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

Over 60 students turned up at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima last Wednesday, to witness the launch of the Boxing Promoters Boxing Academy gym at the southern entrance of the  facility. Students from all parts of the eastern district of St George came out to show their interest for the sport and pay tribute to the late boxing great, Jizelle Salandy, and the legacy she left. Many were quick to say that she was the sole reason that they attended. The gym model has been created and funded in part by the projects department of the Sport Company of T&T with the Ministry of Sport supplying the equipment.

The initiative was headed by special advisor to the T&T Boxing Board of Control (T&TBC), Boxu Potts, who clearly stated that the facility was geared towards servicing all the communities and schools within the St George East District and was open to everyone. Potts also stated that the T&TBC’s projected plan was to replicate more boxing gyms throughout the country including Mayaro, Tobago (three gyms), San Juan, St Mary’s Home in Tacarigua, Siparia (home of the late Jizelle Salandy), Point Fortin, Diego Martin, Carenage, Barataria, Sangre Grande and Toco.  

Potts said his promise was to go into the vineyards to revive the sport and he has started this journey in fulfilling that promise. At the moment there are two other sporting options available at the academy: track and field and football and very soon additional disciplines will be added. These too are free and are geared towards the St George East District community. On Saturdays, free meals are provided for children and free uniforms and shoes are also provided for children of the academy.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

The first hurdle is cleared and the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) is optimistic that the 2011 Pan American Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, which will get under way next Friday, October 14, will be a successful one for T&T.

TTOC vice-president Dr Ian Hypolite, T&T's chef de mission, completed the delegation registration meeting in Guadalajara, on Thursday, and reported that there were no issues or problems with the registration of the 78 athletes, the medical team and other officials.

The T&T team is made up of 125 persons--athletes, medical staff, team managers and coaches.The exodus to the Games Village starts this weekend.

Commenting on the upcoming Games, TTOC president Michael Romany said he expects a solid performance from the athletes and teams wearing national colours in Guadalajara.

"A lot of hard work has gone into preparing for these Games, which are always very important for us given the fact that it takes place the year before the Olympic Games."

Romany also took the opportunity to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Sport, especially the Minister, Anil Roberts.

"The Minister and Ministry have honoured their commitment to assist the TTOC with travel to Guadalajara. These are tough times in terms of the global  and local economy. The Pan Am Games is an important  multi-sport event for the TTOC and the country. We [TTOC] appreciate the Minister's and his Ministry's support.We have worked closely with them in a collective effort to ensure that the travel logistics are in place. The Permanent Secretary has been very fair and open with us in addressing challenges, including our adidas-sponsored outfits. No one should underestimate or undervalue the team effort needed to take a team to the Pan Am, or any Games for that matter."

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

T&T sprint star to double at Olympics

Richard "Torpedo" Thompson is switching camps.

The Trinidad and Tobago track star has decided to leave Louisiana State University (LSU) coach Dennis Shaver and move to Los Angeles, California, where he will be under the guidance of John Smith, the man who steered Ato Boldon to four Olympic sprint medals and the 1997 200 metres world title.

"It was a very tough decision for me to make this switch," Thompson told the Sunday Express. "Louisiana, for the last seven years, is where I called home. I have a house there, a lot of close friends and I've grown to love the place. However, sometimes in life you have to make sacrifices and step out of your comfort zone to accomplish your goals."

Shaver guided Thompson to 100m silver at the 2008 Olympic Games, in Beijing, China. The Cascade sprinter also earned silver in the 4x100m relay, anchoring T&T to second spot, behind Jamaica.

"I am extremely grateful to Coach Shaver and the entire LSU programme for all they have done for me, but I felt it was in my best interest to move on next year. My performances for the last two years have been sub-par, and I felt like I owed more to my family, friends, fans worldwide and especially the country. After my Olympic medals in 2008, the entire country expected so much from me and I have not delivered.

"I think the switch in environment will be great for me. I am accustomed to going to practice and having all the LSU kids looking up to me and feeling like 'the man'. In California, I'm going into practice with people just as fast as me and faster, so I think the environment will be really competitive."

Smith is one of the best track and field coaches in the world. Apart from Boldon, his charges have included 2000 Olympic Games 100m champion Maurice Greene and triple OIympic gold medallist Marie-Jose Perec. Newly-crowned world champion in the women's 100m, Carmelita Jeter, is currently part of the John Smith camp.

"Smith has been really successful as a professional coach," said Thompson, "having world record-holders, world and Olympic champions. I think his knowledge and expertise at this level and his pro-specific programme will allow me to adapt to my professional career a lot better.

"I've seen the improvements made by so many athletes around me that I consider myself better than, and I felt like I've lost my respect as the Olympic silver medallist. It's time to regain some respect. I know the country is behind me, and even when people say bad things, it's because they expect more from me, so I completely understand and I am making the changes required to live up to the expectations of T&T."

Smith and Thompson's manager, Emanuel Hudson, are a team at sports management company HSI (Hudson Smith International). But though Hudson has represented Thompson since 2008, the T&T sprinter chose to stay with Shaver rather than join Smith's stable of athletes.

"I have known John Smith for a few years as he always expressed his interest in me and gave advice through his association with my manager, but the time was not right as yet. I felt like I had room for improvement still where I was.

"I expect to have a much better year next season and beyond. I've talked to John about some of the workouts I'll be doing and it's actually a bit scary," said a laughing Thompson, "but it is the necessary work if I want to medal again."

