he was “gutted" at hearing the news.
"Kendall was never overawed at making the step up from the under 19 rugby to senior level. He worked hard and did not complain. He was always prepared to work hard on and off the field of play for the benefit of the team and his teammates, In practice and with fund raising efforts. This is a young man who had such a bright future...."

Colin Peters, the TTRFU secretary who managed the T&T under 19 national rugby team, expressed his dismay at the news of the untimely passing of a decent human being and a young man who had contributed positively to local rugby.
"Kendall was a joy to have on the team. He was very respectful, disciplined and enjoyed his rugby and teammates. He took great pride in playing for his country. He was a credit to his family, club and country. "

-Brian Lewis

New Zealand were crowned world champions for the first time in 24 years after squeezing past an inspired France team by a single point.

Tony Woodcock's early try and a penalty from fourth-choice fly-half Stephen Donald were enough to see the All Blacks home in an extraordinary match that defied all pre-match predictions.

France produced their best performance of the tournament and appeared to be close to pulling off one of the great upsets after captain Thierry Dusatoir's try with half an hour remaining set up a nerve-shredding finale.

But Francois Trinh-Duc missed a long-range penalty before desperate defence saw the favourites hang on for a famous win.

The final whistle triggered scenes of wild jubilation at Eden Park as a nation celebrated a repeat of the outcome from the very first World Cup final in 1987.

And when skipper Richie McCaw hoisted the Webb Ellis Trophy high into the night, a quarter of a century of hurt was blown away in an explosion of fireworks and cheering.

An already febrile atmosphere within the ground before the start had been stoked still further when France's players formed an arrow formation to face down the haka, and then advanced slowly over halfway as the capacity crowd roared.

The drama seemed to unsettle the players, both sides making early errors, and when Piri Weepu pulled a penalty badly wide the nerves began to spread to the stands.

With one well-worked line-out move they were soon silenced. Weepu put a penalty into the corner, Jerome Kaino took the ball off the top and popped it down into the arms of the advancing Woodcock to put the veteran prop through a gaping hole.

Weepu missed a simple conversion but France were rattled.

For all their good early work they found themselves on the end of some harsh decisions from referee Craig Joubert at the scrum and breakdown. With fly-half Morgan Parra forced off with a head injury the All Blacks began to dominate possession, only for Weepu to miss another straightforward penalty from 25 metres out.

The scrum-half's struggles meant the lead remained at just five points instead of a possible 13, and with half-time approaching the tide began to turn.

Fly-half Aaron Cruden hyper-extended his knee horribly in contact and was carried off the pitch, forcing Graham Henry to bring on Donald - a man who was fishing for whitebait a fortnight ago before injuries to Dan Carter and Colin Slade triggered his emergency call-up.

France's own stand-in stand-off Trinh-Duc missed with a drop-goal when well set but then set off on a curving run through a scattered defensive line which carried him deep into enemy territory until Weepu's desperate tap-tackle finally brought him down.

He had a chance to reduce the deficit to just two points only to slide a penalty from the left touchline across the face of the posts, and was then penalised by Joubert to give Donald the simplest of kicks for 8-0.

If some expected France to fold, Les Bleus had other ideas. Trinh-Duc gathered a poor kick from Weepu and sliced through the All Blacks line again, and although Dimitri Yachvili slipped with the line at his mercy the ball went wide, was recycled and put into the hands of skipper Dusautoir to slide in under the posts.

Eden Park was stunned, Trinh-Duc converting for 8-7 and the previously impregnable home side badly rattled.

France were transformed from the feeble, divided unit that had squeaked past Wales in the semi-final, their half-backs finding the corners with beautifully judged kicks from hand, the forwards making yards with every drive and a reorganised Kiwi line-out beginning to malfunction.

With 16 minutes left on the clock and the tension climbing through the roof, Trinh-Duc tried his luck with a penalty from just inside halfway only to push it wide, but the unthinkable now seemed a real possibility.

Replacement Damien Traille burgled a high ball from Israel Dagg and made good ground, the All Blacks scrum coming under increasing pressure and the crowd falling silent as their World Cup dream threatened to become a nightmare.

With the seconds slipping away and the gap just one point, France went through an 18-phase attack that made little ground but resulted in an attacking scrum on the New Zealand 10m line, only for the hosts to steal the ball back when Aurelien Rougerie was wrapped up.

The All Blacks drove upfield, using up the remaining moments, and when Joubert blew for another French infringement, the biggest party in New Zealand's history was under way.

New Zealand: Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Richard Kahui, Aaron Cruden, Piri Weepu; Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks, Sam Whitelock, Brad Thorn, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (capt), Kieran Read.

