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Money or the lack of it is fundamentally changing how sport is played, managed, administrated and governed. This has nothing to do with sport as a business or the modernisation and professionalisation of sport.

Greed and the abuse of sport purely for the money are certainly not about modernisation and professionalising sport or for the benefit of sport. The core values of sport and a passion for what is true, invaluable and priceless about sport can stand on their own merit.

In the local operating environment, alarm bells should be ringing as there is the perception that corruption and influence peddling is eroding confidence and trust among the stakeholders in local sport.

Is it that national sport organisations aren’t undertaking environmental auditing? The perception of wrongdoing has come to be seen as a routine occurrence. Everything has a price. Money is now the big ticket in town. Name your price.

Compromise seems to be the currency of choice. The best insurance against corruption is honesty. Allegations of misdeeds and a lack of procedural justice are undermining the essential element of trust. Corruption is impossible to measure as perpetrators do their best to hide their dirty deeds from public view.

As mistrust dig in its heels, wrongdoing is more lucrative, as well as easier to hide. The temptation to bend the rules is great. Sir VS Naipaul once described T&T as a materialistic society in which every person grasps what can be grasped for self, without regard or loyalty to any value set. Is it that his definition of T&T society is true?

National sport organisations occupy a position of leadership, a position of responsibility and a position of trust. Therefore the issue of corruption and the money first ethos ought to be a concern and a significant problem. That corruption has invaded and taken over daily life here in T&T is not an excuse or should it be a default position within local sport.

Corruption is an obstacle and an impediment to the sustainable development of sport. It will also undermine the democracy and autonomy of national sport organisations. The issue of corruption, is, therefore, something which should not be treated lightly and must not be under-estimated.

The cancer of systemic corruption is a significant by-product of poor standards of governance, accountability and transparency. It is imperative that local sport resist and don’t allow a deep rooted culture of greed and dishonesty to take root.

Local sport must emphasise and reaffirm the core values of sport and don’t be tempted to lower moral and ethical value and governance standards. Corruption requires two parties, and includes bribery, kickbacks, nepotism, cronyism and influence peddling.

Local sport must place high importance on the values of sport, fair play, sportsmanship, integrity, principles and ethics. There will always be individuals who are bent on using sport for private gain, or for the illicit gain of others.

However, the mentality of gain by dishonest or corrupt means must not become a norm, or a way of life. Local sport must act courageously and sincerely to ensure that the cancer of corruption is rebuked by standing up and speaking out for what is right.

Lead by example, make your voices heard; do not take comfort in quietly voicing concerns in the safe confines of private conversations. Be prepared to publicly call a spade a spade, don’t be afraid to be ridiculed, marginalised, victimised, or isolated. Call it idealistic, airy fairy, ideological, naïve, even stupid but integrity and dignity can have no dollar sign.

By Brian Lewis

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Scalpers, fake tickets keep hundreds out of Oval

Cycling could be dropped from the Olympics if Lance Armstrong implicates the sport's governing body in a cover-up, says International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound.

Oprah Winfrey has conducted an interview with Armstrong that will be broadcast on Friday at 02:00 GMT.

Winfrey says Armstrong "did not come clean in the way I expected" about claims he doped during his career.

The interview could put the spotlight on cycling's governing body, the UCI.

Pound, a former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), said: "The only way it (cycling) is going to clean up is if all these people say 'hey, we're no longer in the Olympics and that's where we want to be, so let's earn our way back into it.

"The IOC would have to deal with it. The (UCI) is not known for its strong actions to anti-doping.

"It was the same in weightlifting a few years ago. All of a sudden when you get right up against it things go fuzzy and they say, 'well, we can't punish innocent athletes in these sports by dropping the sport from the programme'."

Armstrong, 41, was accused of leading "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme" in sport by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) last year.

He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from competitive sport.

Meanwhile, the UCI has called on Armstrong to testify to its commission on doping if, as expected, he admits to having doped during his career.

"If these reports are true, we would strongly urge (Armstrong) to testify," a statement from the UCI read.

The UCI added it would not comment further until the interview has been broadcast.

An independent commission was established by the UCI following the publication of Usada's investigation into Armstrong.

Usada also raised questions about the UCI's own role and relationship with Armstrong during his career.

And Wada director general David Howman says Armstrong needs to make a full confession under oath about doping.