Competing under the HSI banner, training partners Greene and Boldon made a huge impact on the global sprint scene in the 1990s and 2000s.

Similarly, reigning triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt and his fellow-Jamaican, World Championship 100m gold medallist Yohan Blake, are currently the best sprinters on the planet. They are training partners at Jamaican club, Racers.

When Thompson begins his off-season preparations in LA early next month, the 26-year-old athlete will be training alongside American Walter Dix, the man he beat into third spot in the 2008 Olympic 100m final.

"We saw the benefits of having strong groups like the old HSI— Maurice, Ato, JD (Jon Drummond)—and we're seeing it again with Racers club. I think we will see major improvements from having a similar environment."

Following the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea, Thompson and Dix discussed their goals.

"Dix and I never had the best relationship as we were rivals since college, but we sat down after Daegu and had a long conversation about what we wanted to accomplish in the future. We both were the best coming out of college in the 100 and 200 and we both still live in the US.

"I'm looking forward to intense sessions with Walter Dix and (Norwegian sprinter) Jaysuma Ndure. It works out really well for me with both of them being great 200-metre runners, as I will take the 200 seriously for the first time in my career next year and make an attempt to do the double at the Olympics."

Another T&T sprinter, 2008 Olympic Games sprint relay silver medallist Emmanuel Callender, also trains in LA under the guidance of Smith.

"Callender is my good friend," said Thompson, "and he has a lot of potential. Having faster athletes around him will only benefit him. He has a lot of room for improvement, and I know he will be really good with the right mindset."

Late last month, Thompson and Greene teamed up for an NP-sponsored coaching clinic in Morvant, as well as motivational talks at secondary schools in east Port of Spain and Morvant/ Laventille.

"The clinic was a success. The kids had fun and learned a lot in the process. The secondary school visits also went well. We were able to connect with them and share some of our experiences to let them know that we came from similar situations to get where we are now. I think a lot of kids were inspired.

"Maurice, being the greatest of his era," Thompson ended, "had a great impact on the kids with his life story."

-Kwame Laurence

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Emile Abraham of Team Aerocat emerged victorious in the Elite 1 Category of the Tour of San Fernando hosted by Southampton Wheelers Cycle Club on Sunday. He amassed nine points over the two-day race with a total race time of 4:07:01. Team Trek’s Rowan Wilson, who placed first in the final day with a time of 2:33:37, was second overall with eight points. Linford Blackwood, also of Team Trek finished third with a six-point total.

Justin Roberts led the Juniors, taking five points in both of his races to finish on ten points. Nicholas Wharton topped the juveniles with eight points. The Elite Women was taken by Alexandra Consten with ten points.  Ancil Roberts and Curtis Juteram both totalled eight points after the two races in the Masters 40-49, while Cyril Fook brushed aside all competitors in the Masters 50-59 category with ten points, seven more than Earle Clifford in second. The Masters 60 & Over was won by Peter Hernandez, also with ten points.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

T&T Olympic Committee president, Larry Romany was one of the feature speakers at the  Norceca International Sport Management Seminar for National Federations Category I and II which began on Tuesday in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The seminar is organised by the FIVB Regional Development Centre in Dominican Republic and the co-ordinator of the seminar is Mushtaque Mohammed, T&T Volleyball Federation president and vice-president of Norceca in charge of development. Also in attendance were Jizhong Wei, president of Federation International VolleyBall and NORCECA president Cristobal Marte Hoffiz.

During Tuesday’s first session, Mohammed referred to the importance of development and its necessity and Romany made a masterful dissertation on the Strategic Planning. Wei also explained the structure and operations of FIVB and Marte Hoffiz spoke about Norceca Confederation and its development plan.
During the afternoon, Romany and Helgi Thorsteinsson, FIVB Director of Development, continued on the topic of the strategic planning while Chrissy Benz commented about the development of leaders and working with volunteers.

Thorsteinsson explained the programmes of Cool Volley and All Volleyball Festivals as well as the Development Fund and Strategic Leadership while Mohammed spoke about the structure of the National Federations and the role of the different officers. At the end of the afternoon it was organised a practical workshop about strategic management with the participants divided in groups of six individuals.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Fifa is insular, unrepresentative and far too Swiss, according to the man who blew the whistle on corruption at world football's governing body.

The Zurich-based body has been under scrutiny since Chuck Blazer produced evidence of bribery in the run-up to this summer's presidential election.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has promised reforms but Blazer doubts they will deliver wider representation.

"Blatter should be talking to a broader base," said Blazer.

"The days of tablets of stone being delivered from the mountain should be gone. He isn't Moses.

"The structure at the moment revolves around national associations. We have to bring other interests into Fifa - clubs, leagues, referees, women. None of these are represented in the executive committee.

"If the issue is cleaning things up, we need a balance of competing interests. We need a broadening of the system.

"At the moment, the chairman of the ethics committee is Swiss, the chair of the disciplinary committee is Swiss. And the president is Swiss."

Blazer became an unlikely agent for change when he accused senior Fifa colleague and presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam of bribing potential voters at a meeting in Trinidad in May.

The 66-year-old American claimed Asian Football Confederation boss Bin Hammam colluded with Fifa vice-president Jack Warner in a plan to pay £600,000 in bribes to Caribbean associations.

Bin Hammam was subsequently thrown out of the presidential race, meaning Blatter was re-elected unopposed, and the Qatari has now been banned from football for life.