Replacements: Stephen Donald (for Cruden, 34), Ali Williams (for Whitelock, 48), Andrew Hore (for Mealamu, 49), Andy Ellis (for Weepu, 49), Sonny Bill Williams (for Nonu, 76). Not used: Ben Franks, Adam Thomson.

France: Maxime Médard, Vincent Clerc, Aurélien Rougerie Maxime Mermoz, Alexis Palisson, Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili; Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Nicolas Mas, Pascal Papé, Lionel Nallet, Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Julien Bonnaire, Imanol Harinordoquy.

Replacements: François Trinh-Duc (for Parra, 12-17, then 22), Damien Traille (for Clerc, 45), Dimitri Szarzewski (for Servat, 65), Fabien Barcella (for Poux, 65), Julien Pierre (for Pape, 70), Jean-Marc Doussain (for Yachvili, 76). Not used: Fulgence Ouedraogo

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Attendance: 60,000

By Tom Fordyce

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

AUCKLAND, 22 Oct. - France believe they have found the secrets to unlocking one of the most impregnable defensive lines in world rugby.

In a bold claim, defence coach David Ellis says he has discovered weaknesses in the All Blacks' rearguard structure that his team are now primed to exploit in the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final on Sunday.

“The All Blacks have different defensive systems and there are more weaknesses than we found in the Welsh system and also in the Australian system,” said Ellis, who has been scrutinising videotapes of their opponents.

"We feel there are certain areas of their defence we can exploit.

"There are things that we found out and we are quite capable of exploiting those weaknesses.”

The Englishman, who has been working with France since 2000, refused to expand on the nature of those weaknesses but said they have been present throughout the tournament.
Poor decisions

The Wallabies failed to score a try against New Zealand in their semi-final defeat last week but Ellis believes that was due to poor Australian decision-making rather than an impenetrable All Blacks defence.

"I watched the game and I was expecting Australia to score and turn the game around,” he said.

“I think a lot of the choices they made on their attack were in the wrong areas of the field and they didn't disturb the All Black defence in a manner they should have done.

“I was waiting for the moment where they would break the defence. They did not do it, mainly because of their poor choices."

Aside from exploiting chinks in the All Blacks’ defensive armour, Ellis was clear on what is required from Les Bleus if they are to reverse the 37-17 defeat they suffered at the hands of New Zealand during the pool stage.

During that match France put the Kiwis under early pressure but failed to maintain their intensity and were soon overrun by a rampant All Blacks attack that notched up five tries in the process.
Under pressure

"We have to make sure we put the wall up and stop them from getting through,” said Ellis, whose background is in rugby league.

“We also need to be going forward and put the half backs under pressure, not only with our attack but with our defence.

“We have to make them stall and if we do that, then we can add pressure from both sides, from attack and defence."

The All Blacks might be tempted to laugh off Ellis’s claims of defensive weakness, given they have leaked only seven tries in their six matches at the tournament, but his credentials give weight to his claims.

During his 11 years in the job he has orchestrated three surprise French victories over New Zealand, including the remarkable result in the quarter-finals of RWC 2007.

Ellis believes if his team put the All Blacks under enough pressure on Sunday the Kiwis will sense a little bit of history repeating and panic.

“There are occasions in major sporting events, particularly when certain teams are involved, there is always something in the back of their mind: deja vu,” he said.

Source: www.irb.com

...but women lose 3-0 to Chile

On Thursday it was the women and Friday it was Trinidad and Tobago's Under-22 men footballers who put on another praiseworthy display as they held hosts Mexico to a 1-1 draw in a Pan Am Games match before a partisan 35,000 home crowd at Omnilife Stadium in Guadalajara.

Also on Friday night , T&T's lone boxer, middleweight Andrew Fermin, retired in the second round when losing 12-4 to Venezuelan Juan Carlos Rodriguez.

The Trinidad and Tobago hockey men were also in action yesterday against Caribbean rivals Barbados, who they drubbed 11-1.

Quan Browne (3rd) and Mickell Pierre (6th) gave T&T a 2-0 lead before Kris Holder pulled one back for Barbados in the ninth minute. Then, all hell broke lose as Trinidad & Tobago's stickmen scored nine unanswered goals.

By the end, Browne (3rd, 16th), Pierre (6th, 36th), Christopher Scipio (27th, 42nd) and Dwain Quan Chan (23rd, 42nd) had scored two goals apiece. Atiba Wittington (37th), Aidan De Gannes (39th) and Akim Toussaint (60th) each got a goal apiece.

However, after holding the Mexican women 1-1 on Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago's women footballers lost their final preliminary match when they were beaten 3-0 by Chile yesterday morning.

Chile got goals from Francisca Lara (18th, 40th) and Maria Rojas (66th).

The Soca Princesses had lost 1-0 to Colombia in the opening round.