"While Wada encourages all athletes to come clean about any doping activities they have been involved with or know about, these details must be passed on to the relevant anti-doping authorities.

"Only when Mr Armstrong makes a full confession under oath - and tells the anti-doping authorities all he knows about doping activities - can any legal and proper process for him to seek any reopening or reconsideration of his lifetime ban commence."

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has revealed that an announcement on school sport from Education Secretary Michael Gove is due "shortly" which is expected to offer a funding boost following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Gove's Department for Education (DfE), who assume responsibility for school sport in the UK, have often come under criticism, particularly in their first Comprehensive Spending Review in 2010 when they announced that the entire £162 million ($260 million/€190 million) funding for the School Sports Partnerships would be axed.

The move was met by such a fierce wave of protests from teachers, pupils and Olympic athletes, like teenage diver Tom Daley, that the Government had to partially backtrack on the decision and reinstall some of the funding for a period.

Following the success of London 2012, there have been renewed calls for more investment in school sport to help continue the legacy drive of the Games.

And although Robertson said that school sport falls outside the remit of his Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), he revealed the DfE will be announcing a boost for school sport in the near future.

"We have always dealt with school sport through the Department of Education where I am not a Minister," Robertson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I effectively take people at 16-years-old and we increase the boundary to try and deal with the post-school dropout.

"So our next round of funding tries to encourage the age group from 14-25 to get out of school and into club sport in a much more meaningful way to address this post school dropout.

"But the Education Secretary is due to make an announcement on school sport shortly."

Robertson gave few details about what the announcement will include but said that there will be a clear focus on both the curriculum and funding for coaches to come into schools.

"I think it is almost impossible to do it without a combination of those two things [the curriculum and funding for coaches to come into schools]," Robertson said.

"When I first got involved with this issue eight years ago in opposition, it was clear that any sports policy needs to have three elements.

"You need the elite high performance end to inspire; you need the community side which takes people from 16 to whenever they stop playing sport and then you need school sport.

"The difficult thing for us in Government, and there is no point in pretending anything else, is that we are trying to do all this against the toughest economic backdrop possible.

"You can have any number of really good ideas, and many of us do, but the bottom line is you have to find a way to pay for them and that is a quite often the challenge at the moment.

"People just have to be realistic about the financial situation we are faced with."

Robertson also defended criticism against Gove on school sport, saying some of the targets he has been accused of missing are unfair.

"As far as the target [to get school children playing sport] is concerned, one always gets lost in this argument," he said.

"What Michael Gove did do is make PE a compulsory, core curriculum subject.

"That had never ever happened before.

"If it is a core curriculum subject, you don't need a survey.

"All the survey did was ring people up and ask them if they were doing it.

"It wasn't independently verified or done under any of the statistical authorities so it wasn't terribly robust.

"But Department's taking part survey, which does conform to all the necessary statistical guidelines, does measure participation from five to 16.

"It is a far better way to get accurate data on this."

By Tom Degun

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

"All ah dis…for a man who ain't even play a Test match yet."

That comment, uttered with more than a hint of disdain by someone in the media centre at the Queen's Park Oval, came at the tail-end of the thunderous ovation that greeted Kieron Pollard's arrival at the wicket on Saturday night. Indeed it is safe to say that no-one – from Headley to Lara or from Hendren to Tendulkar – would have walked to the middle at this famous old venue to the accompaniment of such a combination of sustained cheers, applause, cacophonous miniature vuvuzelas and other noisemakers, vigorous flag-waving, soca booming from giant amplifiers and dancing girls wining down the place.

It was a scene more associated with a Fantastic Friday/Carnival Tuesday hybrid than a cricket match. Indeed, for those who somehow feel their beloved game is being defiled and violated by the fast-food format, by the crass commercialisation and by the attendant frivolous and tantalising frills, there is some consolation in believing that T20 is just not cricket, that it is little more than vulgar, money-spinning entertainment that has to be endured because it brings in the revenue which sustains "real" cricket.

So let's entertain that notion for just a paragraph. What is cricket, any cricket, if not a trivial pastime? Whether it's the careful accumulation of runs by Gavaskar over an entire day or Pollard's six-hitting pyrotechnics for a couple overs, people are entertained by these contrasting spectacles. Those who are enthralled by an absorbing duel between bat and ball on the last day of a Test are not superior to those who gravitate towards the boundary-bashing slugfest that defines the typical T20 contest. They may like to think so, but they're not.

