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

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Story by: Nicholas Clarke

Newly elected president of the Tennis Association of T&T  (TAT&T) Jermille Danclair feels that the country’s top players need more financial assistance from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs in order to make a bigger impact on the international circuit. The 36-year-old, who once played Division One tennis on scholarship for Delaware State University, was speaking to the media for the first time since being elected to replace Michael Cooper as president of the association last month.

“There are people in government who are knowledgable, but generally I’m not sure if there’s a good understanding of what it really takes to get to the top level,” he said. “Yohansey Williams and Joseph Cadogan are the best players in T&T and I think the sky is the limit with them, but the funding they’re getting is not enough for them to get to there. People who have world rankings have a team of people working with them providing coaching, physio, dietary input, etc. If you want to get a substantial ranking you have to continuously go outside and compete against those people.”

As with several areas, cuts were made in tennis funding upon the change in government last year. Danclair said he was looking forward to gaining the confidence of the new administration and working with them to improve the standard of the sport in T&T. “When we put forth our budget for funding we have to be held accountable for how it’s spent. They will be more willing to give funding when they know that we are doing what we said we will do and the results are showing that we are achieving what we have planned.”

Currently an assistant project manager for Genivar Trinidad and Tobago Ltd, Danclair’s involvement in tennis goes back over 20 years. After taking up the sport at the age of 14, he went on to represent T&T at the Davis Cup and also became a national doubles champion. His experience in administration has included stints as chairman of the East Zone Inter Club Committee and president of the Arima Tennis Masters Tennis Club.

One of the first items on his agenda will be to address “the crisis level in terms of women involvement in tennis”, which he plans to counter by setting up new programmes around the country. Other goals include enforcing selection and disciplinary policies, improving communication between the public and the association through its website (www.tennistt.com), attracting a wider variety of people to the sport and forging stronger relationships with other tennis associations around the region.Jermille Danclair... ‘country’s top players need more assistance’.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Story by: Clayton Clarke

Rhonda Watkins leaped to gold in the women’s long jump at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational at Drakes Stadium, California, USA on Saturday. Watkins, 2006 World Junior champion, captured the gold with a distance of 5.99m to begin her 2011 season on a winning note. Kai Selvon notched another victory with her Auburn University relay teammates at the Seminole Invitational at Tallahasee, Florida. Auburn captured the women’s 4x100m in 43.84 seconds. Semoy Hackett impressed at the Littlefield Texas Relays, taking second in the women’s 100m finals in a wind assisted time of 10.98 seconds. Jenoba Tarmoh won the event in 10.94 with a strong tail wind of 2.9m/s.  Hackett, of Lousiana State University, qualified for the finals another wind aided mark of 11.12 seconds to finish fifth in the heats on Friday. Hackett and her LSU team-mates copped bronze in the women’s 4x100m in 43.34.

In the heats the LSU quartet was also third (44.44). Janielle Belille (South Plains) also finished runner-up in the women’s 400m hurdles finals clocking 57.50 seconds. Fresh from her personal best of 55.81 seconds set at the Texas Tech Open on April 02, the 2008 World Junior silver medallist, was slower in the finals than the 57.02 she set in topping the heats. Belille and Sparkle McKnight were part of South Plain 4x400m relay line up missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the finals (3:31:85).

In the heats the team was again fourth (3:36:94). Kryon Blaise and Robert Collingwood were also among the medal winners. Blaise of LSU was third in the men’s triple jump with a wind assisted leap of 16.24 metres.  Southern Missouri’s Robert Collingwood was also third in the men’s shot put with a throw of 17.00m which he got on his sixth and final throw. His twin brother Richard was 11th in the discus ( 49.74m). Emmanuel Mayers (Mississippi State) crossed the line in fourth in the men’s 400m hurdles clocking 51.21 seconds.  Darnel Greig helped North Texas’s 4x400m team to fourth in 3:09:17. In the men’s 1600m sprint relay Baylor, with Garvyn Nero and Zwede Hewitt in the lineup, finished fifth in 3:18:38.Ashee Smith (Mc Neese State) was 16th in the women’s discus with 30.52 metres.

Source: www.insidethegames.com

By Tom Degun

Fanie Lombaard, the five-time Paralympic gold medallist, has been banned after failing a drug test following his gold medal winning discus F42 performance at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Christchurch earlier this year.

The 41-year-old single-leg amputee tested positive for Probenecid, which is classified as a diuretic and masking agent by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The South African Sports Confederation (SASCOC) ratified the sanction handed down by the IPC.

But IPC did not enforce the maximum two-year ban on Lombaard after he produced evidence that he had been prescribed Probenecid to treat gout.

