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jun.27.2008

The TTOC 2008 Olympic week celebrations will come to an end on Saturday in Tobago.

Today(Friday) the final of the inaugural Olympic quiz competition will be held in Scarborough Tobago.

Saturday, the Tobago leg of the Olympic day relay run will take place at Market Square starting at 4pm.

The chairman of the TTOC Olympic day Committee,assistant Secretary General, Wendell Labastide expressed his delight at the response from the sporting fraternity in the sister isle.

"Our partners are the Tobago House of Aassembly(THA) and their support and encouragement has been tremendous.It is pointing to our Tobago leg being the best and biggest ever Olympic relay run.I am extremely grateful to the THA for their leadership " said Labastide.

Last Saturday the Trinidad leg opened Olympic week.Belmont Secondary,Christopher Gill,T&T Badminton,the T&T national women's rugby team and RBTT were among the participants in winners row at the King George V Park.


jun.27.2008

The U.S. Olympic track and field trials (and the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, too) are the most cutthroat in the world. No track and field athlete gets a free pass to the United States Olympic team. Every runner, jumper and thrower must finish in the top three here or sit at home and watch on television what might have been.

Other nations pick their teams by committee or a combination of trials and selection. But any American who has a bad day or is slowed or sidelined by injury is out of luck.

Jeanette Bolden knows the anguish from two sides. She won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay in 1984. She has been the women’s head coach at U.C.L.A. for 14 years and is the head coach of this United States women’s Olympic team. In a news conference here, she addressed the Americans’ automatic selection process.

“Fortunately and unfortunately,” she said, “our system is fortunate for those three who make the team, and it’s unfortunate for everyone else trying to make the team.

Whether or not they make the team, you are going to see the best and the brightest, and that’s what this is about, having the trials and going through our system and being here in Eugene. The athletes will be well supported and the fans will get to see track and field in its truest sense. The individuals know they can’t blame it on anyone else. It’s just you and the clock.”

Assuming they meet the qualifying standards, many elite runners enter more than one event. That way, if they don’t make the Olympic team in one, they have a chance in another. Sprinters such as Tyson Gay and Torri Edwards have declared their intention to run both the 100 and 200 meters and have good chances to make the team in both events.

It’s tougher for distance runners because of the energy demands. For that reason, Abdi Abdirahman, Dathan Ritzenhein and Dan Browne have scratched from the men’s 5,000 to concentrate on the 10,000. (Ritzenhein has already qualified for the Olympic team in the marathon.)

Xavier Carter scratched from the men’s 400 to concentrate on the 200, where his qualifying time of 19.92 seconds is the fourth best in the field. Jen Rhines scratched from the women’s 10,000 to concentrate on the 5,000.

No matter what Rhines does, she cannot escape Shalane Flanagan. In April last year, Flanagan set an American record of 14 minutes 44.80 seconds for the 5,000. Eight weeks ago, she set an American record of 30:34.49 for the 10.000. She is far ahead of the other Americans in both events, she will run both in the trials and (assuming she makes the Olympic team in both) she should be an Olympic medal contender in both.

Source: www.nytimes.com
By Frank Litsky


jul.03.2008

The 2008 TTOC Olympic Youth Camp will open next week Wednesday(9 July) .

It is the 6th edition of the 10 day camp that caters for young sportsmen and women between the ages of 12 and 16 years.

Thanks to the support of Olympic Solidarity, the annual non residential camp has become one of the most popular events on the TTOC calender.

Participants are exposed to topics as varied as singing,dance ,goal setting,conflict resolution,basic exercise physiology and sports nutrition.

The camp will end on Saturday 19 July and will be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium

Members of the public can nominate participants on a first come first serve basis.Youth campers must be actively involved in one of the Olympic sports.

TTOC Affiliates have the first opportunity to register young athletes as the TTOC Camp is limited to forty participants.

'It is an Olympic Year and I anticipate a very exciting camp this year.Attending the Olympic camp,over the years,has proven to be a life changing expereince for many participants" said TTOC president Larry Romany.

The local Olympic chief believes that the adherence to the original philisophy of Baron Pierre de Coubertin is vital to the success of the TTOC's youth camp.

For further information contact the TTOC office at 6251285 or contact@ttoc.org.


jul.03.2008

The countdown to the third Commonwealth Youth Games has begun, with tomorrow (July 4) marking 100 days until the opening ceremony in the Indian city of Pune.

The Games promise to be the biggest and best yet. More than 1300 elite young sportsmen and women from all 71 Commonwealth countries and territories will gather in Pune from October 12-18, making it the biggest assembly of under-18 sporting talent at an international multi-sport event.

The carnival will also be a forerunner to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

At the inaugural 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, fourteen countries were represented by 733 athletes. Four years later, when Bendigo in Australia hosted the second edition of the Games, about 800 athletes competed under the banner of 22 countries.

In Pune, the athletes will take part in a program that embraces nine of the individual sports of the Delhi Games, including athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, tennis, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

Currently visiting Pune and Delhi in India, CGF President Mike Fennell said he was delighted that the Youth Games had been embraced so widely, and enjoyed such a surge in popularity.