Warner resigned in June after being suspended pending an investigation into those bribery allegations.

The all-powerful Fifa ExCo is due to meet on 21 October and it is widely expected that changes to how Fifa handles allegations of corruption will be announced.

But Blazer, who announced on Thursday his intention to step down as the general secretary of Concacaf - the federation that governs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean - is not confident his call for a wider cross-section of stakeholders will be heeded.

"Absolutely not, [the reforms] won't come close," he said.

By Richard Conway

Source: www.news.bbc.co.uk

Grandmaster Jin Young Jung is now a member of the Taekwondo Hall of Fame. He was inducted on August 25, at a ceremony in his hometown, Seoul, South Korea.

Jung is credited with introducing taekwondo to Trinidad and Tobago in the 1970s. The Korean-born instructor came to T&T in December 1975, and opened a taekwondo school on Borde Street, in Port of Spain one year later. Since 1988, he has had a martial arts school on Bellesmythe Street, in Woodbrook.

Jung's most famous student is Cheryl Ann Sankar. Jung coached Sankar at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

"Yeah, yeah," Jung told the Express, "she is the best."

The veteran taekwondo expert said he has always set very high standards for his students.

"They chose me (for the Hall of Fame) because I am an old master. I have awarded 31 black belts in my 36 years in Trinidad. Many instructors would have about 1,000 black belts. I do it the honest way. That's the kind of thing they spoke about."

In an official invitation letter, the Hall of Fame's executive director, Gerard Robbins paid tribute to Jung.

"It gives me great pride to inform you that due to your hard work and long term commitment to Tae kwon do you have been selected to receive special recognition as 'Pioneer of Taekwondo' in Trinidad & Tobago."

The venue for the 2011 induction ceremony has great historical significance.

"This year," Robbins explained, in the invitation letter, "will prove to be a landmark year as we will be holding our ceremony in Korea the birthplace of Taekwondo.

"Furthermore, the location of this year's ceremony will be the historic Kukkiwon gymnasium which was the venue of the 1st World Taekwondo Championships in 1973 and several international competitions since."

-Kwame Laurence

www.trinidadexpress.com

For 16 years, the British Olympic Association (BOA) stood in glorious isolation alongside their bylaw which debars any Briton found guilty of a serious doping offence from taking part in any future Games.

In 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), no less, stepped up alongside them with its own, smaller scale version of that sanction - in this case, debarring doping offenders from the upcoming Games following their offence.

Now that LaShawn Merritt, the United States Olympic 400 metres champion who returned from a two-year doping ban in July this year, has succeeded in convincing the Court of Arbitration (CAS) for Sport of the IOC rules demerits, earning the right to compete in the London 2012 Games in so doing, the BOA – not unnaturally – are feeling a little exposed.

Colin Moynihan, the BOA chairman, vowed today to do everything in his power to maintain the ruling. "In sport, there is nothing more important than to be clean," he said. "I think it is important that we send that message."

Despite recent criticism of the British position from the United States Olympic Committee, which supported Merritt in his CAS appeal, Moynihan insisted: "I don't believe our position is isolated."

He is clearly wrong in one sense. But in another, he is correct. Despite their disagreements last year over how surplus from London 2012 should be shared out, he has the unqualified support of Seb Coe, chairman of the London Games Organising Committee. He was also unequivocally backed today by the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson.

Interestingly, Andy Parkinson, the UK Anti-Doping chief executive, has declared his full support for the latest CAS ruling. "If you want lifetime bans – and that could be the right thing to do to protect clean athletes – let's do it via the World Anti-Doping Agency so that it applies to every country."

Spoken like a true administrator. But what likelihood is there, I wonder, of every country, or even many countries, embracing life bans through the appropriate political channel?

If they were that keen, surely they would already have acted independently, as the British have. After all, nobody's stopping them – are they?

At heart, this is not an adminstrative or political decision. It is a moral decision. And it is a complex moral decision.

Ed Moses, the great Olympic 400m hurdles champion who is now chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, was instrumental in creating the sport's first random out-of-competition drug testing programme.

Yet when Britain's Dwain Chambers sought to challenge his ban through the BOA bylaw on the eve of the Beijing Games – a challenge that failed – Moses was one of the relative view voices speaking up for the sprinter. He described a lifetime ban from the Olympics as being "like a death sentence."

In a competitive sense, he is right. And considering the justice of the position means facing a fundamental question – when someone has done wrong, at what point do you offer them the means of making up for it?

On the other side of the argument from Moses, however, you will find many, many athletes. And this is the strong basis on which Moynihan, Robertson, Coe et al hold fast to the bylaw.

Sitting next to Moynihan today was Sarah Winckless, the retired Olympic rowing bronze medallist and double world champion, who as chair of the BOA Athletes' Commission insisted that the bylaw had the support of 90 per cent of British athletes.

British athletes have now been surveyed on the matter after the last four Olympics, and there has been no wavering in their approval of the byelaw.That is a massively important, and massively valid, mandate.

And remember that the BOA bylaw was initiated by competitors, not administrators. Bryn Vaile, who was one of those competitors, remembers it well.

As a member of the formative BOA Athletes Commission, Vaile – a gold medallist in the 1988 Olympic Star sailing class – was among those responsible for getting the bylaw on the statute books on March 25 1992. Along with Olympic swimming gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse, he argued its case successfully to the BOA Executive Committee – and he believes passionately that the bylaw should remain.