An IPC statement said: "A hearing into the case revealed that the prohibited substance had been prescribed to Lombaard by a family physician for a medical reason.

"However, the athlete did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to explain the adverse analytical finding, nor did he retrospectively apply to obtain a TUE.

"According to the IPC Anti-Doping Code, it is each athlete's personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substances enter his or her body.

"Furthermore, each athlete is responsible for any prohibited substances found in their bodily specimen, regardless of how it entered their body.

"In accordance to the IPC Anti-Doping Code, Fanie Lombaard will serve a one year suspension for the offence dating from 27 January, 2011, the date the sample was taken.

"All results obtained from 27 January, 2011 will be disqualified with all the resulting consequences including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

"He must also pay a fine of €1,500 (£1,326/$2,172)."

Lombaard, who came out of retirement for the IPC World Championships, will be banned until January 26, 2012, and will therefore be eligible to compete at the London 2012 Paralympics.

As a result of Lombaard's disqualification, Belgium's Gino de Keersmaeker, who originally claimed silver in New Zealand, will be awarded the gold medal while Britain's Aled Davies will be promoted from bronze to silver and Greece's Marinos Fylachtos will take the bronze.

Lombaard won gold in the discus, shot put and pentathlon at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics and also claimed victories in the discus and shot put at Athens in 2004.

The former professional rugby player represented Northern Transvaal before an injury led to the amputation of his left leg at the knee.

Source: www.london2012.com

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) today announced that International Inspiration, its international sports legacy programme, has reached 10.8 million young people around the world.

International Inspiration Ambassador David Beckham 460x250
Some of the UK's biggest sports personalities have helped promote the legacy programme

International Inspiration works with local communities and government to use the power of sport to enrich the lives of millions of children and young people of all abilities around the world, particularly in developing countries.

Delivered through a partnership between UK Sport, UNICEF, British Council and LOCOG, the programme aims to give these young people the skills they need to become positive role models and inspire their peers.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: 'I am thrilled to announce that the International Inspiration programme has reached over 10 million children and young people. This is a fantastic achievement and means that more than 15 months out from the London 2012 Games we are well on our way to achieving our vision to reach 12 million children and young people in 20 countries.

'I have been lucky enough to meet some of the young people being reached through International Inspiration and to have seen how the programme is providing them with more opportunities in life. Sport can be a real change for good and I'm very proud that London 2012 is enabling this to happen to millions of young people around the world.'

International Inspiration has already proved a massive success, with the range of achievements as varied as they are widespread. For example, 1.5 million young people and their families in Zambia are involved with awareness-raising projects that encourage children to discuss issues such as HIV and AIDS, while 80,000 children in Bangladesh have been taught survival swimming.

The programme was developed as a result of the commitment made by the London bid team in Singapore in 2005 to 'reach young people all around the world and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport'.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Francesca Rousseau is the new president of the Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association (TTNA).

The Newtown Girls RC School principal was elected to the post unopposed during the TTNA annual general meeting at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium on March 26.

Rousseau replaced outgoing TTNA head Patricia Butcher who did not stand for re-election. Only assistant Beverley Cruickshank and secretary Austrid Roachford returned to their positions in the TTNA executive.

Beverley Rodgers replaces Alden Lewis as treasurer and Keith Clement is the new public relations officer, replacing Lynette Duncan.

Debbie Ann Francois is the new first vice-president, having succeeded Martha Archer.

Lewis and Marlene Gilbert have been named trustees of the 2011-2013 TTNA executive. The TTNA also extended condolences to the family of the former T&T netballer Sonia Jack who recently passed away.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

By CMC

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Mike Rowbottom at SportAccord in London

Peter Kenyon, the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive, believes the kind of bad publicity generated by Wayne Rooney's public swearing outburst will inevitably cause major sponsors to reassess their options with regard to investing in individual sporting performers.

Rooney's actions after scoring against West Ham merely coincided with, rather than prompted, the announcement that his personal endorsement deal with Coca-Cola, established since 2007, was not being renewed.

But while insisting that he was not commenting on Rooney's case, Kenyon told insidethegames that such controversial incidents involving high profile sports stars would cause sponsors to consider their investment strategies.

"I don't want to talk about Wayne specifically," said Kenyon, who left Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge in 2003, a year before United signed Rooney from Everton.

"But I think the attention on sportsmen and women right now is greater than it's ever been, and in another year it will probably be even greater.

"All high profile performers need to understand the impact or effect of something happening from a commercial viewpoint.

"What it will do is highlight again the risk of investing in an individual rather than, say, a club or a league.