“The 2006 Melbourne Games were a fantastic showcase of the sporting talent in the Commonwealth and, by hosting these games in Pune, we are encouraging our youth to aspire towards the 2010 Delhi Games and the 2014 Glasgow Games,” Mr Fennell said.

“It is enormously significant to go from 22 countries and territories involved in 2004 to having 71 in 2008. Member associations, big and small, along with their national sporting federations, are getting right behind the Games.

“Edinburgh and Bendigo were very good events with a special atmosphere, but I’m sure the Pune Games will shine.

“The people of the city and the Mararashtra region are right behind the event. It’s a brilliant opportunity for everyone involved and we will see some very high-class sport played across the five days of competition.”

CGF Chief Executive Mike Hooper praised the organisers on the construction of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City, a 153-acre site which houses both the athletes’ village and all the competition venues.

“For the first time in any major international games, we will have all athletes housed and competing in a single complex, which is extremely convenient for athletes, officials and spectators,” Mr Hooper said.

“This will create a truly memorable experience for all our athletes. Those attending will have fantastic facilities for their sport, and the opportunity to easily mingle with others from around the Commonwealth and watch them compete in their chosen sport.

“The athletes’ village is a new hotel, which provides competitors and officials with some of the best accommodation of any Games, anywhere.

“The nine sports venues are either brand new or reconstructed, plus the area houses a sports science centre, a fitness centre and contains the Main Press Centre and International Broadcasting Centre.’’

Pune will be hosting a special event to mark the ‘100 days to Go’ to the Games, launching its official merchandise and range of uniforms on July 4.

On August 1, The CGY Youth Baton Relay will start from Delhi and spend 74 days on the road visiting hundreds of colleges and universities across its 6000-kilometre route through India before arriving at the opening ceremony in Pune on October 12.


jul.07.2008

Roger Daniel will participate in the 10 M Air Pistol men competition in the Beijing Olympics.Daniel a soldier in the T&T Defence Force was granted a wild card by the ISSF, the governing body of the international shooting sport.

It will be the second Olympic outing for the former national hockey players who also contested the Athens Olympic event.

TTOC president Larry Romany said he was happy to receive the notification form the ISSF. "Roger has had his challenges in the last 18 months but he re dedicated himself to his Olympic dream and it has worked out for him.We(TTOC) never lost faith or confidence in his potential or talent" he said.

Meanwhile the TTOC executive is expected to meet on Tuesday to decide on the T&T Beijing Olympic team.


jul.11.2008

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) wishes to advise that the deadline for the Children’s Art Competition in celebration of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad: Beijing 2008 has been extended to Friday 19th September 2008.

The Children’s Art Competition sponsored by Guardian Life of the Caribbean targets children and young adults between the ages of six (6) and nineteen (19). Coloured crayons, water colours, acrylic paint, pastels, pencils or charcoal can be used to create impressions of the ‘ONE WORLD ONE DREAM’ theme of the competition, and children are also encouraged to be creative with the names of their submission.

Entries to the competition have been steadily coming into the Olympic House at #63 Dundonald Street in Port of Spain, and the calibre of entries so far received has been extremely creative and comes as no surprise to TTOC Executive Member Rosemary Mathurin, a great believer in the talents and abilities of our nation’s youth.

Miss Mathurin commented that she is absolutely thrilled at the number and quality of entries collected thus far and happily remarks that the artwork received displays that the children have gained a clear understanding of the true meaning of the Olympic Games. She continued that the submissions have well captured the principles of Olympism, such as peace, friendship, fair play, unity in diversity, progress and dreams, and is eager to see more impressions of the “ONE WORLD ONE DREAM’ theme.

This Children’s Art Competition has three categories: 6 -10 years of age; 11 - 15 and 16 – 19. The winners of each category have the opportunity to win a brand new laptop computer, an iPod or DVD player.

The TTOC in collaboration with the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT) and the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) are excited to host this competition and wish to thank and congratulate all children who have already submitted their impressions.

All entries must reach the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee by 19th September 2008 at #63 Dundonald Street, Port of Spain, and Tobago entries should be delivered to TEAL, 8 Milford Road, Scarborough, Tobago.

For further information, children and or parents can call the Olympic House on 625 1285; 625 4380.


jul.15.2008

By Andrew Warshaw
www.telegraph.co.uk

The six most popular team sports in Europe, led by football and rugby union, last night urged the European Union to relax its inflexible employment law - or risk player-power and freedom of movement spiralling out of control. In what was regarded as one of the most significant developments since the Bosman ruling of 1990, Uefa boss Michel Platini handed European ministers a confidential 10-page document highlighting the "deep uncertainty" felt throughout the Continent about rules being bent because of EU intransigence.