Yesterday, T&T shooter John Robert Auerbach finished 12th in the men's skeet qualification event, while cyclist Emile Abraham did not finish the men's individual road race.

T&T sailor Andrew Lewis was in tenth of 13 positions overall and unlikely to make the medal race after scoring five points in race nine of the men's Laser class event which was held at the Vallarta Yacht Club in Puerto Vallarta.

The first five finishers after ten races of the laser (dinghy) event go forward to the medal race.

On the football field, against T&T's Olympic squad, Mexico used the team which came third to Brazil at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in August.

And although the hosts had 68 per cent possession and hit the woodwork three times, Trinidad and Tobago held firm with a line-up which had only resumed training two weeks ago after a recent break.

Jamal Gay stunned the home team and silenced the fans when he clinically side footed home from close range after Micah Lewis blew past his man before squaring for the lurking T&T striker in the 12th minute.

But the Mexicans soon got into their own and eventually it was the ever-present Peralta who pulled them level at 1-1 in the 30th.

A slow reaction by one of the T&T defenders allowed Mexico to recover an attack on the right of the box. Aquino picked up the ball and found Peralta who did the rest, turning and perfectly directing a left footer into the left corner of the net to send the fans into a frenzy on the half hour mark.

The second half saw Trinidad and Tobago under plenty pressure and defending with all behind the ball except for Gay, who was taken off later in the half with a head injury.

However, the young Soca Warriors held on for a point.

"It was a remarkable effort by the guys. We played to plan, we maintained our discipline and we held them off because they came at us with everything in search of a winner because it was important for them to win this match," T&T coach Angus Eve told Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) media officer Shaun Fuentes after the match.

"I saw this as a very valuable experience for the players because it was a massive and mostly Mexican crowd in the stadium, but we were never intimidated. We kept our focus throughout the match and I thought we competed well, which are some of the things I was looking to see us accomplish here in preparation for the Olympic qualifiers," Eve added.

"We knew we had to start well if we were to be in with a chance of a good result tonight," said Gay. "Everyone knows that Mexico is a dangerous team and they can dominate you if they get on top early. They came at us but we also withstood their pressure well. I'm really proud of our effort and hopefully we can carry on from here for the remaining games. Scoring so early against Mexico was a feeling that any striker would want to experience and I felt that tonight."

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

October 21 - FIFA President Sepp Blatter today unveiled an unprecedented "road map to reform" to help football's battered world governing body get back on its feet after years of mistrust and deceit.

Promising to work for "transparency and independence" Blatter announced a radical politics-style timetable to be implemented between now and June 2013 which, he hoped, would conclude with FIFA finally being cleansed of corruption scandals with its credibility restored.

With more than a third of FIFA's Executive Committee tainted by various misdemeanours over the past year, Blatter could not afford to fudge one of the most pivotal meetings of his controversial 13-year Presidency after pledging zero tolerance in June when elected for the fourth and final time.

His critics will argue that he did just that, that his eagerly awaited reforms were too vague and that by the time they are implemented, any remaining miscreants among the so-called FIFA family will have found a way to extricate themselves from any wrongdoing.

But nothing happens overnight at FIFA and Blatter's two-year clean-up drive was as ambitious as it was comprehensive - and included one dramatic and highly sensitive development.

After months of media pressure, Blatter announced the infamous ISL court dossier will be re-opened and the file handed to an independent body to see if any prominent FIFA members should face action.

ISL collapsed in 2001 with debts of $300 million (£188 million/€216 million) and FIFA has blocked the papers being released ever since the case was settled in June 2009.

But Blatter has now performed a remarkable U-turn in a move partly aimed at improving his own reputation in his final four-year term of office.

The documents, revealed in a BBC Panorama documentary, are understood to identify four leading FIFA officials -- former President Joao Havelange and Executive Committee members Ricardo Teixeira of Brazil, Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay and Issa Hayatou from Cameroon – who are said to have received payments from FIFA's former marketing partner.

"The Executive Committee has at my request agreed that in the meeting of December 16/17 [in Tokyo] we will re-open this file," said the 75-year-old Swiss, announcing some of the most significant developments in the 107-year history of football's world governing body.

"If there are any measures to be taken they will not be taken by the executive committee - it is not the body that can take sanctions or release anyone - so we will give this file to an independent organisation outside of FIFA so they can delve into this file and extract its conclusions and present them to us."

He added, tellingly: "The court has said there are people involved but no Swiss people only foreign people."

Blatter also announced that members of FIFA's 24-man Executive Committee - four of whom were missing this week for various reasons, none of them suspicious --  would in future be "screened".

He denied that half of the current members were already corrupt.

"The members are elected by the different confederations and in the future we will make a screening of the members," he said.