Moorhouse, Vaile and fellow members of the Athletes Commission felt that action needed to be taken to prevent doping offenders returning to represent their country in the Olympics, and had to overcome some opposition from within the BOA before they had their way.

"We looked into the legal position of restraint of trade," Vaile recalled. "But the way we saw it, this was not preventing people carrying on their careers – they could still compete in grand prix meetings or World Championships."

Vaile, however, would like to see conditions become even more difficult for doping cheats. "I still believe that if you take performance-enhancing drugs, you should be banned for life," he said. "There should be no compromise to it, because that is compromising our futures. Every time a drugs cheat comes back to competition, it doesn't just tarnish the sport, and the people watching. It tarnishes the next generation, and it belittles every other clean athlete."

There was no doubt in Vaile's mind that Dwain Chambers did not deserve to return to the Olympic arena. And he will not be changing that view for LaShawn Merritt.

The BOA are stressing that there are important differences between their bylaw and the IOC ruling which has just been successfully overturned. One of the primary differences is the presence of an appeal process in the BOA version – a process which athletes such as 400m runner Christine Ohuruogu and former world triathlon champion Tim Don have been able to re-set their Olympic ambitions. In both cases, the fact that sanctions were applied for failing to be present for tests, rather than testing positive, was clearly important.

The BOA position has always been that it is not preventing athletes from competing – they are free to resume competition once they have served their bans - but it is simply not inviting them to its own party.

-Mike Rowbottom

www.insidethegames.com

World Championship women's 100 metres bronze medallist Kelly-Ann Baptiste will be honoured by the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA), at an Appreciation Function, next Wednesday, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in Port of Spain. Starting time is six p.m.

In a press release, NAAA secretary Allan Baboolal said his organisation "will be honouring the contributions of our athletes at the recently-concluded World Championships which was held in Daegu, Korea during the period August 27-September 4 and recognising the outstanding performance of Ms. Kelly-Ann Baptiste."

Baptiste was T&T's lone medallist at the 2011 World Championships.

The Florida-based sprinter was also part of the women's 4x100m team that finished fourth, just missing out on precious metal.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

The first Hurdle is cleared and the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) is optimistic that the Guadalajara 2011 Pan Am Games which will get underway on Friday 14th October will be a successful one for T&T .
TTOC vice president Dr Ian Hypolite ,T&T's  chef de mission , earlier today completed the delegation registration meeting(DRM) in Guadalajara and reported that there were no issues or problems with the  registration of the 78 athletes, medical team and other team officials.The T&T team including athletes,medical staff, team managers and coaches total 125 persons.
Athletes and team officials will start the exodus to the Games Village on the week end.
Commenting on the upcoming Games TTOC president Michael Romany said that he expects a solid performance from the athletes and teams  wearing national colours in Guadalajara.
" A lot of hard work has gone into preparing for these games which are always  very important for us given the fact that it takes place the year before the Olympic Games."
Romany also took the opportunity to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Sport and, in particular Minister of Sport Anil Roberts .
" The Minister and Ministry have honoured their commitment to assist the TTOC with travel to Guadalajara. These are tough times in terms of the global  and local economy . The Pan Am Games is an important  multi sport event  for the TTOC and the country. We[TTOC} appreciate the Minister's and his Ministry's support.We have worked closely with them in a collective effort to ensure that the travel logistics are in place. The Permanent Secretary has been very fair and open with us in addressing challenges including our Adidas sponsored outfits.No one should underestimate or under value the team effort needed to take a team to the Pan Am or any games for that matter." added Romany