Cricket is sport and sport is entertainment, a means of escape from the drudgery and seriousness of everyday life. So rather than wasting time and space arguing over a phenomenon (the resistance by some to innovation and change) that is as old as time, we should be looking at ensuring that people are given value for money, that they are not taken for granted and that every reasonable effort is made to give the patron what he or she is paying for and is not left wondering what the hell is going on out there.

Take all those delays to get play underway after a shower last week at the Oval. Some, maybe most, will say what's the big deal? It was only a 20 minutes here and a half-hour there. And in any event, all the Caribbean T20 matches, with the exception of the opening fixture between Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, were completed. Well, to cut to the chase: that is not the blimmin' point.

It is nothing short of discourtesy and disregard for the spectator to keep them waiting when conditions are obviously eminently playable if only they would get the damn covers off. Hiding behind all sorts of complicated rules and clauses both avoids the issue and fuels the pretence that cricket is this oh-so-delicate and treasured commodity that nothing must ever be done to interrupt its long-standing routines, never mind how doltish or illogical they are.

We're not talking about something important here, like trying to work out an agreement in war-torn Syria to save lives or trying to curb the senseless violence in areas like Laventille where my former colleague at the "Guardian," Junior Valentine, lost his life last Friday. It is only a game, so whether there are 20 or 20,000 in the stands, whether it's a preliminary fixture or the final, whether or not the home team is involved, every effort must be made to facilitate play, to show the fans that there is at the very least a willingness by all concerned to offer them the entertainment they have paid to see.

Someone will say that tickets were only $40 so what I getting on about. Again, and apart from the fact that scalpers were making 1000 percent profit (they don't call us Trickydadians up the islands for nothing) outside the ground on Saturday afternoon, that is not the blasted point! Should the willingness to maximise entertainment be contingent upon the price paid to observe said event?

And what about those who paid for legitimate tickets well in advance and were denied entry, both on the opening day of the tournament two Sundays ago and for the highly-touted clash with Guyana last Saturday? Will there be any public explanation for why people were locked out of an event for which they had paid to attend? Again, for those who will shrug their shoulders and say these things happen, why don't you plan your business and purchase your tickets well in advance, why don't you organise with your regular liming pardners to make it a date for a particular event, why don't you come from far, struggle to get a park somewhere reasonably close to the venue and then when you get to the gate half-an-hour before the start, be told that you can't go in because the place full?

Imagine sitting on the pavement on Elizabeth Street, tickets in hand, and hearing the roar as Pollard walked in to bat, the volleys of unrestrained celebration that followed every towering blow into and over the stands…and wondering why these things happen as a matter of course in this unbearably corrupt land.

Instead of engaging in these elitist discussions about Pollard's credentials as a cricketer, just try to give people the entertainment they paid for.

By Fazeed Mohammed

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

After his record breaking performance at the New York City Gotham Cup on Friday, double Olympic bronze medallist Lalonde Gordon expressed high levels of enthusiasm toward the remaining events on the 2013 US Indoor Championships calender.

Gordon sprinted to gold in the Men’s 300m in 32.48 seconds, and also shattered the meet record which previously stood at 33.21s.

Speaking after his golden performance on Friday, Gordon was delighted to record his win at the Armory Track and Field Center in New York.

“It feels good,” he said of his new Armory record. “It gives me more confidence for the season. I think I could have done a little better, but I’m pleased with the performance.”

Meanwhile, Gordon’s gold at the Gotham Cup affirms that the lanky sprinter has been coming along nicely in his winter fitness. The 400m specialist is hoping to build on this first 2013 Indoor medal and revealed that his next step is to break this country’s national 200m and 400m indoor records.

However, this will be no easy task, since Gordon would have to dip below Ato Boldon’s 20.35s in the 200m (set in 1997) and Ian Morris’ 44.21s in the 400m (set in 1992).

Meanwhile, the TT athlete recently signed a shoe deal with major athletics sponsor, Nike. On Friday in New York, Gordon joined the flagship company but admitted that this was simply him reaping the benefits of his hard work as a track and field athlete.

“It really hasn’t changed anything (in my life), I’m the same person,” Gordon said. “I’m still training and working hard.”

With the high of his first 2013 indoor medal still lingering, Gordon feels that he is closer than ever to achieving even greater things on the global athletics stage. After clocking the ninth fastest all-time 300m (32.89s) run, Gordon thinks he is closer than ever.