"Let us work for transparency, let us work for anti-corruption."

Away from the ISL case, Blatter detailed a complete overhaul of FIFA's internal workings, with three task forces set up to address the problems that have beset the organisation.

One will tighten up its statutes, one make its Ethics Committee more independent and a third deal with transparency and compliance led by FIFA members in New Zealand and Paraguay.

These will be supplemented by a so-called Good Governance Committee of between 15 and 18 members to monitor FIFA's overall conduct.

Formerly known as a Solutions Committee, it will deliberately comprise all stakeholders including clubs, leagues and fans.

The announcement of a raft of yet more unwieldy committees hardly gets the pulse racing in terms of achieving a quick and much-needed purge of corruption but Blatter has put a deadline of FIFA's 2013 Congress in Mauritius for the across-the-board clean-up to complete its work.

Walter de Gregorio, FIFA's head of communications, described the move as a "huge step" but as usual, the devil will be in the detail.

By Andrew Warshaw

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Trinidad and Tobago's originally scheduled opening match against Uruguay yesterday in Group A of the football competition at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico was pushed back to October 25 due to the non-arrival of the Uruguayan team.

Clouds of ash spewing from Chile's Puyehue volcano forced flights in Uruguay and Argentina to be grounded.

This means the T&T men's Under-22 squad will now go into their first game against hosts Mexico from 8 p.m. (9 p.m. T&T time) at the Estadio OmniLife tomorrow.

Trinidad and Tobago head coach Angus Eve was not entirely disappointed with the change in schedule as it allowed his players more time to settle in after arriving in Guadalajara on Tuesday morning.

"It actually is not such a bad thing even though mentally we were getting ourselves ready for a game today against Uruguay. But now we would have at least three sessions under our belt, whereby initially we would have trained only once had the Uruguay game been on as initially scheduled," Eve told T&T Football Federation (TTFF) media officer Shaun Fuentes yesterday.

"It means the boys have had a couple extra days to acclimatise here for what definitely will be a huge opening game against the home team. We all know how passionate the Mexicans are at any level and, especially playing at home, they will be firing and their fans will be looking for a good showing.

"I think this kind of environment and competition only augurs well for our boys as it gives some of them an early indication as to what it feels like to play these kind of teams away from home before they actually get to the senior international stage," Eve added.

Team manager Norris Ferguson said despite the challenges with getting the team settled in following their early morning arrival on Tuesday, all was well in the camp as certain conditions were now in place.

"We trained yesterday on a pretty decent astroturf surface. The boys are in good spirits and looking forward to their first match against the home team. Some of them have already faced the Mexican players at the Under-20 and Under-17 age group, so it's just a matter of our players applying themselves well and attempting to gain everything possible from this outing at the Pan Am Games. We will also aspire for favourable results," Ferguson stated.

The Mexicans added goalkeeper Jose Antonio Rodriguez as a last-minute inclusion to their final squad.

Rodriguez, who plays for the Veracruz Red Sharks in the Mexican second division, started for the Under-17 national team at the Nigeria 2009 FIFA Youth World Cup and the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia earlier this year.

All the home team players play professionally in the Mexican leagues and include the likes of Atlas midfielder Ricardo Bocanegra, Toluca forward Isaac Brizuela, Cruz Azul defender Nestor Araujo and Atlante forward Jeronimo Amione.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

The shock withdrawal of junior chess star Keron Cabralis from the current national championship finals is an unfortunate occurrence for several reasons. Not only does it reduce the strength and interest of this premier contest but it also slows down the momentum of a career that seems headed for great things.
Additionally, it reflects badly on the T&T Chess Association for not appreciating the status of an event which climaxes the annual national chess championship contest. The choice of the venue, St Georges College, Barataria, which is being blamed indirectly for this regrettable episode, was obviously a bad one.

Whoever made it clearly did not have the good sense to investigate its suitability for holding the country’s foremost chess event which, above everything else, requires absolute serenity and a total absence of surrounding distractions. As it happened, on the morning of October 15, at the start of the finals, members of the college’s cadet corps were training in an adjoining area, creating what was described as a noisy disturbance which young Cabralis claimed prevented him from concentrating on his game.
The 16-year-old St Mary’s College student, during his first round encounter against Esan Wiltshire, complained about the problem to his father, Quintin Cabralis, on three occasions. Cabralis snr relayed his son’s complaint to tournament director Bhisham Soondarsingh who attempted to have the noise abated but apparently without success.

The response of the cadets was that they would be finishing their training exercise soon. But by that time young Cabralis was apparently so disturbed that he decided to pack up and withdraw from the tournament. Relating the incident to Double Rooks, who was not at the opening session, Cabralis snr described the noise emanating from the cadets as “excessive.” In was his view that, at the very least, the game between his son and Wiltshire, another young qualifier, should be replayed. A former president of the T&TCA, Cabralis strongly condemned the choice of venue for the finals and wondered why the standards he had set for such major chess events could not be maintained.