-Brian Lewis

LaShawn Merritt's Olympic ban has been overturned by the court of arbitration for sport, clearing the way for the reigning Olympic 400m champion to defend his title at next year's London Games.
The move could also lead to renewed pressure on the British Olympic Association to drop a bylaw that bans drug cheats for life and provide the likes of cyclist David Millar and sprinter Dwain Chambers with a route to the 2012 Games.
CAS announced that it has invalidated an International Olympic Committee rule introduced before the Beijing Games that bars any athlete who has received a doping suspension of more than six months from competing in the next summer or winter Games.
The panel said the rule was "invalid and unenforceable" because it amounted to "double jeopardy" and did not comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
Merritt, the American 400m gold medallist in Beijing, had been ineligible under the IOC rule to compete in London following his two-year ban in 2009, later reduced to 21 months, after testing positive for a substance found in a "male enhancement product".
The IOC ban was challenged by the US Olympic Committee because its own arbitration panel found that his ban should not extend to his selection for the American Olympic team.
"The IOC has a zero tolerance against doping and has shown and continues to show its determination to catch cheats. We are therefore naturally disappointed since the measure was originally adopted to support the values that underpin the Olympic Movement and to protect the huge majority of athletes who compete fairly," said the IOC on Thursday. But it said it would abide by the ruling.
The Merritt ruling will give hope to British athletes including Chambers and Millar who are currently banned for life under the BOA bylaw. There is now a possibility that they could use the basis of the Merritt case to mount a challenge to the bylaw.
But the BOA will attempt to robustly defend its position, arguing that its bylaw is based on eligibility rather than sanction and ask the IOC to confirm its right to define its own selection criteria.
It will also emphasise that its rule has a right of appeal, under which most athletes hit with doping bans – Christine Ohuruogu among them – have been able to successfully regain entry to the Olympics.
It is expected to point to letters from the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2009 confirming that its lifetime ban is compatible with its code. The CAS ruling gives the IOC a possible means to reintroduce the ban through the Wada code.
"The CAS panel also emphasised that if the IOC wanted to exclude athletes who have been sanctioned for doping from the Olympic Games, it could propose an amendment to the world doping code, which would allow other signatories to consider such an amendment and ne bis in idem issue (prohibition against double jeopardy) would be part of a single sanction," it said in a statement.
The IOC indicated on Thursday it was minded to go down that route but will probably not do so until the next code review in 2013, after the London Games.
"The rule was in our view an efficient means to advance the fight against doping, and we were somewhat surprised by the judgment since we had taken an advisory opinion from CAS on the rule and been given a positive response," said an IOC spokesman.
"When the moment comes for the revision of the world anti-doping code we will ensure that tougher sanctions, including such a rule, will be seriously considered."
For Millar, Chambers or the shot putter Carl Myerscough to challenge their lifetime bans they would first have to be put forward for selection by their sport. That would be blocked by the BOA, so they would then have to challenge that decision at CAS or the high court.
The BOA will strongly defend its right to decide on eligibility but would then be forced to take advice on its chances of success in what could be a lengthy and costly legal battle.
It is expected to challenge the IOC to back its ability to choose its own selection criteria. The IOC is likely to do so, but will stress that CAS must have the final say.
While the BOA has pointed to surveys of British athletes showing that more than 90% support the lifetime ban, the rule does not have universal support within the anti-doping community. Some believe it is too harsh and hinders the war on doping by discouraging whistle blowers.
Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, has urged the BOA to drop its bylaw but admitted to the BBC this week it was a better piece of legislation than the IOC rule, as it allowed for "individualised review".
In response to the ruling, the UK Anti-Doping chief executive Andy Parkinson said: "UK Anti-Doping's position is well known on such matters. We believe it is appropriate that the decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport strongly supports the authority of the World Anti-Doping Code, the internationally agreed set of rules.
"The global fight against doping in sport is a complex task and this ruling provides clarity for the sporting movement in the lead up to 2012."
Michele Verroken, the former director of ethics and anti-doping at UK Sport, believes the BOA bylaw should remain in place. "I'm really disappointed [with the CAS ruling] for other athletes and British athletes in particular," she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They have been surveyed after Olympic Games and have consistently said at about 99% that we think there should be this eligibility bylaw of the British Olympic Association and they don't want to line up against cheats.
"I do think a lot of athletes will be disappointed because it's sending a message that 'it's all right, you can come back in' and it will undermine the Olympic Games.
"There has to be a situation where you review whether an athlete should be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games again after having committed a doping offence.
Verroken added: "Sport doesn't seem to be in control of setting up a good standard for punishing drugs cheats.
"It does call into question whether the anti-doping rules are competent to deal with doping situations and I think there should be a big debate about whether or not we have got the rules right in the first instance."

-Owen Gibson

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

This country’s senior women’s football team will continue its five-day live-in with a practice session at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya from 4 pm this afternoon. The locals went into camp at the Liberty Hotel, Chaguanas on Monday ahead of their departure for the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, next Tuesday. The squad, which comprises seasoned campaigners in Maylee Attin-Johnson, Tiana Bateau, Kennya Cordner, Candace Edwards, Karyn Forbes, Kimika Forbes, Nadia James, Anastasia Prescott, Dernelle Mascall Tasha St Louis and overseas-based duo, Lauryn Hutchinson and Ahkeela Mollon, also trained at the Macoya venue yesterday while they will train at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, from 4 pm today under coach Richard Hood.

Also included in the squad is Soca Princesses Under-17 player Victoria Swift, who joins the team today following last night’s Caribbean Football Union Group B U-17 encounter against St Kitts/Nevis at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. In Mexico, the senior women will face FIFA World Cup participants Colombia on the opening day, October 11 on the artificial surface at the two-year-old, 50,000 capacity Omnilife Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, home to top Mexican club, Chivas de Guadalajara. Defending women’s champion Brazil, a World Cup semifinalist, opens against Argentina, while Canada will play Costa Rica and Mexico faces Chile. T&T will also face Mexico and Chile in Group A while Group B consists of Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Costa Rica.

The top two teams in each of the four-team groups will advance to the semifinals, on October 25 with the finals (championship and bronze-medal match) two days later. The local women are coming off a disappointing London Olympics qualifying campaign in which they failed to advance to the Concacaf Final Round qualification series after being upstaged 1–0 by Dominican Republic in July in Santo Domingo.

Team

T&T women’s team: Maylee Attin-Johnson, Tiana Bateau, Danielle Blaire, Kennya Cordner, Candace Edwards, Karyn Forbes, Kimika Forbes, Janine Francois, Nadia James, Anastasia Prescott, Tasha St Louis, Arin King, Victoria Swift,Shalette Alexander, Lauryn Hutchinson, Dernelle Mascall, Ahkeela Mollon, Rhea Belgrave.