“It (wins) boosts me up a lot,” he said.

The race was the first collegiate meet of the season on the Armory schedule.

Gordon made huge progress in 2012, making the Olympic qualifying standard in the 400m in mid-July at the US Club Nationals in Nebraska and then running personal records in every round of the Olympic Games in London. He ran 44.52s in the finals to earn bronze and later ran on TT’s 4x400m team to claim another.

Source: www.newday.co.tt

Trinidad and Tobago’s double Olympic bronze medallist (400m/ 4x400m), Lalonde Gordon bagged his first medal of the 2013 indoor competitive season when he sprinted to victory at the New York City Gotham Cup in the US on Friday evening.

The lanky Tobagonian powered to gold in the 300m event in a time of 32.48 seconds. Receiving silver was his Zenith Velocity club-mate, Joel Rehead of Grenada (33.81s), while Adrian Crichlow (NB CPTC) grabbed bronze in 34.55s.

This win was Gordon’s second at the meet, since he also copped gold in the Men’s 400m event in 46.51s late last year. The 24-year-old was also recently named the National Association of Athletic Administrations (NAAA) top Male Track athlete for 2012 at the Association’s annual awards on January 5. Gordon’s Olympic performances also won him the Spirit of Sports “Comeback Performer of the Year” award (along with Richard Thompson) on December 28

Meanwhile, Gordon’s win was one of several for local athletes on the recently opened US indoor season.

Triple-jumper Ayanna Alexander, high-jumper Jeanelle Ovid and weight-thrower Emmanuel Stewart, all took top honours at the Father Diamond meet in Virginia, USA, earlier this month (January 5).

Alexander, who competed unattached, secured the furthest distance of 13.35m on her second attempt. Jennifer McAvoy of Virginia University took the runner-up position with 11.02m while Bowie State athlete Kendall Reynolds was third with her 10.90m attempt.

Ovid, who represented Morgan State University, topped the field in the women’s high jump with her 1.65m effort. She defeated Dominique Graham (1.65m), who fouled more opportunities than Ovid. Taking home bronze was Megan Simpson of Virginia University with her 1.60m distance.

Stewart, who also competes for Morgan State, powered to victory in the men’s weight throw with a golden distance of 17.48m. He was also sixth in the shot put with his 13.64m attempt. Stewart was later named the top field athlete of the week in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

Local athletes, Deandra Daniel, Samantha Shukla and Kashef Daniel also recorded victories earlier this month. Daniel of Coppin State, secured the Delaware Invitational women’s high jump title with a leap of 1.70m. Her winning height was the second highest in her school’s history behind another TT athlete, Natoya Baird. Deandra was also seventh in the long jump (4.94). The Dovers jumper was then named the top Female Field Athlete of the week in the MEAC.

Shukla of Wichita State University ran away with the women’s 800m at the Herm Wilson Invitational on her home track in Wichita, Kansas in 2:20.71. The St. Joseph Convent (Port-of-Spain) graduate also helped Wichita’s ‘D’ team to 10th place in the women’s 4x400m relay event.

Also bagging gold for TT was Kashef, who leapt to gold in the men’s high jump at the Arkansas Kickoff Classic in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in December. The Arkansas State student won with a leap of 2.02 metres.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

Lance Armstrong will appear in "no-holds-barred" interview, to be broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), later this month, fuelling growing speculation that the disgraced American cyclist is about to admit to his involvement in using banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Winfrey, whose talk shows are the highest-rated in histroy, will speak exclusively with Armstrong in his first major appearance since he was banned for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. 

Armstrong will address the alleged doping scandal, years of accusations of cheating, and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, it is claimed on Winfrey's own website. 

The special 90-minute Thursday night episode of Oprah's Next Chapter will be broadcast on January 17 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT) on OWN, which is a joint venture between Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Discovery Channel, the headline sponsor of Armstrong's team between 2004 and 2007.

In addition-the interview, which will take place at Armstrong's home in Austin, will be simultaneously streamed live worldwide on Oprah.com.

It has been claimed by the New York Times that Armstrong has already held preliminary discussions with USADA about the situation and is also seeking to talk to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

But some fear that Armstrong has targeted Winfrey for the interview because he knows that he will avoid really tough questioning.