He recalled that under his presidency, the national finals were held at the Cascadia hotel, St Ann's, the John S Donaldson Institute and Algico Plaza where all the amenities and proper ambience required for such a pre-eminent chess event were provided. On the other hand, however, reactions from other finalists with respect to the level of cadet noise differed considerably from Cabralis' complaint. In fact, it seems, no other participant felt discommoded by it. FM Ryan Harper, who is defending his national title, was surprised at Cabralis' withdrawal as he insisted that “there was hardly any noise at all.” Harper, also T&TCA second vice president, said he consulted with a number of other players, including FM Mario Merritt, Marcus Joseph, Ravishen Singh and Alex Winter Roach and none of them found the level of noise disturbing.

With respect to the actual game, Harper, who was sitting close by, felt that Cabralis had “a slight positional advantage” but, since he was the exchange down, the eventual outcome was far from obvious.
The champion, however, agreed strongly with Cabralis about the “horrible” choice of venue for the finals, noting its poor location and the state of its toilets. It was not the kind of place to which he would want to invite the sponsors PKF who were underwriting the entire national championship series. Venue for the finals has now been transferred to the Students Art Centre, UWI, but it would seem to Double Rooks that the faux pas of the Barataria choice should be thoroughly investigated by the Association. As far as the status of the sport is concerned, there is an important lesson to be learned.

So what’s next for Keron Cabralis? The youngest FM in the Caribbean, he has already amassed an unprecedented bundle of achievements and is now one of the country’s best prospects for breaking into the company of international masters. Winning the national title on his fourth attempt, or even placing at the top, would certainly have been another important step for the 16-year old. It would have assured him a place at the next Olympiad where, apart from gaining honours for T&T, he would have the opportunity to edge even closer to the International Master norm.

-Carl Jacob

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Challengers secured a spot in the quarterfinal round of the T&T Volleyball Federation Men’s B Division League after beating West Side Stars in its final pool match at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Tacarigua on Friday. Winner of its first two matches, Challengers swept aside Stars 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 to add to its default win over THA Tobago (25-0, 25-0, 25-0) and straight set triumph over Technocrats 25-17, 25-21, 25-16 in Pool H.

Despite losing its final match, Stars also booked a last-eight spot as the second place finisher after it won two other matches against, THA Tobago by default (25-0, 25-0, 25-0) and Technocrats, 17-25, 25-14, 25-20, 28-26, 15-9.

At the end of the three round-robin groups, the three group winners and runners-up as well as the two best third teams advance to the quarterfinal. Among the women, X Factor secured a last-eight spot after winning its two matches in Group E, over Challengers 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23 and Southern United Volleyball Academy (SUVA), 0-25, 15-25, 26-24, 25-11, 15-12 The top two teams in each of the four women’s group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

OTHER RESULTS

Women B Division

Group C
Starlings bt West Side II 25-20, 25-16, 25-15

Group D
Smashers bt Ace United by default 25-0, 25-0, 25-0
Technocrats bt Ace United 25-22, 25-20, 25-16

Group E
X Factor bt Challengers 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23
X Factor bt SUVA 0-25, 15-25, 26-24, 25-11, 15-12

Group F
Toco Youths, Troopers and USC, Defenders

Men’s B Division
Group G
Starlings beat Smashers 25-15, 25-18, 25-19
Smashers bt Zenith 17-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-23

Group J
SUVA bt Dow Jumbies 25-13, 25-13, 12-25, 20-25, 18-16
Big SEPoS bt USC 27-25, 25-13, 25-9
Dow Jumbies bt Big SEPoS 25-15, 25-18, 25-21

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Colombia, Venezuela and Trididad and Tobago in the fight for the medals

City: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Date: 2011-10-18
At the Men's singles Speed test, Njisane Phillip From Trinidad and Tobago broke a Pan American record (9 "977 / 1000).
At the eight finals, Phillip exceeded Alejandro Mainat, from Cuba; Ruber Horta, from Mexico defeated Michael Blatchford, from USA; Fabian Puerta, from Colombia, defeated the Argentinian Jonathan Gatto; while in the fourth heat, match between Venezuela's Angel Pulgar and Hersony Canelon, who was crowned winner. Jonathan Marin, from Colombia, dominated the Argentinian Leandro Botasso, and James Watkins, from USA won the match against Flacio Cipriano, from Brazil.
In the playoff to complete the eight riders who moved to the next round, Blatchford left out Gatto and Cipriano. While Pulgar ended Botasso's and Mainat aspirations.