The draft, a copy of which has been leaked to The Sunday Telegraph, urges Brussels to declare its "unanimous support" for a string of radical measures which, the six-sport grouping insists, are vital to safeguard the integrity of competition. They include: a minimum number of home-grown players per club; limiting live TV broadcasts to boost stadium attendances; a licensing system designed to punish clubs for deliberately falling into debt after buying players with borrowed money; improved regulation of agents; second profession education for academy kids in case they don't make the grade.

The greatest priority, however, is an exemption from European law in order to promote youth development and outlaw the pilfering of under-18 stars. "Clubs have a duty to invest in the local training of players," said the document, drawn up by European federations representing football, rugby union, handball, basketball, ice hockey and volleyball. "They are not merely businesses. Concrete proposals must be developed [to prevent] the trafficking or exploitation of young players. Otherwise the risk is that more and more young players move abroad too early in their life."

Uefa believe outlawing transfers of under-age teenage players, one of Platini's key objectives, is long overdue. "It will stop Premier League clubs - and those in other major leagues - poaching players from academies willy-nilly," said Uefa spokesman William Gaillard.

Other senior Uefa officials went even further. "We want to have the right to introduce rules that bring some stability for teenagers to stay with the club that has trained them," said one high-ranking source. "At the moment, all you have is a free-for-all with agents hanging around outside academies across Europe, all in the name of free movement. It's a jungle and needs to be regulated properly.

"Some of these players are no more than children yet to get round the rules, agents say they want to move them abroad to learn the language, or invent jobs for their parents."

If the document is approved, says Gaillard, there will be far greater monitoring of club finances to prevent mismanagement and building up debts without sufficient assets.

Although Uefa and the other signatories are fiercely opposed to Fifa president Sepp Blatter's six-plus-five idea on foreign player restrictions, the joint initiative calls for the principle of home-grown quotas to be endorsed. This coming season, all clubs competing in the Champions League and Uefa Cup must have at least eight locally trained players, a system which, crucially, is not based on nationality and is already implemented voluntarily in eight national leagues including Germany and Italy but not, significantly, the Premier League.

Uefa believe strict restraint of trade rules must be relaxed for football, rugby and other team sports. "This is D-day, if you like," said the source. "We have to get a proper definition of where sport ends and business begins. The EU have been too scared to make a ruling on this, preferring to let the courts make decisions, which is a chaotic way of developing policy. We don't think sport should be treated like selling shoes or baked beans. This is the EU's chance to finally connect with the public and tell us what we can and can't do."

Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who has just lost 16-year-old John Bostock to Spurs for £700,000, gave a cautious welcome to the new initiative. "What Michel Platini is trying to do is fantastic. I'm all in favour of players having to sign their first pro contract with their home club because it encourages youth development," he said. "I have just lost a gem and I wonder why I should bother to run an academy. But can you change the law of the land to make football an exception? In any other walk of life, people have the right to move around."

Darren Bailey, head of legal and legislative affairs at the International Rugby Board, said it was essential to regulate the influx of foreign players in his sport too. " Our principal concern is to make sure players can perform in their own territories," he said. "In England and France there are so many overseas players. I've heard about the argument that says players hone their skills abroad but not if it's disproportionate to the domestic leagues."

Banned transfers
With this proposal clubs will not be allowed to sign players younger than 18. Here are just some deals that would have been stopped:

Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona to Arsenal) 2003

Theo Walcott (Southampton to Arsenal) 2006

Gareth Bale (Southampton to Tottenham) 2007

Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff to Arsenal) 2008

John Bostock (C Palace to Tottenham) 2008


jul.15.2008

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO'S Beijing Olympic team will be officially announced this week.

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee(TTOC) Executive Committee will present its recommendations for consideration and ratification to the TTOC General Council on Thursday 17 July at the Hasely Crawford Stadium,VIP Lounge from 6pm.

In accord with the TTOC and IOC Olympic Charter, Olympic Games team selection is the exclusive purview of the National Olympic Committee(NOC).The selection process,however,calls for the individual National Sport Organisations(NSOs) to present their team nominations to the TTOC Executive.

TTOC president Larry Romany explained that the reality of the situation is that the International Federations(IF) and the IOC have established qualification standards that have simplified and made the selection process transparent.

"In 1997, the TTOC agreed a policy whereby athletes who attained the IOC and IF qualification standard will be selected ,In addition ,we also look ahead and use the B qualifying standard to afford excellent future prospects the invaluable opportunity to benefit from the Olympic experience"said Romany.

The local Olympic chief pointed to Ato Boldon,George Bovell,Marc Burns and Darell Brown as notable beneficiaries of the TTOC's future prospects philosophy.

Romany further clarified that discipline,anti doping violations,lack of fitness or injuries are factors that could negatively impact on selection."We require participation at the CAC,Pan Am and Commonwealth Games as a prerequisite for Olympic selection ,so while achieving the qualification times is a significant factor it is not the only one"he added.



jul.16.2008

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has appointed James Macleod as Head of National Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Services and Relations. James will be part of the Sport Department and will be responsible for delivering all the necessary services to support the NOCs and NPCs and their athletes as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games.