Technical staff: Richard Hood (coach), Vernetta Flanders (manager), Chris Bailey (assistant coach), Glennon Foncette (goalkeeper coach), Claire George (equipment manager), Nicole Kistow (physiotherapist).

fixtures

Pan American Games

Group A: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, T&T

Group B: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica

October 18:

Canada vs Costa Rica, 11 am

Colombia vs T&T, 2 pm

Argentina vs Brazil, 5 pm

Mexico vs Chile, 9 pm

October 20:

Canada vs Argentina, 10 am

Chile vs Colombia, 1 pm

Brazil vs Costa Rica, 5 pm

Mexico vs T&T, 8 pm

October 21:

Brazil vs Canada, 8 pm

October 22:

T&T vs Chile, 10 am

Costa Rica vs Argentina, 1 pm

Mexico vs Colombia, 5 pm

October 25: Semifinals

October 27: Finals and third place playoffs

-Nigel Simon

www.guardian.co.tt

T&T’s Renele Forde continued her impressive tallies of assists when the Florida International University Panthers volleyball squad dropped a 25-20, 25-12, 25-18 decision to reigning Sun Belt Conference Champion Middle Tennessee on Sunday afternoon at the US Century Bank Arena, Miami.
Forde had a team-leading 22 assists on the day as FIU fells to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in league play
On Friday she posted another team-high 16 assists in FIU’s 25-17, 25-22, 25-19 defeat at the hands of conference rival WKU.

The back-to-back losses came after seventh straight victories for FIU which included wins at Denver 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 in which Forde came up just one assist shy of tying a career-high with 53 assists to lead the Panthers. Forde, a redshirt junior was also one of two Panthers to reach double-digit kill when  FIU opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 25-15, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19 win over North Texas. Forde recorded FIU’s lone service ace of the night and a team-best 36 assists to go along with a career-high and squad-best 19 digs. The double-double marks the second of Forde’s career.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

DOUBLE ROOKS

It is the considered view of Double Rooks that the sport of chess in Trinidad and Tobago will not see any significant progress until it is taken to the country’s schools in a progressive and structured programme.
It may be foolhardy, of course, to believe that in our sporting culture, this mind game, no matter how fascinating it is, can become as popular as cricket or football. But, at the very least, DR believes it should be made available to as many of our young people as possible if only to provide them with the opportunity to enjoy and excel in a uniquely beneficial competitive arena.

Every international sport offers youngsters a specific activity to develop their particular talents. So far, Trinidad and Tobago has acquired a world-wide reputation for producing cricketers, footballers and athletes of world class, demonstrating that our little country is blessed with a people of great sporting ability and potential. It seems unfortunate then that the sport of chess is still so limited in its development and its outreach that its chances of unearthing more players of exceptional quality, even of international master class, or even at the level of genius, are sorely inhibited.

Indeed, the stagnant state of chess development in T&T may well be seen in the fact that only one new youngster, Esan Wiltshire, has joined the list of finalists who will compete for the national championship later this month. Most of the other finalists are prominent veterans who have been setting the game’s standards over several years. But this can hardly be satisfactory; chess in T&T needs to leap beyond its present level, to exploit the talent that is nationally available, and this will only take place when the base of participation is widened to include the country’s school population.

So DR looks with some optimism at the T&T Chess Association’s current initiative to meet such an objective, starting with a pilot project among a number of selected schools. This expansion, however, will not be an easy exercise, since the Association will be starting virtually from scratch with little or no manpower beyond its relatively new executive personnel. To begin with, the T&TCA will need to have the full backing and cooperation of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. One can only hope that the administrators there are converts to the exercise, that they understand the benefits this thrust can confer not only on participating youngsters but, in the longer term, the country as a whole.

To reinforce the point DR notes that a number of prominent junior chess players have won scholarships in this year’s CAPE examinations. Most prominent among them, of course, is Kerry Singh of Presentation College, San Fernando, winner of the President’s Medal. Additional scholarships in science and maths respectively have been won by Jayson Paul of QRC, former Under-16 national champion and Rafael Guerrero of St Mary’s former Under-14 national champion. Other notable junior players, Christopher Raphael and Johnathan Wilson have already entered universities abroad. And, having conquered the world of chess, Garry Kasparov, regarded as the greatest player ever, is now the leading campaigner for introducing the royal game into the education system.

A few weeks ago the former world champion presented to the European Parliament a programme designed to promote chess in schools throughout the continent. Even beyond the enjoyment of a sport, the world is also becoming more aware of the positive contribution which chess can make to the intellectual and social development of children. A developing society such as T&T should not be hesitating to take this plunge.

-Carl Jacob

www.guardian.co.tt

FORMER FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has been summoned to appear in court on Tuesday to give an accurate and detailed account of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) finances.

And in addition, TTFF president Oliver Camps is facing an application to be held in contempt of court for allegedly submitting false accounts to Justice Devindra Rampersad in the High Court.

Despite winning a drawn-out battle with the TTFF last year over payment of bonuses for the 2006 World Cup, the players are yet to receive their money due to disagreement with the audited TTFF books.

Speaking to Newsday yesterday, British attorney Mike Townley, representing 13 members of the 2006 “Soca Warriors” team, explained that there has been some difficulty in determining the revenue of the local football body which has delayed the disbursement of their money.

“What the players are trying to do is determine the income from the 2006 campaign, but they (TTFF) never wished to disclose it,” he said.

“We made an application last year for the courts to disclose the accounts. In advance of that hearing, the TTFF in December submitted their accounts audited by the internationally renowned KPMG.

“I went through the accounts and found it to be rubbish and completely inaccurate. It showed for the period 2005 to 2007 the amount to be $25 million and we knew there was more. We know the government invested $200 million so the books only showed a small portion,” Townley declared.

Following this, the judge ordered the TTFF to submit a specific audit which Camps did in June earlier this year. Townley argued, however, that this account was a mere rehash of the one which was rejected by the players in 2006.