"If you talk to sponsors, you talk about the ability to sponsor a league because it doesn't alienate them with other clubs in the league.

"If they do anything with an individual rather than the club, an individual's form can vary or other issues can occur.

"I think all these things have always been there – but I think it's more exaggerated with the situations such as the one with Tiger Woods."

Kenyon joined the Creative Artists Agency, which looks after showbiz and sporting celebrity talent, after leaving Chelsea in 2009, and numbers among his clients film stars such as Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and sporting performers such as Cristiano Ronaldo.

The former football man accepts the idea that the pendulum between individual and collective sponsorships is likely to swing back and forth like a pendulum.

"I think it will," he added.

"The question never completely goes away, and then events happen that highlight one aspect of it.

"I think the reality is if you are representing someone then I think you represent them.

"Throughout the time of a sporting performer's career and after there are highs and lows - you have to manage those things and be part of it.

"This commitment to being involved in and managing personalities is not something you take on lightly.

"You have to understand there might be things you have to address in terms of their career."

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Andrew Warshaw at SportAccord in London

Sir Clive Woodward, the British Olympic Association's (BOA) director of sport, says too many athletes, like Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney (pictured), think they have become celebrities before they have achieved sufficient levels of performance.

Speaking at the SportAccord conference hgere, Sir Clive said there was a growing risk of too many sportsmen and women "fast-tracking" their way to success and making a premature name for themselves by penning newspaper columns.

"When you look back at the iconic figures in sport, it was always about performance," said the coach of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side.

"My big take on this is that I don't think you can become a celebrity unless you absolutely deliver on the field of play, the track or in the pool.

"When I was a coach, I was massive on this, newspaper columns have to be a distraction.

"[It's] when you see someone with huge talent but trying to fast-track themselves into a high-profile celebrity position without delivering on the pitch.

"It's easy to spot and can come crashing down very quickly."

Sir Clive, who was speaking at a session on sport's relationship with the media, added: "I have seen so many talented athletes who have not made it and an equal number who are less talented who have kept away from the celebrity culture and just focused on hard work and performance.

"Dealing with the media should be positive thing but not to court it, that has to be a distraction.

"I can't envisage any gold medal winner or prospective gold medal winner getting involved in that, in the middle of a Games."

Specifically asked to say whether he would include Wayne Rooney in his description of "iconic" following the England and Manchester United striker's recent television outburst, Sir Clive said: "In my view at the moment - no."

"Iconic figures are people who really delivered at international level.

"I remember McEnroe was angry on the tennis court but successful.

"Football at the top level is the World Cup - people like Pele and Maradona are the iconic figures of football.

"These people may have had chequered backgrounds but you remembered them."

America's former Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion Ed Moses said the landscape of celebrity status changed at the Los Angeles - where he won his second gold medal - when the old amateur rules gave way to a new era of sponsorship.

One downside of this, said Moses, was that in some cases an athlete's behaviour becomes the point of interest - with Rooney's television obscenity in front of a global audience of millions being a case in point.

"Rooney's behaviour has been very uncool – to say the least, especially among the young kids who are being induced to buy [merchandise]," said Moses.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Jonathan Gillette and Russell Ferreira scored eight goals each as T&T began the inaugural South American Swimming Confederation (CONSANAT) Water Polo Under-17 Championships with a resounding 27-6 mauling of Uruguay on Tuesday. This was in one of four matches played on the opening day of the championship at the Horacio Martinez Aquatic Complex, Copacabanna, Colombia. The quartet of Kieron Emmanuel, Marc Stauble, Shaquille Mitchell and captain Daniel Tardieu chipped in with two goals each while Ryan West, Andrew Chin Lee and  Johann Callender added one each.

For Paraguay, Pedro Ferrer scored four and Diego Sosa, two. In the other boys’ matches, Brazil swamped Venezuela 20-7 and host Colombia crushed Perus 15-3. Brazil swept aside Venezuela 23-5 in the lone girls’ match. However, in their second match yesterday morning, T&T suffered a 27-5 drubbing at the hands of a rampant Brazil which was led by Gustavo Guinaraes seven goals. Guilherme Gomes (4), Pedro Stelet (3), Felipe Martins (3), Henrique Lopes (3), Guilherme Campos (2), Fabio Mendes, Lucas Pinto, Matheus Filellini, Gabriel Salgado and Pedro Vergara chipped in with one apiece for the “Samba Boys”. For T&T, Ferreira scored two goals while Emmanuel, West and Tardieu got the others. Venezuela rebounded to drub Peru 13-5 and Colombia humbled Argentina 19-7 in other early matches yesterday.