He will be responsible for establishing and developing all plans that involve NOCs/NPCs, such as the selection process of Pre-Games Training Camps, athlete and NOC/NPC needs at the Olympic Village and Paralympic Village, the Chef de Mission Programme, developing relationships with NOC/NPCs, organising their fact-finding trips to London, and to agree a strategy for delivery of all services to be provided to NOCs/NPCs in the run-up to and during the London Games. He will take up his post in November.

James commented “I’m very excited about the opportunity of joining London 2012 and the prospect of working within a dynamic and evolving Organising Committee structure. The success of the London Games will be measured on the service it provides its partners before and during Games time, and chief among these partners are National Olympic and Paralympic Committees and their athletes. NOC/NPC Relations will develop a strong knowledge of their needs to LOCOG’s overall planning and will guarantee that each of them feels like they are being welcomed home”.

Debbie Jevans, LOCOG Director of Sport, said “We are delighted to welcome James on board to develop this key area of our work. He has a huge amount of knowledge and expertise in the role the NOC and NPCs and I am confident that with James on board we will fulfil our promise to deliver an exceptional service to the athletes in 2012.”

James has worked at the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne since 1996 in various areas relating to sport and NOC management, most recently as Head of the Athlete Section in Olympic Solidarity, managing the athlete development programmes for the 205 NOCs. He has acted in an advisory role as a Director on the Board of the Scottish Sports Association and is fluent in three languages..


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jul.17.2008

By.Mark Gay-www.telegraph.co.uk

Dwain Chambers' lawyers face a number of serious obstacles in their attempt to clear him for competition in Beijing. The primary problem is the British Olympic Association bylaw stating that no athlete who has committed a serious doping offence can participate as a member of a BOA team.

The only way Chambers can get on the plane is by obtaining an injunction against that bylaw.

That Chambers has committed a serious anti-doping violation is not in doubt. His part in the BALCO scandal and his systematic use of the designer synthetic anabolic steroid, THG, is well documented. Therefore, Chambers must invalidate the BOA bylaw to compete.

He has chosen to base his challenge on an alleged breach of the common law restraint of trade doctrine. This is a contract law doctrine that states that any contractual provision which restrains trade is void and unenforceable, unless it can be shown to be reasonable.

To succeed, Chambers will have to prove two things. First, that there is indeed a restraint upon his "trade". Secondly, that such a restraint is unreasonable.

Both present barriers.

As regards the first point, no athlete is paid to participate in the Olympic Games. Indeed both the International Olympic Committee and BOA are not-for-profit entities.

Chambers would derive no direct financial benefit in his participation in the Games as there is no prize money or appearance fee.

There may be, however, an indirect benefit. Success in the Olympic Games can make people celebrities. They can endorse products and have personal sponsors.

However, it is doubtful that even successful participation in the Games is likely to help Chambers, even indirectly. The commonly held view is that he is soiled goods, so deeply tainted by his systematic drug abuse that no one will touch him.

The second barrier faced by Chambers is equally formidable. The BOA have a policy of zero tolerance of serious drug cheats.

How could such an approach be deemed unreasonable? It may be argued that it is not the approach adopted by the majority of other members of the IOC. However, it is the approach adopted by China, who are the hosts. As hosts of the next Olympic Games, it is arguable that Great Britain should be held to the highest standards, not the lowest common denominator.

Chambers will also have to address the argument that his participation denies a clean athlete the ability to compete and that the overwhelming majority of his peer athletes favour such a ban and regard it as being reasonable. Equally, he will have to deal with the fact that this bylaw has been in place for 12 years without complaint on his part. Indeed it was in place, to his knowledge, when he was systematically doping.

There is one final factor that stands in his way. In 1978, the High Court declared that the governing bodies are best placed to decide how their sports should be regulated.

The overwhelming weight of opinion in British sport is that participation in the Olympic Games is a rare privilege which should not be afforded to those who have breached sport's fundamental values. To convince a judge otherwise is the fight Chambers has on his hands.

Mark Gay is a partner and head of the Sports Group at DLA Piper UK LLP, a leading firm of international business lawyers


jul.21.2008

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO DELEGATION FOR THE 2008 BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES

  1. Chef de Mission - Michael Valentine
  2. Assistant General Team Manager - Wendell Labastide
  3. Olympic Ambassador – Hasely Crawford

Track & Field

  1. Richard Thompson-100m,200m,4X100m
  2. Marc Burns-100m,4X100m
  3. Darrel Brown-100m,4x100m
  4. Keston Bledman-4x100m
  5. Emmanuel Callender-4x100m
  6. Aaron Armstrong-200m,4x100m
  7. Rondell Sorillo-200m
  8. Renny Quow-400m,4x400m
  9. Ato Stephens-400m,4x400m
  10. Stan Waithe-4x400m
  11. Zwede Hewitt-4x400m
  12. Cowin Mills-4x400m
  13. Jovon Toppin-4x400m
  14. Mekil Thomas-110m Hurdles