At the fourth finals, the Trinidadian Njisane Phillip beat Blatchford with 10".620/1000 and 10".252/1000.In another confrontation, Pulgar overcame Mexico's cyclist in just two races, with 10".677/1000 and 10".520/1000.
In addition, Colombia's competitors, Puerta and Marin faced each others to represent his country in semifinals, due to an accident Fabian moved automatically to the next round.

The last match was between Hersony Canelon (VEN) and James Watkins (USA). At the beginning,  Venezuela won with a time of 10 '.337/1000 and with 10''.500/1000, qualifying to the semifinals.

Tomorrow there will be the semi final in which Canelon, Phillip and Pulgar will face Puerta. The Trinidadian is people's favorite.

Stag Trinidad Northern hurt Harvard's chances of becoming 2011 Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) Toyota Championship Division winners with a 21-10 victory at Northern's home ground, President's Ground in St Ann's on Saturday.

In marshy conditions, Northern ran out to a 14-5 half-time lead and got a final try in the second half to settle the issue.

Harvard previously led the Championship Division after becoming the first team to beat perennial champions Caribs for 2011.

Joseph Quashie notched the first try of the match for Harvard within the first 15 minutes, although Ryan Hinckson failed to convert.

But Justin McLean put Northern ahead soon after scoring and converting his own try, before Northern pushed over to score their second try, credited to Michael Augustus, and McLean converted again for a 14-5 Northern lead.

After the break David Gokool scored again to give Harvard a lifeline, but winger Ryan Fredericks answered for Northern and McLean converted for the 21-10 lead.

Harvard's final attempt came close to the try line, but not enough to affect the score.

In the TTRFU Second Division, Tobago fought off a comeback by Northern to beat them 15-12.

For Tobago, Akins Hislop and Desmond Wright both scored unconverted tries, while Jerome Bolt pulled one back for Northern, converted by veteran Micky Browner.

Jonny Christie and Heron Graham got second half tries for Northern and Tobago, respectively, but the latter got the three-point victory.

Harvard Under-19s got by YTC 25-19 in a tough encounter with Nicholas King scoring two tries for Harvard and Joseph Quashe and David Gokool one each.

Shaquille Lucas missed two of three conversions, but added a penalty to ensure the win.

For Tobago, Melville Eastman scored two tries.

And in women's action, Royalians swamped Caribs 36-0 on two tries apiece from Talia Wilson and Dalia Jordan Brown, and one each from Tramaine Andrew and Antonia White.

Shelly-Anne Clarke had one conversion for Royalians.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

October 19 - The International Rugby Board Council (IRB) today decided to defer the election of the chairman, in which England's Bill Beaumont was standing against France's Bernand Lapasset, until December.

An election must now be held before January 1, 2012, when the current mandate of Lapasset as chairman and Beaumont as vice-chairman, expires.

"This decision was taken after a resolution was passed to defer the vote until after the completion of Rugby World Cup 2011," the IRB said in a statement.

"Both candidates [Lapasset and Beaumont} and Council were in agreement that in future the election of chairman should not take place during Rugby World Cup but should take place at the IRB Annual Meeting of Council in the year following rugby's showcase tournament. "

The election, which had been due to be held in Auckland, today, has been one of the most keenly fought in the sport's history with the outcome too close to call.

The balance of power was set to be held among the sport's smaller nations with New Zealand and Australian understood to be backing the former England captain Beaumont on the basis of his promises to reform the IRB's commercial model, including World Cups.

It is thought Lapasset based his manifesto heavily around influencing the growth of the global game over the last four years, specifically having driven the successful campaign to reinstate rugby into the Olympics programme.

For the first time, sevens will be part of the Olympics in Rio in 2016, a campaign that was a massive trumph for Lapasset.

Beaumont, meanwhile, was trying to take advantage of Lapasset's reluctance to reconsider the Rugby World Cup's commercial model.

-Duncan Mackay

Source: www.insidethegames.com

October 19 - International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge has arrived in New Zealand ahead of the centenary celebrations of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) tomorrow and the Rugby World Cup final on Sunday (October 23).

Rogge arrived in New Zealand from Mexico, having attended the start of the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, and is joined in the country by several other IOC members, including Australia's Kevan Gosper and John Coates, Japan's Chiharu Igaya, Prince Tunku Imran of Malaysia, Robin Mitchell of Fiji and Prince Albert of Monaco.

The eight IOC members are in the country in addition to New Zealand's own IOC members Barbara Kendall and Barry Maister.

Rogge, a former member of the Belgian national rugby team, will use the visit to New Zealand to discuss the introduction of rugby sevens to the Olympic programme for Rio 2016 with Government and rugby officials.