Winfrey conducated a similar interview in October 2008 with Marion Jones in which she announced her retirement from athletics after completing a six-month prison sentence for lying to Government prosecutors about drug use,

Jones, who was stripped of the five Olympic medals she had won at Sydney in 2000, including three gold, insisted in the interview with Winfrey she believed she had never been given anything to take beyond legal vitamins and supplements.

Kathy LeMond, wife of the American three-time Tour de France winner Greg, who had publicly accused Armstrong of using drugs before he was banned, tweeted: "@Oprah I hope you get educated before the interview. I know people that can help you."

David Millar, a member of the Athletes' Commission at WADA, also has fears that the interview will be a whitewash.

"Only Lance would get to have his moment of truth, if that's what it will be, in front of Oprah Winfrey," said the Briton, who served a two years ban in 2004 after admitting using Erythropoietin (EPO).

"My biggest concern is that it will be completely stage-managed, that he will just be 'given the ball', and that it will all be about his emotions rather that concentrating on exactly what he did wrong."

Last night, the US current affairs programme 60 Minutes featured an interview with the USADA chief executive, Travis Tygart, in which he claimed that Armstrong offered the agency a donation of $250,000 (£156,000/€192,000) in 2004, which it turned down.

By Duncan Mackay

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Argentina forward Lionel Messi, still only 25, was named the world's best player for an unprecedented fourth year running yesterday.

The award, officially known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, came after the Barcelona player scored a remarkable 91 goals in 2012, a record for a calendar year.

Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was second, the third time the 2008 winner has finished runner-up, and Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta was third as Spain again missed out.

Despite dominating international football for the last four years, no Spanish player has won the award.

"It's incredible to win a fourth in a row, amazing," said Messi. "I want to share this with my Barcelona teammates and my Argentina teammates."

Although Messi did not have an outstanding year in terms of Barcelona titles, missing out on the Champions League and La Liga, he enjoyed a resurgence of form with Argentina, scoring 12 goals, including his first two international hat-tricks.

Spain's Vicente del Bosque was voted as coach of the year for the first time after his team won Euro 2012, holding off Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

"I want to remember all the coaches I had in my career who all encouraged me to become a coach," he said, before appealing to his fellow coaches and players for better behaviour.

"I think everyone in football, we all feel this fascination for the game, we want the same, but we want to defend football, to take care of it and behave with the highest ethics and best personal conduct."

Messi was voted FIFA Player of the Year in 2009, before picking up the new-look award in 2010 and 2011 after it was fused with the Ballon d'Or award previously handed out by France Football magazine.

Brazilian Ronaldo and Frenchman Zinedine Zidane both won the old FIFA award three times, although neither did so in successive years, while Michel Platini won the France Football award three times successively in the 1980s.

The team of the year featured Iker Casillas in goal, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, in defence, Xabi Alonsi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta in midfield and Messi, Radamel Falcao and Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.

The best goal of the year award was given to Slovakian forward Miroslav Stoch for his effort for Fenerbahce against Genclerbirligi in a Turkish Super League match, hooking the ball into the goal from the edge of the penalty area.

Former West Germany captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer was given the presidential award for outstanding service to football.

Abby Wambach became the first American since 2002 to win the women's Player of the Year award. Swede Pia Sundhage, who led the United States to the gold medal at the Olympic Games, was named coach of the year for women's football.

Uzbekistan won the fair play award for their overall record in Asian competitions.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Thomas Bach strides through the hotel lobby between meetings with a phone pressed to his ear. Over in one corner of the foyer sits Richard Carrion, deep in discussion with a fellow member. A few tables away, Ng Ser Miang chats with a colleague over a cup of tea.

All in the same room, three leading contenders all quietly engaged in the so-far unofficial campaign for perhaps the most powerful job in world sports: president of the International Olympic Committee.

Just don't say out loud that that the race is on.

With the election nine months away, the campaign to succeed Jacques Rogge is forging ahead behind the scenes without fanfare, policy platforms, debates - or any declared candidates for that matter.

Rogge, the Belgian surgeon who has led the Olympic body since 2001, steps down at the end of his term in September 2013. Although no one yet speaks openly about replacing him, the list of potential contenders is an open secret in IOC circles.

Some members are still sounding out their chances, while a few others look certain to run.