Women

  1. Kelly-Ann Baptiste-100m,4x100m
  2. Semoy Hackett-100m,4x100m
  3. Sasha Springer-Jones-100m,4x100m
  4. Wanda Hutson-4x100m
  5. Monique Cabral-4x100m
  6. Ayanna Hutchinson-4x100m
  7. Aleesha Barber-100m Hurdles
  8. Josanne Lucas-400m Hurdles
  9. Rhonda Watkins-Long Jump
  10. Cleopatra Borel Brown-Shot Put
  11. Candice Scott- Hammer Throw

George Comissiong - Manager
Dr. Ian Hypolite – Assistant Manager
Gunness Persad – Coach (Sprints & Relays)
Clayton Walkes – Coach (Sprints & Relays)
John Andalcio – Coach (Hurdles)
Nadine Hamid – Coach (Throws)
Heathcliff Thorne – Coach (Jumps)
David Cumberbatch – Massage Therapist

Swimming

  1. George Bovell III-50m, 100m freestyle
  2. Nicholas Bovell
  3. Sharntelle Mc Lean-50m, 100m freestyle
  4. George Bovell II - Manager
  5. Mathew Macedo - Coach

Shooting

  1. Roger Daniel-10 M Air Pisto
  2. Ms. Atlantsetseg Byambajav (Mongolia) - Coach

Table Tennis

  1. Dexter St. Louis
  2. Reeza Burke-Manager
  3. Rheann Chung-Coach

Medical Personnel

  1. Dr. Terry Ali- Chief medical Officer
  2. Dr. Anyl Gopeesingh Sports Medicine Doctor
  3. Ian Sharpe – Massage Therapist (Assigned to Swimming)
  4. Karielle De Bique-Physiotherapist
  5. Asha De Freitas-Sports Trainer
  6. June Durham-Massage Therapist
  7. Andre Ferguson- Massage Therapist


jul.21.2008

Sports is one of the pillars of our national development asserted Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs,Gary Hunt yesterday at the closing of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee(TTOC) 2008 Olympic Youth Camp.

Hunt gave the feature address at the ceremony held at the Athlete Lounge in the Hasely Crawford Stadium.Speaking to a large audience that included past and present TTOC Olympic youth campers,parents and sport administrators,the Minister also commended the national Olympic committee for the outstanding youth development and social legacy work it was doing via the Youth Camp.

Camp coordinator Tanya Western noted that the TTOC Olympic youth camp established six years ago is the brainchild of current secretary general Brian Lewis and that hosting the camp on an ongoing basis is a labour of love for the TTOC.

Lewis in his turn at the lectern said that the mission of the Olympic Youth Camp is to foster positive self-esteem and self confidence in an environment that holds up sport as a meaningful eneavour that is integrated with art,education,culture and the environment.

Six groups of Youth Campers gave well received summaries of their group discussions on various aspects of sport and Olympism.

The programme also featured a soulful rendition by the 2008 youth camp participants of R.Kelly's song 'The worlds greatest'.

During the ten day non-residential camp the participants heard presentations from leading sport personalties such as Shaka Hislop,Deryck Murray,Michael Phillips,Dr.Iva Gloudon, TTOC president Larry Romany ,former Sport Company CEO Carol Charles Austin and Anil Roberts to name a few.

The TTOC Olympic Youth Camp is organised by the TTOC's Olympic Academy,Education and Culture(OAEC) Sub-Committee and is financially supported by Olympic Solidarity.

The T&T Representatives at the upcoming Beijing Olympic Youth Camp,Safiya Beckford and Dario Clement, gave a preview of the culturally presentation that they will do while in China.


jul.22.2008

The 2008 TTOC Olympic Youth Camp achieved all of its objectives said Larry Romany president of the National Olympic Committee.

The 10 day non-residential camp ended last Saturday and according to Romany the 40 participants all aged between 12-16 years benefited in some way from the experience.

"We received very positive feedback from the campers and their parents.one of the things we(TTOC) must do is ensure that we build on the interaction"

Funded by Olympic Solidarity ,the TTOC Olympic Youth Camp was first held in 2003,the popularity of the camp has increased to the point where the TTOC is receiving numerous requests for the camp to be held in other parts of the country.

Responding to those requests will be difficult for the TTOC as there are financial and human resource challenges.

Romany however believes that expansion maybe achievable in three years time.

The Olympic youth camp is hosted by the TTOC Olympic Academy,Education and Culture Committee(OAEC) also known as the T&T Olympic Academy.

The Olympic Youth Camp is limited to 40 participants so as to foster an interactive environment and campers are introduced to topics as varied as ballroom dancing,art,singing,public speaking,etiquette,sports nutrition,basic exercise physiology,HIV/Aids awareness,goal setting and formulating a development plan,creative writing and Olympic history to name a few. leading local sports personalities also donate their time .


jul.22.2008

Caribbean rugby champion Trinidad and Tobago have started preparations for its second round 2011 Rugby World Cup game with Brazil.No date for the crucial match up has as yet been set.But T&T head coach Rhett Cheeping is taking no chances.