The players then filed an application for Camps to be held in contempt of court and fined and or sent to prison for submitting a false account even though he had sworn to an affidavit. In response to the application, however, Camps allegedly made a u-turn and told the court he was oblivious to the exact figures and his former Special Advisor Warner was in charge of these matters and is in possession of his organisation’s books.

“We then made an application for Warner to be made the third defendant after the TTFF and Camps and that he be ordered to deliver the account and an affidavit swearing it to be true,” Townley revealed.

The players have received an interim payment of $7.5 million but Townley believes the full figure to be significantly higher.

He says that although five years have passed since TT played in the World Cup in Germany and the wheels of justice appear to be moving slow, the players are persisting with the matter and will not stop pursuing it until they receive their due amount.

He concluded that the case could have other ramifications as not only their payments are concerned but taxpayers money as well.

“When we are searching for the accounts, we are only interested in the money due to the players but if we find tremendous lack of accountability...If that $200 million from the government doesn’t show up then that means the public scandal is two-fold,” he argued.

-Stephon Nicholas

www.newsday.co.tt

TWELVE of Trinidad and Tobago’s finest chess players leave tomorrow to compete in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Chess tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which starts on Sunday.

The local contingent comprises of four girls and eight boys, who will be accompanied by their parents.

The team is: Najarah Rahamat, Gabriella Johnson, Della-Marie Walcott, Amba De Silva, Alpacino Smith, Vandoff Smith, Alex Walcott, Joshua Johnson, Quentrall De Silva, Sean Yearwood, Kyron Agostini and Jordan Robertson with manager/coach Bhisham Soondarsingh. Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA) president, Kamla Rampersad-de Silva will accompany the team.

The TT players will compete for top honours in the Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 divisions.

In 2009, Under-12 champion Joshua Johnson won gold in the Under-10 category. He is also expected to be among the medals in this year’s tournament.

Johnson recently won the $300 “Best Finishing Junior” prize at the Paladins/Lucozade Chess Open recently.

Soondarsingh said he also expects medals from Yearwood (TTCA Under-8 champion), Smith (V), Johnson (G) and Walcott (D).

He said players have been preparing for the tournament over the past two weeks.

And Soondarsingh is confident that the young players will do well in Puerto Rico.

Rampersad-DeSilva stated that the team is in high spirits and intends to remain focussed, and also acknowledged the parents for their overwhelming support.

The tournament is FIDE rated and group winners will be eligible for Candidate Master titles.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

October 5 - Infostrada Sports has hit back at the latest claims from the Delhi 2010 Organising Committee who have asked the Dutch company for a return payment of around £850,000 ($1.3 million/€985,100) for what they describe as "incomplete services" and "breach of agreement" for work carried at the Commonwealth Games.

Infostrada Sports were contracted to provide media services - amounting to £1.2 million ($1.9 million/€1.4 million) - during Delhi 2010 but are on a long list of high-profile international firms to have had a dispute with the Organising Committee regarding payment.

The Organising Committee originally refused to pay the company and are taking action against their own former and present employees for paying the £850,000 ($1.3 million/€985,100) sum - around 70 per cent of the total contract value - to Infostrada Sports without undertaking a proper check of its working.

Infostrada Sports have suggested that they will not be returning the money to the Organising Committee despite the request and that they have been widely praised for their work.

"We have been in protracted discussions with the Organising Committee, which have to this date been fruitless," a spokesperson from Infostrada Sports told insidethegames.

"We were praised for our work in Delhi by various stakeholders, including the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), various OC officials and the media.

"We were officially and publicly thanked by the OC for doing extra work, at no charge, to rescue them during the period of technical issues in the days leading into and first days of the Games.

"Importantly, none of these technical issues were the responsibility of Infostrada Sports, but the clear responsibility of other sections of the Organising Committee."

Infostrada Sports performed similar roles at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as well as being due to work on London 2012.

The Organising Committee had claimed earlier this year that they were overpaid and did not deliver on their work for Delhi 2010 but Infostrada Sports denied this was the case.

"Infostrada Sports once again refutes all allegations that it was overpaid, under-performed or under-delivered," said the company's chief executive Philip Hennemann.

"The amount we were contracted for Delhi was smaller than that we received for large multisport events with a full service delivery such as the Olympic Games in Beijing £1.7 million ($2.7 million/€2 million) or the Asian Games in Doha £2.6 million ($4.2 million/€3 million).

"In Delhi, we had more than 130 contracted persons and paid people involved in the operations, of which 76 were foreigners.

"It is the only event in the list with a full scope service that we had to arrange our own hotels and flights.

"In Beijing, these costs were paid by the Organising Committee.

"We paid over £217,000 ($350,000/$251,000) for flights and accommodation alone in Delhi."

The Delhi 2010 Organising Committee have been plagued with allegations of corruption since the close of the Commonwealth Games last year with senior figures - including chairman Suresh Kalmadi - having been continually questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In addition, eight countries lodged an official complaint with the Indian government over $74 million (£46 million/€56 million) worth of unpaid bills from last year's Commonwealth Games, warning that the delays could affect future investment in the country.

Australia Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland all signed the letter demanding action on the issue, which was delivered to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in February this year.

-Tom Degun

www.insidethegames.biz

October 4 - Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound has hit out at FIFA, saying that they lack the will to make the reforms necessary to restore faith in football.

Pound was a long-standing critic of corruption within the IOC before the Salt Lake City bidding scandal in 1998, when ten IOC members were found to have accepted various bribes from members of the winning bid team.