The deadline for declaration of candidacies is not until June, three months before the vote in Buenos Aires on Sept. 10. Candidates are likely to wait until closer to the date before announcing their intentions, thereby avoiding the impression of being too hasty or undercutting the outgoing president.

"It's little by little coming out in the open," Gerhard Heiberg, a senior IOC member from Norway who is not in the running, told The Associated Press. "It's still too early, but people are preparing for what's going to happen. I think that's good. It's an open field with many possible candidates and that's what we want."

Heading the prospective field are Bach, Carrion and Ng. All three were in Lausanne recently for IOC meetings, and they were hard to miss. While Bach and Ng are vice presidents who sit on the ruling executive board, Carrion is no longer a board member and must make an extra effort from outside the inner circle.

All three also made the trip to Israel for the 70th birthday celebrations of IOC member Alex Gilady earlier this month.

Bach, a German lawyer and former Olympic fencer, shapes up as the favorite. He ticks several boxes: He's from Europe, the dominant bloc in the IOC. Of the IOC's eight presidents since 1894, only one - Avery Brundage of the United States - came from outside Europe.

The 58-year-old Bach has been on the executive board - as a regular member or vice president - since 1996. He's a former Olympic athlete, having won the team foil gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Games. As chairman of the IOC juridical commission, he leads most of the investigations into doping cases. He's president of the German Olympic Sports Confederation.

Carrion, chairman of Puerto Rico's largest bank, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, has made his mark as a money man. Head of the IOC's finance and audit commissions, he led the negotiations that secured the record $4.38 billion deal with NBC for U.S. TV rights through 2020. Carrion, 60, also oversees the IOC's financial reserves, which have grown to more than $550 million from $105 million in 2001.

If Carrion has a drawback, it's that he doesn't have a strong sporting background like Bach.

Ng, a 63-year-old member from Singapore, is seen as the candidate from Asia, a continent with growing influence on the world stage. Ng is best known for having led the organizing committee for the inaugural Youth Olympics - Rogge's pet project - in Singapore in 2010. Whether he can marshal the full backing of Asian members remains key to his chances.

British bookmakers are even listing odds on the race - with Bach the even-money favorite with Ladbrokes, followed by Carrion at 2-1 and Ng at 6-4.

There are a handful of others in the frame.

Nawal El Moutawakel, the Moroccan who won a gold medal in the women's 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, confirmed recently that she was thinking about a possible run. She was elevated to the IOC vice presidency in July and holds a high-profile position as head of the coordination commission for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Another woman, longtime U.S. member and former IOC vice president Anita DeFrantz, is a possible candidate. The former rower, who chairs the women and sports commission, ran for IOC president in 2001, but was eliminated in the first round. DeFrantz has failed in several attempts to return to the executive board since then.

Two Swiss members, Rene Fasel and Denis Oswald, are also weighing their options. Fasel is president of the International Ice Hockey Federation and led the IOC oversight panel for the 2010 Vancouver Games. Oswald, the former longtime head of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, chaired the IOC commissions for the 2004 Athens and 2012 London Games.

"There are a few colleagues who are trying to convince me to run," Oswald told The Associated Press. "I haven't decided yet. I will have to assess the situation and my chances. I will make a decision in a few months, probably."

In the end, a field of four or five candidates would seem likely.

"Nobody is talking openly and declaring any firm intention but it's always pretty much the same names floating around," Oswald said. "I have the feeling that more than one (are) in the situation where they don't know yet and still wait to see how it develops and talk with some people."

Rogge was elected to an initial eight-year term and was re-elected unopposed to a final four-year mandate in 2009. The succession battle is developing as the 70-year-old Rogge, coming off recent hip replacement surgery, looks his age - a far cry from the sturdy and youthful man who took over 12 years go.

Members believe the election campaign should not overshadow the remainder of his presidency.

"Jacques Rogge is still the president and should not be disturbed by candidates going out openly at this stage," Heiberg said. "I hope the longer it takes before that starts, the better. The closer we get to the day for the voting, the better."

Holding off before declaring a candidacy can have strategic advantages. Once members become official candidates, they are covered by tight ethics rules that restrict election campaigning.

Under rules drawn up the ethics commission, candidates must limit their travel to promote their campaign. So, until then, members can still benefit from traveling to meetings or conferences where they can approach colleagues and privately discuss the election.

The ethics code also prohibits candidates from using social media to promote themselves and bars them from organizing any public meetings or taking part in any debate. The intention is to "prevent any excesses" and conduct the campaign with "dignity and moderation."