The T&T team will need to be at its best if it is to progress to the third round.

The last time Brazil played T&T the Samba boys came away winners.TTRFU president Leslie Figaro says that the December 2001 defeat at the Larry Gomes Stadium is still a sore point .

"We are determined to beat the Brazilians this time around.The guys are committed and focused.Brazil is the higher ranked team so the task is not an easy one"

Figaro believes that the all important home and away games will be played in the last quarter of this year.

"Whenever the game is called we must be ready.While it maybe difficult to beat Brazil in football.We defeated them in 1996 in a rugby world cup qualifier,so even though they got the better of us in 2001.I am optimistic that beating them is not an unrealistic objective.


jul.29.2008

Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that we are sharing with you today, "Heroes" the second promotional public service announcement of the IOC's promotional campaign.  The Best of Us.

Legendary Olympic athletes including Roger Federer, Yao Ming, Laure Manaudou, Liu Xiang and Yelena Isinbayeva are among the stars of the "Heroes" ad. The 1 minute film leverages the determination and performance of Olympic athletes to communicate the key Olympic values, as the world counts down to the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The campaign also stars Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselelassie, Vanessa Ferrari and Carolina Kluft who, along with those mentioned above, star as superheroes seeking to achieve the seemingly impossible.

We invite and encourage your NOC to continue spreading the message of "The Best of us" in your territory by using the "Heroes" spot. In this respect please note that you may wish to feature it on your NOC website and also work with local media to have it broadcast both by Olympic rights-holder and non rights-holders.

We would also like to take this opportunity to share with you the viral component of  "The Best of Us" campaign, which is a 1.5 - minute video clip entitled "Puskitas". Alex Puskitas is a fictional, underdog athlete that incorporates all we want to express with the "Best of Us" campaign. He is capable of overcoming the odds and bringing out his best in order to achieve his goals. He symbolizes the spirit of the athlete - the participation and striving to be your best. We invite you to share this video with all your professional and personal contacts by forwarding the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3npiH-WR92E&feature=related. Note that you also have the possibility to embed "Puskitas" on your NOC website.

You can view both the ?Heroes? and ?Puskitas? clip on the IOC?s website by clicking on the following link:?

www.olympic.org/thebestofus

For the download of both of these, please use the link below:

FTP access: ftp://ftp_int.olympic.org/best_of_us/

Login: IOC_ITMS_ATLANTA

Password: !IOC_ITMSATLANTA2007!

Finally, kindly note that we will be sending a hardcopy of the "Heroes? dvd to your NOC in September.

We would like to wish you all the best in your final preparations for Beijing 2008 and remain at your disposal should you have any questions.

Kind regards from the Partnership Marketing Team.

Beatriz Lopez
Coordinator, Partnership Marketing
IOC TELEVISION & MARKETING SERVICES SA

Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland

Tel +41 21 621 6826
Fax +41 21 621 6359

www.olympic.org


jul.31.2008

A Caribbean title while deserving of recognition is not the same as winning an Olympic, World or Continental title.

In most sporting disciplines, T&T are dominant players in the Caribbean region; we however struggle to get to the next level. Why? What is holding back world class success?

Olympic and elite level sport has come a long way in recent times. Medals are won by as little as thousandths of a second or fractions of a centimetre by athletes who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of success.

It typically takes around eight years to reach their peak once their talent has been identified and nurtured and involves coaches to physiotherapists, massage therapists and doctors. Nothing can be left to chance, from the kit, the athletes use to the food they eat and the tactics their coaches employ, every aspect is athlete-centred.

In 1997, Douglas Camacho was elected president of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC), during his tenure he had the vision to fashion a change within the National Olympic Committee (NOC). Larry Romany, elected president in 2005, has sought to build and expand on the vision of transforming our Olympic and Commonwealth sports into significant players on the world stage.

The TTOC has been in the vanguard of contemporary efforts to foster and facilitate change. The aim is revolutionary: to harness business and sport. It is revolutionary in that it challenges conventional thinking as it relates to sport and physical education. The pathway is intended to be visible, transparent, accountable and accessible from the grassroots to the Olympic podium.

But as we head to Beijing, the truth be told is that the local Olympic committee has fallen short of its 2008 Olympic Games team selection objectives.

Winning medals on the international sporting stage is incredibly tough and the margins between success and failure become smaller every year. To ensure that T&T?s most talented athletes have every chance of realising their potential, the TTOC has tried to design world class performance programmes at three distinct levels:

Elite - supporting athletes with realistic medal winning capabilities;

Development ? comprising of athletes whose performances have suggested that they have realistic medal winning capabilities for 2012 and beyond and team sports that are demonstrating the ability to be competitive by 2012;

Talent - designed to support the identification of athletes who have the potential to progress through the World Class pathway.

Having run programmes since 1997 and with the benefit of lessons learned over the Sydney and Athens Olympiads, the TTOC?S Beijing Summer Olympic target was to qualify 65 athletes in eight disciplines, including at least one team sport and improve T&T?s medal haul.