The T&T boys were also scheduled to play Peru last night before meeting Venezuela and and host Colombia in their finals over the next two days. The tournament in Colombia is a stepping stone for the locals who have been dominant at the Carifta Games  and Caribbean Islands Swimming Championship. The locals are also using the tourney as preparations for the Pan Americab Junior Championship later this year after securing a spot with the first place over at last year’s CISC event, with one gold and two silver medals. The current Under-17 boys’ team is making the thrust for a place at the World Junior Championships to be held next year. Their passage there will be via ongoing success at 2011’s regional tournaments, then on to a probable top five finish at the premier inter-regional tournament, the Pan Am Junior Championship  to be held in August.

T&T Under -17 water polo team

Andrew Chin Lee, Christian Chee Foon, Daniel Tardieu, Johann Callender, Jonathan Gillette, Joshua Cabral, Kieron Emmanuel, Marc Stauble, Sebastian Van Reken, Russell Ferreira, Ryan West, Shaquille Mitchell, Oludare Marcelle Technical staff: Peter Gillette (manager), Alan Too-A-Foo (coach), Charissa Hackshaw (referee).


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Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Story by: Clayton Clarke

Double Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson began his 2011 season with at the LSU Tigers Relays in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA recently. The 2008 Beijing Olympic 100m silver medallist anchored the Tigers Olympians 4x400m relay team to second place in 3:05:79,(tenth fastest in the world). In the 4x100m relay he was also part of the Tiger’s team which was second in the heats in 39.46. Thompson is preparing for the 2011 World Outdoor Athletic Championships set of Daegu, South Korea from August 27 to September 4. Thompson is the reigning national double sprint champion.

At the Florida Relays, Rondell Sorillo (Kentucky) was third in the men’s 200m in 20.57 while Jovon Toppin (Florida) was 22nd in 21.57. Hilenn James (Georgia University) was fifth in the women’s shot put with a personal best of 16.14m. James held the lead briefly when she had her best throw in the second round but lost ground and eventually slipped to fifth. In a close competition 11 centimetres separated the top five. Aleesha Barber was 11th quickest in the women’s 100m hurdles. The national record holder clocked 13.80 seconds to finish 5th in heat one.  Kyron Joseph(Kentucky) topped heat eight in the men’s 100m but his time of  10.86  ranked him 28th overall.

In other results, Aeela Bravo (Jacksonsville) was seventh in the women’s discus with 45.14 and tenth in Hammer (49.63). Morgan State’s Emmanuel Stewart threw 55.9m in the javelin (55.9m) and finished 23rd in the shot putt (13.94). Aleena Brooks (Minnesota) clocked a new personal best (53.55) in taking the women’s 400m at the Jim Click Shoot Out meet. Shawna Fermin was third in 54.38. Brooks’ schoolmate Nyoka Giles was third in women’s 200m in 23.93 (pb). At the Auburn Tigers Classics Robert Collingwood (University of South Missouri) bagged bronze in the men’s shot putt (17.22) while his twin brother Richard was seventh in the discus (48.81). Kendal Bacchus (Middle Tennessee) was also seventh (10.68) in the men’s 100m.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Story by: Clayton Clarke

Janeil Bellille hurdled her way to second place on the latest  IAAF World Ranking list after her stunning win in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Tech Open in Texas, USA on the weekend.  The South Plain College student clocked 55.81 to take the gold and set a new Junior College and school record. Only two-time world champion Jana Pittman-Rawlinson of Australia (55.75) is ahead of Bellille. Sprinter Semoy Hackett is at number four in the women’s 100m. She clocked 11.23 seconds in winning the sprint at the LSU Invitational last Saturday. The time is just off her personal best of 11.18.  

Also at fourth in the standings is Rondel Sorillo. The Kentucky University student returned 20.57 in finishing third in the men’s 200m last week. In the women’s 200m, Kai Selvon, 18, is in position 14 with her time of 23.38. She is  just off her personal best of 23.33. Selvon, an Auburn Univesity sprinter, has recently been selected to represent T&T at the Carifta Games in Montego Bay in Jamaica over the Easter weekend.