"In a way I think it's not a political election," Oswald said. "It shouldn't be at least. We know each other pretty well. I don't think we need to have a campaign the American way. The president who is able to have the best financial support is the one who is going to be able to win pretty much. It's good that we don't have something similar."

Rogge, meanwhile, has pledged to remain neutral in the race. The idea of grooming a successor or endorsing a candidate has never been an issue.

"It's certainly our president's attitude in general not to show any preference," Oswald said. "We have to respect that. I'm pretty sure he won't give any instruction or show any specific support to anyone."

For now, the instruction is simple: Shhhh! The campaign has yet to begin.

Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott created no surprises last evening when he took home the lion's share of the accolades at the National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAA) Annual Awards ceremony at Capital Plaza in Port of Spain.

Walcott, who shocked the world to win javelin gold at London 2012, reeled in another big haul following similar performances at the Ministry of Sport/Sport Company of T&T (SPORTT) Spirit of Sport Awards, and the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) annual awards function at the end of 2012.

This time his arms were full again as he copped five awards, including Senior Male Athlete of the Year, Junior Male Athlete of the Year, Senior Male Field Athlete of the Year, Under-20 Field Athlete of the Year and also was named one of the Outstanding Performers of the Year.

Walcott's fellow Olympian Kelly-Ann Baptiste was named Senior Female Athlete of the Year and Senior Female Track Athlete of the Year. Other awardees included Tonya Nero, the top Female Cross Country and top Female Road Runner of the Year awards, while Lalonde Gordon was honoured as the Senior Male Track Athlete of the Year.

Cougars Athletic Club did enough to be named Champion Club of the Year, while Memphis Pioneers ran away both the Junior and Senior Champions Club awards.

Cleopatra Borel's exploits on the international stage, including a performance that saw her finish just outside the Olympic shot put final, threw her way to the Senior Female Field Athlete of the Year award.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo are all due to hand in their Candidature files to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here tomorrow for their bids for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, marking the next phase of a campaign which will culminate in a host city being chosen in September.

The files, which run to three volumes and several hundred pages, represent each city's "master plan" for organising the Olympics and Paralympics if they are awarded them at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires on September 7. 

The ceremonial handovers will take place at the IOC's headquarters at Le Château de Vidy on the banks of Lake Geneva.

Tokyo, the bookmakers' favourites, will be the first to present their plans to the IOC at 10am, followed by Istanbul an hour later and then Madrid at 2pm.

The Japanese capital will be represented by a delegation led by Masato Mizuno, their chief executive, and which will also include Homare Sawa, a member of Japan's World Cup winning women's team and last year's FIFA Ballon d'Or winner, and  Takayuki Suzuki, a Paralympic swimmer who won the gold medal in the SB3 50 metres backstroke at Beijing 2008. 

Istanbul's team will be led by Kadir Topbaş, the city's Mayor, and also include Hasan Arat, the bid leader. 

Istanbul are widely considered to be Tokyo's biggest challengers.

This is their fifth bid but it is the first time that they have been taken as serious contenders.

Madrid, bidding for the third consecutive occasion, are seen as the outsiders this time because of Spain's dire economic problems.

But they are fielding arguably the strongest delegation for the handover.

It will feature all three of Spain's IOC members, led by Juan Antonio Samaranch junior along with Marisol Casado and José Perurena López, the Presidents of the International Triathlon Union and International Canoe Federation respectively.

The handover is the latest stage in a process which officially started on May 16 2011 when the IOC wrote to all 205 National Olympic Committees inviting them to submit bids.

That was followed by a period during which cities had to declare their interest and submit applicant files by February 15 last year.

Of those that initally applied Baku and Doha were cut from the race by the IOC's Executive Board in Quebec City last May. 

The next stage will be the visit of the IOC's Evaluation Commission, led by Britain's Sir Craig Reedie, to all three cities.

The Commission, which will visit each city for four days, will start in Tokyo on March 4 and then visit Madrid on March 18 before concluding in Istanbul on March 24.

The Commission will then prepare its report, which is expected to be published in June, before the 2020 Candidate City Seminar will be held here on July 4 and which will give IOC members the opportunity to find out more about each city's plans before the final vote in Buenos Aires.

By Duncan Mackay in Lausanne

Source: www.insidethegames.biz