T&T?s Beijing Olympic team is comprised of 30 athletes in four events - 50 percent below target. It is a historical fact that the 2008 team is the largest ever. But the reality remains that the overall TTOC target was not met including the failure to qualify any team sport.

I am not one of those who feel a sense of satisfaction as I genuinely believe in my heart and soul that we are better than where we are at.

There are many excuses but I prefer to face the reality and address the issues some of which acted as constraints and obstacles. Mediocrity is not an Olympic ideal or value. Hope was not part of the strategic plan.

Amongst the 30 athletes wearing red, black and white in Beijing, there are some with genuine world class talent and potential and once they get to the final of their respective events anything is possible.

They are living their Olympic dream and at this juncture the institutional, organisational and systemic issues are not their concern. So don?t take the matters that I have raised out of context. Having qualified, their job is to focus on doing their best and giving it their all.

The sport leaders and administrators, however, are charged with a greater responsibility.

Euphoria or dismay, post Beijing, the TTOC must facilitate frank dialogue on sport and long term athlete development. There is little time for ?ole talk? and ?mamaguy?, London 2012 is only four years away.

Then again, the same thing was said four years ago.


jul.31.2008

BY KYLE JEREMIAH (www.guardian.co.tt)

There would be no cultural contingent accompanying the T&T Olympic team to Beijing in China, officials from the Ministry of Sports yesterday confirmed.

Even as Sports Minister Gary Hunt promised in March that there would be a disbursement of $1.8 million to elite athletes in preparation for the Olympics?the national team would have no official support when they represent the country in two weeks time.

When contacted yesterday, Minister in the Ministry of Culture Junia Regrello said he was not aware that a cultural contingent would be accompanying the national team.

Regrello said, however, that he was aware of rumours that a contingent would be sent to Beijing to support the team, but ?the Ministry has not heard anything.?

This, even as Government spent $9.4 million to send a contingent to FIFA World Cup in Germany to support the Soca Warriors as well as a means of highlighting tourism, sport, culture, trade and investment opportunities in T&T.


jul.31.2008

Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association (TTCGA)president Larry Romany says qualification for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, is a timely boost for netball in T&T.

According to Romany,head of the national Olympic Committee-the TTOC serves as the Commonwealth Games Association for Trinidad and Tobago-regaining the heights that T&T netball achieved in 1979 is not impossible.

"If we adopt modern sport science based training and periodisation methodologies, a podium position is not beyond us.It requires hard work,determination,a collective will?and self belief?. I believe we have the talent to run the Commonwealth big four close"said Romany

He however cautioned that there is no time for delay as 27 months is not a long time in the world of elite level sport.

"On behalf of the TTOC I extend congratulations to the players,coaches and mangement.I urge the netball fraternity to seize the day"added Romany.


jul.31.2008

T&T Chef de Mission Michael Valentine says all?is well as the T&TOC administration and medical staff arrived safely and are settling in at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Village.

Valentine speaking to www.ttoc.org pointed out that the arrangements in place at the airport and reception center are well organised and efficient.

"The drive to the Olympic Village from the airport was quick?as designated Olympic lanes? were used to avoid the traffic"

He said it was "smoggy" but described Beijing as quite beautiful. "The Olympic village is extraordinary. The creativity and design exhibited are quite beautiful . The village is like a Chinese museum, providing glimpses into the 1000 year history dating past the Qing dynasty 1644 - 1911.The accommodation arrangement is quite nice. Very clean and spacious"

Already in Beijing with the T&T team leader is TTOC assistant secretary general Wendell Labastide, the assistant Chef de Mission.

Valentine confirmed that he will decide on the flag bearer for the opening ceremony in a couple days.Carrying the National flag at an Olympic games opening ceremony is a coveted role and the announcement is always highly anticipated.

Meanwhile, Dr.Terry Ali and the medical team arrived in Beijing a day after Valentine and are ensuring that the medical services infrastructure is set and ready for the T&T athletes.

"It is a busy time for all of us,the flight here was long and tiring ,but we have to hit the ground running as we are all here with specific objectives in mind, and that is to ensure the T&T athletes have the best support possible"said Valentine.


jul.31.2008

The Podolsk Olympic training center located outside Moscow was built more than a half century ago to develop the athletes who would transform the Soviet Union into an athletic superpower.

Today, the red rubber track is well-worn and the paint peeling. The newest structure, a dormitory, was built in 1986, and the medical center is housed in the crumbling former country home of a czarist-era baker.

The Russian athletes heading to the Beijing Olympics in a couple of weeks may be the last to train among the cracked facades of Soviet-era complexes like Podolsk. Hundreds of sleek athletic facilities are springing up everywhere, it seems, heralding an athletics boom in a country hungry for sporting prestige and wallowing in cash.