The IOC President will also attend an exhibition Olympic rugby sevens game as part of NZOC centenary celebrations while he will open a new National Training Centre for High Performance Sport shortly before the start of the World Cup final.

At the final, between the hosts and France, Rogge will be a guest of the International Rugby Board Council (IRB) chairman Bernand Lapasset.

Having served a four-year term, Lapasset was due for re-election for the position today where he faced stiff opposition from current IRB vice-chairman Bill Beaumont of England.

But IRB made a late decision to defer the election of the chairman until the IRB Annual Meeting of Council in December so that the contest did notovershadow the World Cup final – the sport's showpiece event.

-Tom Degun

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Trinidad and Tobago’s Njisane Phillip broke the 1999 Winnipeg record set by Canada

City: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Date: 2011-10-18

In the elimination round of the men’s Individual Sprint, the record set by Canada’s Marty Nothstein, was surpassed in four occasions, in which Trinidad and Tobago’s Njisane Phillip set the final record with a time of 9"977/1000.

The first cyclist who broke the record was Venezuela’s Angel Pulgar, who finished the 200m Track in a time of 10”.230/1000. Then, Colombia’s Jonathan Marin with a time of 10”.092/1000, but immediately after, USA’s Michael Blatchford surpassed him with 9".983/1000.

Finally, the Trinidadian cyclist, Njisane Phillip, made 9".977/1000, with a speed average of 72.1265km/h, setting the new record and winning the first place. He’s also the winner of the Central American and Caribbean Games Mayaguez 2010, as well as the Pan American Championship 2010, and bronze medalist of this year’s edition.

In the next round, Njisane Phillip will be facing Cuba’s Alejandro Mainat. Blatchford will go against Ruben Horta; Puerta against Argentina’s Jonathan Gatto; Pulgar against compatriot Hersony Canelon; USA’s James Watkins against Brazil’s Flavio Cipriano; and finally, Marin against Argentina’s Leandro Botasso.

Today, the event will go on until quarterfinals, and tomorrow, on the third day of the competition, medals will be given out.

In order to remain firmly on course, a national sport organisation must have clarity and a crystal clear understanding of its purpose, mission and goals. It goes without saying that the leadership and key decision makers ought to have a collective and clear grasp of the organisation’s purpose. Individuals bring different perspectives, perceptions and experiences and as a result achieving clarity is never certain. Unfortunately, in the absence of clarity, decisions can be made that deviate from what is the core purpose. Remaining true to who we are requires countless hours of heart to heart discussions trying to figure things out.

It’s important because attitudes, opinions, desires, needs and other psychological issues collectively govern the daily behaviour of an organisation. It makes no sense remaining out of touch with reality. Sport is service oriented. Talent, potential and vision in the absence of opportunity equates to wasted talent and potential. How many sport administrators and managers understand that a key role is to create opportunity for sport talent, potential and interest to flourish? To be effective, NSOs must be able to distinguish their core values and core purpose from their operating practices and strategies.

Myopia will lead to blunders which can seriously compromise integrity and opportunity. NSOs should guard against being blinded by assumptions, opinions and even feelings. Hard analysis and evaluation should be done daily. Is this decision in keeping with our core principles, purpose and values? What is the intention? To whom and what do you give your loyalty? Will your position be valid over the long haul? Have you considered the risks?  If so what are the risk mitigating strategies in place? When an organisation makes decisions on the basis of personal opinions, the concept of good, transparent and accountable governance is the loser. Managing and running sport is not the same as selling real estate, bread, oil, cars or what have you. Sport as a product is subjective, intangible and emotional. Those charged with the responsibility of stewardship and leadership must have clarity about what it is they are doing or supposed to be doing.

Those who don’t understand can easily end up making decisions that are detrimental to the long term health and success of a sport organisation and its athletes, coaches, officials, supporters, volunteers and sponsors. It’s about getting the balance right. People make decisions based on emotion, and then try to validate them with logic. In this context leaders separate themselves. Successful organisations have clarity about what they want. They focus on doing the things that matter and know how to execute their plans and achieve their goals. Mediocre organisations muddle along by the seat of their pants and the whims and fancies of the boss, poor or entry level leadership. John Maxwell has a concept called the Five Levels of Leadership where he outlines how a potential leader can move from entry level to the pinnacle of leadership. According to Maxwell, position is the lowest level of leadership—the entry level. The only influence a positional leader has is that which comes with the title.

People follow because they have to. Positional leadership is based on the rights granted by the position and title. There is a difference being a boss and a leader. When positional leaders ask for extra effort or time, they rarely get it. Sport is a realm where anyone can be appointed or elected and those who use position to get people to follow will not get people to follow because they want to but because they have no choice. This is where clarity of purpose can make or break a sport organisation. Some leaders may be very clear about their purpose. The real question that should be asked: is your purpose aligned with what’s best for your athletes and sport or is it all about you and your ego?