T&T Athletes on the IAAF World Outdoor Ranking

Name                         Pos    Event    Performance
Women
Janiel Bellille              2nd     400m    Hurdles    55.81s
Semoy Hackett           4th     100m                      11.23s
Kai Selvon                 14th     200m                     23.38s
Annie Alexander        10th     Shot Put                17.62m
Hileen james             41th     Shot Put                16.14m

Men
Rondel Sorillo            4th     200m                       20.57s

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Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Story by: Rachael Thompson-King

T&T youth netballers are off today in search of their first-ever Caribbean Netball Association’s Jean Pierre Under-16 title. The competition starts on Saturday and runs until April 16 in St Kitts. Coach Naomi Babb believes this year, T&T has the best chance of copping the junior crown. “We are going to win,” predicted Babb on Saturday, following one of the national team’s many practice matches played at the Jean Pierre Complex in Mucurapo. “I am thinking positively, I want no negativity,” continued Babb, who is in her fourth year as coach of the team. Her confidence is reinforced by T&T’s four returning players including last year’s young achiever award recipient shooter Kalifa Mc Collins, the captain, vice-captain shooter Jameela Mc Carty, centre-court player Cerise Breton and defender Monica Peters, while Kurtisha Hoyce was a reserve player on last year’s training squad.

Mc Collin, who received the award for excelling both in sport and academics, is one of the more versatile players on the T&T unit as she can be used in four different positions including goal-shooter, goal-attack, wing-attack and wing-defence. Last year, she was named on the All Star team, the “Most Valuable Player” (MVP) for T&T and placed third in the individual shooting competition. With defending champion Jamaica, a nine-time junior champion, not attending the 12th edition of the Championships, Barbados will be T&T’s toughest opponent, not overlooking the other three countries—St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Dominica and St Lucia—that will be competing in the top division in two-tier system.
The four other participants in the competition including host St Kitts, Anguilla, Bermuda and Guyana will play in a developmental league.

Teams in each group will play two rounds. The last time the tournament was hosted in St Kitts, the Barbadians won the overall title. The junior “Calypso Girls” placed third in the two previous tournaments behind winner Jamaica and Barbados, respectively. T&T opens against St Lucia on Saturday morning at 7 am. The following day the local unit will be in action but returns on Monday to compete in two matches against Dominica in the morning session at 7 am and SVG, later on from 6.30 pm.  Tuesday will be another busy day for the junior “Calypso Girls” as they play against Barbados at 7.50 am and St Lucia from 6.30 pm. Wednesday, T&T plays Dominica again, SVG on Thursday and finishes versus Barbados on Friday.

T&T Contingent

Team: Kalifa Mc Collin, captain, Jameela Mc Carty, Rodorna Mc Donald, Cerise Breton, Kerleen Merrick, Kurtisha Hoyce, Julianna Julian, Monica Peters, Shenice Gittens, Lennecia Mc Kellar, Aniecia Baptiste.

Officials: Naomi Babb (coach), Shurland Bonas (primary care personnel), Kariel De Bique (physiotherapist), Lynette Duncan (manager)

T&T Schedule


April 9: T&T vs St Lucia, 7 am
April 10: Rest
April 11: T&T vs Dominica, 7 am; Vs SVG, 6.30 pm
April 12: T&T vs Barbados, 7.50 am: Vs St Lucia, 6.30 pm
April 13: T&T vs Dominica, 6.30 pm
April 14: T&T vs SVG, 7 am
April 15: T&T vs Barbados, 7.15 pm

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Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

The Southern Games 2011 gets into gear this evening from 7 p.m., with the Marabella Road Race.

The race starts and finishes outside of Awardy Hardware at the Southern Main Road in Marabella. Trinidad and Tobago's road race team of Adam Alexander, Varun Maharajh, Rudy Ashton, Colin Wilson, Gevan Samuel and Joshua Alexander will compete in the event.

The event will be contested in eight categories: International, Categories 1,2 & 3, Categories 4&5, Ladies, Tinymites, Juveniles, Juniors and Masters (40+, 50+ and 60+). The registration fee for cyclists is $20.

The cycling will move to the track on Saturday and Sunday, along with the athletics action at Guaracara Park from 2 p.m. each day.

Sponsors for the Games include Super Industrial Services (road race), Awardy Hardware, Cudjoe Construction and Industrial Services, Sookhoo's Shopping Mart, Maruni Enterprises, PL Singh Car Rentals and Indosaf Equipment and Supplies.


T&T Cycling team:

Road Race - Adam Alexander, Varun Maharaj, Rudy Ashton, Colin Wilson, Gevan Samuel and Joshua Alexander

Track – Haseem Mc Lean, Joshua Alexander, Adam Alexander, Thireef Smart, Elisha Greene, Varun Maharaj

Technical team – Desmond Dickie (coach), Lloyd John (track coach), Robert Farrell (road coach), David Baird (manager), Rory Doughty (mechanic).

Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Story by: Nigel Simon

T&T swimmer George Bovell III picked up where he left off before the Carnival break with another golden swim on Saturday in Madrid, Spain. After claiming three gold medals in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in January, the 27-year-old Bovell returned to competitive action by successfully defending the men’s 50-metre freestyle title at the Spanish Spring Nationals Swimming Meet on Friday’s first night of finals. The Athens Greece, Olympic Games 200m individual medley bronze medallist, behind Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, won the dash in 22.38 seconds ahead of Javier Noriega, on 22.76, the bronze going to Eloi Saumell, on 22.87.

Last year Bovell III went a bit faster when he won in 20.35. Bovell III who is working with his coach of many moons ago, Anil Roberts, the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs was happy about repeating as champion despite going into the meet exhausted from weeks of hard training and a long trip. “I punched in a time of 22.38 which is good, but honestly I have been 22.3 many times before” said Bovell III.  “I like to think that this time is a good indicator of faster swims to come because it came with no rest.  Looking ahead to his next assignment in Holland, the former Auburn University swimmer said he intended to be 2/10 of a second faster next week in Eindhoven at the Eindhoven International Swim cup.  “But little by little, one victory at a time.  I will take it, a win is a win,” he added. Yesterday he was expected to do some sightseeing in Madrid before moving onto Holland.

Source: www.insidethegames.biz
By Tom Degun at SportAccord in London

International Rugby Board (IRB) President Bernard Lapasset has claimed that he is not too concerned about becoming a member of the prestigious International Olympic Committee (IOC) as long as rugby can continue to develop its promising relationship with the organisation.

Lapasset played a critical role in getting rugby sevens included on the Olympic Programme at the IOC's 121st Session in Copenhagen in October 2009 and the sport will appear at the Rio 2016 Games for the first time since the Paris 1924 Olympics.

The move has led to calls for the sport to have a representative appointed as an IOC member, as the majority of Olympic sports do.

Lapasset is undoubtedly rugby's most likely candidate to take up the position but the Frenchman said the move is not essential at this stage.

"Ask the IOC if they think that I should become an IOC member!" Lapasset joked at a special IRB media roundtable session which took place as part of SportAccord here.

"But in all honesty, that is not so important to me as my main role is simply to strengthen the relationship between rugby in the IOC in whatever capacity I can.

"My role as the chairman of the IRB is to continue to make sure that rugby can keep growing in the Olympic family and one day become one of the core sports in the Olympics.

"We only became an Olympic sport again in Copenhagen in 2009 so our existing relationship with the IOC is still quite new, but we do have a fantastic relationship with them and we must continue to consolidate that before anything else.

"I am already heavily involved in working with the IOC and I am on some IOC Commissions so just because I am not an IOC member, it does not mean that I don't have a lot of IOC involvement."

Mike Miller, the chief executive of the IOC, echoed Lapasset's comments, claiming that the most important thing for the IRB is to have involvement in IOC business.

"As long as we are on the inside, at the table and involved in the IOC meetings, we are very happy," Miller stated.

"Rugby is one of the major sports in the world and certainly represents a lot of the Olympic values in terms of fair play and inclusion.

"We are very much involved in IOC discussions and moving forward our relationship with them.

"It does not necessarily require us to have an IOC member for that to happen."

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The International Olympic Committee has acted to avoid a repeat of the Caster Semenya fiasco at next year’s London Olympics by approving new eligibility guidelines for female athletes with elevated levels of male hormones.

The measures, which include a confidential gender assessment by a panel of international experts, follows the furore over Semenya’s ambiguous gender following her runaway 800 metres victory at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2009.

The South African had to endure an 11-month investigation, much of it held in the public glare, before she was finally cleared to compete as a woman by the International Association of Athletics Federations last July.

Announcing the new measures, Professor Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC Medical Commission, insisted that the guidelines had nothing to do with Semenya specifically and that protecting the integrity and fairness of female sport had long been an issue for sports organisations.

But there is no doubt that Semenya’s case was the catalyst for action after the debate over her gender descended into a damaging row between the IAAF and the South African government.

Significantly, the IAAF will be the first sports federation to introduce new gender rules based on the IOC principles when its Council meets in Daegu, South Korea, this weekend. The IOC hopes other federations will follow suit.

An IAAF spokesman confirmed that Semenya would be unaffected by the new regulations, having already been cleared to resume her career. She has run several races in South Africa and is third in the 800m world rankings.

The new measures, which were approved by the IOC executive board in London yesterday and will come into force in time for next year’s Olympics, were drawn up by a group of medical, legal and ethical experts following a scientific symposium on “disorders of sex development” held jointly by the IOC and the IAAF in Miami in January 2010 and a further high-level conference last October.

Under the guidelines, any female athlete suspected of gaining an unfair advantage from an over-production of male hormone, a condition known as “hyperandrogenism”, will be subject to an evaluation by an expert international panel.

The Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson has hit out at the dispute between the British Olympic Association and the London 2012 organisers, saying the court row “is embarrassing and we need to sort it out”.

His call was echoed by UK Sport chairwoman Baroness Sue Campbell who noted “it is not good for British sport”. Even Locog chief executive Paul Deighton admitted the dispute had “eaten away” at the good things his organisation had been achieving, but said the BOA’s claim for more money made no sense. The trio were speaking at a Sports Journalists’ Association’s question time on Tuesday night.

This comes as the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said he would distance himself from any emotional observations concerning the legal fight between the two organisations.

Dr Rogge, in London for the global sports conference SportAccord, said he had not spoken to the BOA chairman Lord Moynihan in six weeks, and then the ongoing dispute – centring around whether a Games surplus will include the costs of the Paralympics – was not discussed.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Story by: Nicholas Clarke

BGT&T Tranquility Open tennis champion Yohansey Williams will begin a new phase in his career this month when he travels to South America to compete on the ITF Professional Tour Men’s Circuit. He will first stop in Chile to enter three tournaments before heading to Venezuela for three more. A multiple national champion, much of the 22-year-old’s future will depend on the willingness of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs to cover his training and travelling expenses, which he reckons should cost a minimum of $300,000 a year. Given his current circumstances though, he said he will have to be content to work with the resources available.

“At this point I’ll take anything I get,” he said recently. “The reason the government doesn’t put more into tennis is because we have not really had a major international success story. The way they work is: You do something, get a result, and you’ll get money, but in tennis you need to really get money to get out there to get a result. “It takes a lot of investment to reap the rewards and it’s a process that takes years. I think our government doesn’t really understand what it takes to make a professional tennis player. So that’s a problem we face that hinders the assistance process.” Williams international profile received a boost in October when he was accepted to the world famous IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, USA, joining an elite group of players including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.

“It was a life changing experience,” he said of his two-month stint. “I was able to train with the best coaches in the world and they told me that I have the tools to compete and beat against the best in the world. “As an athlete coming from this part of the world, it showed me that the improvement I have to do to get to that level is not an impossible task.” Looking ahead, Williams said he would like to pave the way for the next generation of local players, helping to ease their transition from amateur to professional tennis. “I want to raise the level of tennis in T&T, which is very achievable. I would like to inspire the youths to understand and believe that it’s not impossible to do anything. “I mean, if you look at the tasks, they seem impossible, but I’m showing them that nothing is.”

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

North America and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Regional men’s 15-a-side championships will begin on Saturday with round one matches featuring eight countries. Involved in early action will be Barbados against St Lucia;  St Vincent and The Grenadines versus the British Virgin Islands   in the South Zone and Cayman against Jamaica and Mexico    against USA South in the North Zone. The winners of the round one matches in each zone will then play off for the right to advance to round two, where it will play off against the top teams in the region. The winners of round two will then play each other to decide the 2011 championships.

Current Caribbean champion, T&T, will be looking to keep its No. 1 ranked position in the Caribbean, though will face stiff opposition from the likes of Bermuda, which has had recent victories over Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. With the regional qualifier for RWC 2015 a little over a year away, all teams will want to perform well in order to secure a high seeding for the qualifier.  T&T, which is the highest ranked regional team on the  International Rugby Board World Ranking list, will clash with archrival Guyana on May 28 in Trinidad. T&T is at number 46.

Current NACRA -Caribbean  Regional 15 -a-side rankings:

1 T&T; 2 Guyana; 3 Bermuda; 4 Barbados; 5 Bahamas; 6 Mexico; 7 Cayman; 8 Jamaica;

9 USA South; 10 St Vincent and The Grenadines; 11 BVI; 12 St Lucia

Source: www.forbes.com

LONDON, England (AP) — The director of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suggests that the collection and testing of back-up 'B' samples should be scrapped in order to save time and money in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs.

WADA director general, David Howman said yesterday that doping cheats are getting an easier ride than common criminals because of their right to a second sample.

"People can go to jail on the basis of one bodily sample being collected, and sport really is on its own in collecting two samples," Howman said in an interview during an international sports and Olympic conference in London.

Howman was pressed on the issue of cutting drug-testing costs by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, an umbrella body representing the 26 sports on the Summer Games programme.

"We spend half our time justifying costs," Howman said. "Here's a way in which you could save a lot of costs and not hurt any person's individual rights or opportunities. I don't know if there's a resistance or not but it would certainly make a lot of difference economically."

Under normal practice, an athlete's urine or blood sample is divided into two samples — 'A' and 'B' — and sealed in separate specimen bottles. If the 'A' comes back positive, the athlete can request analysis of the 'B' sample.