Fears of losing Olympic ascendancy have impelled Russia to spend the last several years pumping billions of dollars from its oil-soaked coffers into rebuilding an athletics infrastructure left to rot when the Soviet Union crumbled. The investment has already shown impressive results, with Russians attaining international success in arenas beyond the Olympics.
Last September, the national basketball team won the European championship for the first time since the Soviet Union fell in 1991. In May, the national hockey team beat Canada for its first world championship in 15 years and St. Petersburg?s Zenit soccer club won the UEFA Cup championship. Last month, the national soccer team created a frenzy by advancing to the semifinals at the European championship. In the world tennis rankings, 5 of the top 10 women are Russian.

At the Beijing Olympics, Russia is expected to contend for supremacy at the top of the medal table ? as usual.

Vyacheslav A. Fetisov, the former National Hockey League star, is the head of Rossport, the government agency charged with overseeing Russia?s athletic development. He said his budget for building up the country?s athletic infrastructure had soared from a couple hundred thousand dollars when his agency was created in 2002 to $1 billion today.

The government plans to build 4,000 new athletic facilities in the coming years, including pools, gymnastics halls, and stadiums for soccer and hockey, Fetisov said. About 300 facilities were built last year, and another 400 are scheduled for completion this year.

Athletes and coaches who once preferred to train abroad, Fetisov said, have begun to come back to Russia.

Today we can give our athletes the opportunity to train in the best facilities, he said. We have the means for this.

As heir to the Soviet Union?s legacy of Olympic domination, Russia maintained a steadfast foothold on the Olympic summit through the Soviet collapse and the subsequent economic and social chaos. Until the Athens Games in 2004, it had finished first or second in the gold medal count in the Summer Games, although it faltered somewhat in the Winter Olympics.

Meanwhile, the country was largely stripped of the Soviet Union?s athletic infrastructure, which was partly located in the independent states born of the Union?s demise. Poor investment led to a steady erosion of remaining facilities, a loss of coaches and a decline in the quality of training.

Since becoming president in 2000, Vladimir V. Putin, now Russia's prime minister, has worked to parlay wealth generated by the country?s huge energy resources into a resurgence of national pride. An avid sportsman with a black belt in judo and a penchant for downhill skiing, Putin has made revitalizing Russian athletics an element of this strategy.

The government has allocated huge support to the Olympic movement, Olympic athletes and athletics,? Vitaly Mutko, Russia?s sports minister, said in a hearing before Parliament last month. ?New facilities are being built and training centers for athletes are being reconstructed.

The country's budget for building new Olympic training centers jumped to an equivalent of about $35 million in 2006 from about $90,000 in 2002, and financing for Olympic-related sporting events grew by 60 percent from 2004 to 2007, according to Rossport.

The government has also deployed Russia?s cadre of Kremlin-friendly billionaires to help in the effort.

The country?s 10 richest businessmen, in addition to aiding other athletic projects, have donated about $12 million to the Fund for the Support of Olympians, which will give cash awards to medal winners in Beijing, said Aleksandr Katushev, the fund?s manager.

While there seems to be plenty of money available, it may still take years for the country to regain what it lost.

Everything is going slowly and gradually,? said Aleksandr Vysotsky, deputy general director of the Podolsk facility.

Of course we would like the conditions to be better?a new dormitory, maybe more gymnasiums, he said. He said he was confident that by the next Olympics an overhaul of the training center would be under way.

"Moving forward is necessary and possible," he said.

Some have criticized the government for devoting too much attention to building multimillion dollar stadiums and arenas even in the most far-flung regions of the country, while neglecting Russia's existing, though decaying, training facilities.

Very few training centers are being built, said Gennady V. Shvets, head of the Russian Olympic Committee's press department. ?Everyone for some reason is building these large, complicated, architecturally beautiful complexes that take a large amount of money. These have little utility for athletes.

Russia must also face a new athletic rival: China.

China sent Russia to third place in the gold medal count in Athens, its lowest ranking in a Summer Olympics since the Soviet Union first appeared at the Games in Helsinki in 1952. Many Russian sports watchers say their country will have difficulty surpassing either China or the United States, its traditional Olympic foe, in Beijing this year.

Yet, given Russia?s wealth and the huge political will behind athletic improvement, crumbling infrastructure and the slight dip in the country's Olympic fortunes may signal less a decline than a small stumble from which Russian officials seem keen to quickly recover.

It was largely on the basis of Russia's riches and some convincing promises by Putin, the No. 1 sports promoter here, that the International Olympic Committee selected Sochi, a Russian Black Sea resort town, to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Once home to an Olympic training center, Sochi today has almost no facilities fit for major international competition, let alone the Olympics. In the six years before the Games, Russia must build almost everything, including roads and power lines, largely from scratch at a cost that will probably exceed that of any previous Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the country's sports fans are savoring the recent triumphs in basketball, hockey and soccer in international competition. The victories have induced patriotic euphoria among Russian fans not seen for nearly a decade and a half thanks to lackadaisical performance by underfunded teams.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Western culture was pressed upon people along with dislike for their country, said Olga Chernogorova, a 26-year-old athlete training at the Podolsk facility, who will represent Russia in the discus competition in Beijing.
Now, patriotism has been reborn.