-Brian Lewis

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has blamed Zionism for the circumstances that led to him and former Asian Football Confederation chief Mohammed Bin Hammam being forced out of world football.

Warner, 68, resigned from FIFA after ethics investigations were begun into a meeting he held with Bin Hammam where FIFA say payments were made to Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials ahead of the election for FIFA president in June.

Qatari Bin Hammam was handed a lifetime ban by FIFA for his role in the affair while a number of CFU officials were given suspensions last week.

Bin Hammam was not immediately available for comment.

Warner says in a letter to the Trinidad Guardian, which will be published in full today, he intends to speak out on the affair and highlighted who he felt was to blame for his downfall.

"I will talk about the Zionism, which probably is the most important reason why this acrid attack on Bin Hammam and me was mounted," Warner told the newspaper.

The payments, of US$40,000 (25,400 pounds) to each federation, came to light after some Caribbean officials turned to American Chuck Blazer, a FIFA executive committee member and general secretary of CONCACAF, the regional body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Blazer then handed evidence to FIFA which began an inquiry which initially suspended Warner. The case against him was dropped when he resigned all his posts in the game.

The Daily Telegraph in London last week published a video of Warner explaining the payments to Caribbean officials and bin Hammam.

The Trinidad Guardian cited Warner as saying he would reveal gifts that current FIFA president Sepp Blatter made in his election campaigns.

Warner also said he was unhappy with the way he had been treated by FIFA since his resignation.

"FIFA has tried to muzzle me with threats of a worldwide suspension. They have said that they will close down the FIFA Development Office in Trinidad by year end.

"They have advised that they will terminate my son's 2012 contract at the end of this year. They have retaken the World Cup TV rights, a matter for which they have not heard the last.

"They have refused to give me any of my 29-year pension. They continue to do such things like revealing a video in the hope that they can embarrass me to lie down on my belly. Never, I repeat, never, regardless of the consequences," he said.

Blazer, who worked alongside Warner at CONCACAF for most of the last 20 years, told Reuters he was astonished by Warner's comments.

"It's the most ludicrous and silly comment that I've ever heard Jack make," Blazer said, adding that he had long and well-established relationships in Middle Eastern football.

Blazer, 66, will stand down as CONCACAF general secretary at the end of the year but will retain his seat on FIFA's decision-making Executive Committee, which he has held since 1997.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Guyana’s National Rugby Sevens team which is the fittest named will be embodying their homeland at the Pan Am Games in Mexico on October 28 and 29.The team which comprises of twelve players will depart Guyana tomorrow, Monday17 October at 6:00am and return on the 31st to prepare for the North American Caribbean Rugby Association Championships which is slated for November 11 and 12 in Barbados.
In an invited comment about the team’s preparations and improvements for their upcoming game, Mike McCormack the Director of the Rugby Sevens, informed Kaieteur Sport that the team’s final practice game which was played in the National Park Rugby ground yesterday was an opportunity for local and overseas based players to play together.
“The game today was not of high intensity, it was mainly for the players to unite and combine forces as a team since it’s their last training session in Guyana before their departure.”

The selected National players will continue their  training in Mexico within the ten days span before the games with Canadian based coach, Spencer Robertson.
The Director of the Rugby Sevens declared to Kaieteur Sport that the team will also have a few practice matches with other teams which are not in the same pool with Guyana to enhance their experience and preparation for the games.
“We will also have practice games with one or two other teams that are not in our Pool, which is a standard part of the preparations for the tournament of which Mr. Robertson have arranged with Brazil and Chile.”  McCormack added that it will be a plus for Guyana to win their Pool which comprises of Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico since Guyana is now rated the fifth in American rating of Rugby. Argentina is the first then followed by United States of American, Canada and Uruguay.
McCormack expressed his gratitude to the Fitness Coach, Barry Browne for his efforts made in preparing the players that will be representing Guyana at the International Meet.
McCormack confirmed to Kaieteur Sport that the team is fittest ever complied in any sports in Guyana; “…I think they are the fittest that have ever left Guyana in any sport…our average running beep test presently is thirteen and over, some of the players are fourteen and two are fifteen and this is as professional as we can get in fitness.”

The players in the National squad are as follow: Ryan Gonsalves (Captain), Walter George (Vice Captain), Breon Walks, Vallon Adams, Dominique Lespierre, Dwayne Scolder, Richard Staglon, Rupert Giles, Kevin McKenzie, Claudius Butts, Leon Greaves and Ryan Mayers. Theodore Henry will be the Manager/Assistant Coach while the Physiotherapist is Arianne Manger.

Source: www.kaieteurnews.com