After the scandal, the former Commonwealth Games gold medal winning swimmer led an inquiry into the affair and helped restore the reputation of the Olympic body.

Speaking at the opening session of the 2011 Play the Game conference in Cologne, Germany, Pound said: "FIFA has fallen far short of a credible demonstration that it recognises the many problems it faces, that it has the will to solve them...that it is willing to be transparent about what it is doing and what it finds, and that its conduct in the future will be such that the public can be confident in the governance of the sport.

"At the moment, I do not believe that such confidence exists or would be justified if it did."

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, a colleague of Pound's on the IOC, is under pressure to deliver convincing reforms to the way his organisation is run after a year of damaging revelations and accusations.

The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups saw two members of FIFA's executive committee, Amos Adamu - who today takes his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) - and Reynald Temarii, suspended after an undercover Sunday Times investigation found that they were willing to sell their votes.

The award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar then prompted further anger at FIFA, before their Presidential election in June was marred by the revelation that Blatter's only rival, Mohamed Bin Hammam, had colluded to bribe voters in North America.

Long time FIFA vice-president Jack Warner was forced to resign after an investigation into his role in the affair, whilst Bin Hammam has been kicked out of football for good, though he continues to protest his innocence.

"When I compare [the Salt Lake City] firestorm of media attention to the relatively benign, again with certain exceptions, treatment of the remarkable conduct of FIFA and certain of its executives, I am astonished," said Pound, the former President of the World Anti-Dopng Agency.

"This is a far more serious and far more extensive problem for the world's most popular sport than the relatively narrow conduct, improper as it was, of a few IOC members."

At the start of the year, Blatter (pictured right) announced that he would be setting up a solutions committee, which will include the likes of former US vice President Henry Kissinger (pictured left) and opera legend Plácido Domingo, alongside football greats such as former Ajax and Barcelona star Johan Cruyff.

Having been elected for a fourth and final term as President, the 75-year-old Swiss football administrator will be presenting reforms in two weeks, which are intended to reform FIFA and restore faith in his leadership and the organisation.

At the end of August, he promised that a reform agenda would be unveiled after an executive committee meeting in Zurich on October 20 and 21.

FIFA has taken advice from Transparency International, who published a report in August that suggested their Presidents should be limited to serving two-year terms.

It also accused FIFA of being run like "an old boys' network", and told it to become more transparent and accountable outside of the 208 member associations it represents.

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By David Gold

BLINK BMOBILE, a subsidiary of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), are paying specific emphasis on youth as the group is sponsoring the National Primary Schools draughts and checkers competition.

Thousands of primary schoolchildren are being taught the rudiments of the game by coaches who are affiliated with the Trinidad and Tobago Draughts and Checkers Association (TTDCA).

Celine Merritt, of the Tacarigua Anglican Primary School, is a 12-year-old who expressed her delight in learning the fundamentals of the game.

“I have had a lot of fun learning and playing the games,” said Merritt. “The coaches were really good and the training helped me to focus on being a better player.

“I would pass on video games any day to play this,” she continued. “I enjoy the challenge and I like eating my competitor’s pieces.” This project is geared towards aiding the development of the country’s youths through competitive sport as well as instilling fundamental life skills in the pre-teens.

The TTDCA, through its “School Coaching Programme”, teaches children and adolescents in the art and science of these mentally-stimulating sports.

Gregory Julian, principal of St Pius Boys’ Primary School, stated, “It teaches the kids valuable lessons such as respect for one’s opponent, it trains them in critical thinking, cause and effect and helps them deal with both winning and losing.

“They can transfer this knowledge into their school and home lives.”

The TTDCA, which was instituted in 1992, has over 12 affiliated clubs and it is dedicated to the growth and promotion of the game.

President of the TTDCA, Rufus Foster stressed that his organisation has a bigger plan than to just train persons in these sports, but to additionally uplift society through mentally invigorating, affirmative competition.

“I applaud the initiative of TSTT and I am grateful that they had the vision to get involved with something that positively affects the lives of school children,” he said. “Because of TSTT’s support, these kids were able to learn about and gain necessary tools such as sacrifice, creativity, problem- solving and concentration.”

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

October 4 - Britain's Mo Farah, Jamaica's Yohan Blake and Australia's Sally Pearson are among the 10 men and 10 women shortlisted for the 2011 World Athlete of the Year Award - along with Usain Bolt (pictured), of course.

The male and female winners will be announced live on stage during the 2011 World Athletics Gala in Monaco on November 12 this year.

The list of 20 athletes, selected by an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) panel of eight experts, will now receive email votes from within the world athletics family in a process that will continue until midnight on Sunday, October 23.

Three male and three female finalists will be selected and announced by the IAAF, whose council will then select the two eventual winners.

The candidates are, in alphabetical order:

Men: Yohan Blake (Jamaica), Mo Farah (Britain), Robert Harting (Germany), Kirani James (Grenada), Patrick Makau (Kenya), Koji Murofushi (Japan), David Rudisha (Kenya), Christian Taylor (United States) and Jesse Williams (United States).

Women: Mariya Abakumova (Russia), Valerie Adams (New Zealand), Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica), Tatyana Chernova (Russia), Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya), Anna Chicherova (Russia), Lashinda Demus (United States), Carmelita Jeter (United States), Amantle Montsho (Botswana) and Sally Pearson (Australia).

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Mike Rowbottom