Howman said the number of times the second sample contradicts the first is "almost zero". When that happens, he said, it is either because the second sample has disintegrated over time or because of manipulation by the athlete.

"Some athletes are putting stuff into their urine to degrade the sample," he said, citing the practice of diluting urine samples by drinking two litres of water. "Sample dilution is one of the best ways for athletes to manipulate a test."

Howman said the samples of Austrian cross-country and Nordic skiing athletes who were targeted in police raids during the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, had been "diluted to such a degree it could not make them a positive case". The athletes were sanctioned by the IOC based on evidence seized in the police search.

Howman said the idea of doing away with 'B' samples should be debated during next year's review of WADA's global anti-doping code. The new code will go into effect in 2015.

"It is a topic that deserves wide consultation and wide consideration," Howman said. "This is just a challenging idea. I'm not saying if I back it 'yea' or 'nay.' But it doesn't seem to me to have too many downsides. I would hope that sanity and common sense would prevail."

There have been cases of false positives in 'A' samples, with athletes later exonerated by the back-up test. Howman said cancelling 'B' samples would not jeopardise athletes' rights.

"There's always going to be an ability to examine the residue of the sample you have in one bottle," he said. "You just don't have the same process."

"There will be those that resist it for sure," he added. "There will be those that say it's an athlete's right, you cannot erode athletes' rights. When you say athletes have better rights than normal human beings in relation to criminal law, then I think you're starting to get out of proportion."

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Story by: Brian Lewis

Brazil’s preparations for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro are set to be boosted by a new law that allows businesses and individuals to invest part of what they would pay in income tax into Government-approved sport projects. Brazil are aiming for their best-ever performance at Rio in 2016.The Ministry of Sports’ goal is that every Olympic and Paralympic sport has the financial support to fulfill their plans by 2016.

Ricardo Capelli, the director of the Ministry of Sports and chairman of the Sports Incentive Act Technical Committee, is quoted as saying that “the measure reinforces the fact that sports are becoming part of Brazil’s public policy.” Last Saturday, India celebrated the International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket World Cup title. The victory went a long way in lifting the spirit and image of a proud and ambitious nation following the 2010 Commonwealth Games corruption scandal.

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara before the final was quoted as saying that “winning the World Cup after the end of three decades of bloody civil war meant everything for his country. “A lot of people have laid down lives for our country. In this new future, hopefully we can take home the World Cup, and that will be even more occasion for celebration,” Sangakkara noted. Gautam Gambhir, the Indian batsman told a news channel that “India had to win to honour the dead of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.” Virat Kohli, in his first World Cup at 22 said, as he and his teammates hoisted the great Sachin Tendulkar onto their shoulders:

“This World Cup goes out to all the people of India who have come out and supported us. He (Tendulkar) carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, so it is time we carried him on our shoulders.”

For most citizens of T&T, sport is no more than a recreational and leisure activity. Any economic, social, emotional and symbolic investment is viewed as misplaced and counterproductive. In this respect last week’s announcement by Minister of Sport Anil Roberts that 1.4 billion dollars in capital investment on sport and community facilities has received Cabinet approval is a timely boost for local sport. For a period of time it seemed as if Minister Roberts was a voice crying in the wilderness among his Cabinet colleagues as sport, it seemed, remained a low priority discretionary national budget line item.

As many national sport organisations curtailed important programmes, concerns heightened but did not boil over into public spectacle as the stock of goodwill and respect Minister Roberts enjoyed within the local sport fraternity remained in credit even as the complexities of T&T political though leadership impacted on everyday life in sport.

Mistakes and failures/success and excellence are two sides of the same coin. They cannot go one without the other. Those who are success-oriented overtime do much better than those who are negative-oriented. Bear in mind that capital expenditure is not recurrent expenditure. Buying the car is probably easier than maintaining it.

Access to facilities, sports science, sports medicine, expertise on how to prepare, and all the elite support services that our sportsmen and women and national sport organisations might not have the money to buy themselves are important if Olympic and international sporting successes in 2012 and beyond are realistic objectives. But even more important will be grassroots sport in the communities and schools—the heartland where sustainability is driven by whole hearted volunteers.

Countries that place a high priority on sport and those who have sport as part of their public policy must have a compelling reason for doing so. The old adage: “You get out what you put in” applies. Those countries who claim the top prize and glory did not purchase a lottery ticket, while sport can be defined as playing a game; excellence is not a game of chance.

Brian Lewis is the Honorary Secretary General of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee- website:  www.ttoc.org. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the TTOC.