T&T’s “Calypso Spikers” will be confident of realising their dream of competing at an FIVB Women’s World Championship when they come up against Mexico in a winner-take-all North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Women’s Playoff final at the University of the West Indies Sports and Physical Educational Centre, St Augustine from 6 o’clock this evening. Setter Kelly-Anne Billingy led local women, ranked 31st in the world, to overcome Costa Rica 25–22, 25–15, 25–21 in their penultimate match of the five-team tournament at the same venue on Friday night to improve to 3–0, while Nicaragua defeated Panama 25–16, 24–26, 25–10, 25–19 for its first win.

The Mexicans were also unbeaten with a 2–0 record going into their encounter with  Nicaragua last night ahead of today’s highly anticipated meeting with host T&T, which they last played at the Pan American in May, losing in five sets. T&T women won the first two sets, 25–18, 25–21, but then imploded the next three sets, 15–20, 20–25, 8–15, however, coach Nicholson Drakes will be hoping his team continue their winning trend. The last time T&T defeated Mexico was last year at the Pan American Cup in Peru. Leading the way for T&T, the five-time reigning Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) champions on Friday night, was Romania-based Krystle Esdelle with 15 points, punctuated by 14 kills while the in-form France-based Channon Thompson added 14, inclusive of ten kills and four blocks.

Middle-blocker, Sinead Jack, who plies her trade in Russia, had another impressive outing with nine points, highlighted by four blocks while Darlene Ramdin, who also plays professionally in France added eight. The duo of Jalicia Ross-Kydd and Kelly-Anne Billingy chipped in with six points each for T&T which dominated in all key aspects of the 83 minutes contest, 37–22 on kills, 12–7 on blocks and 9–6 on service ace. For the Costa Ricans who fell to a 1–2 record after losing to Mexico as well and will miss out on the World Championship after two straight appearances, captain Angela Willis and Paola Ramirez tallied nine points each. Verania Willis got seven and the pair of Mijal Hines and Daniela Vargas, three each.

Speaking after the win, a very focused Billingy, a 14-year veteran of the team and one of eight players who were part of the 2009 squad which missed out on the World event in Japan due to a cellar-placed finish in the playoffs, admitted it was one of her team’s best displays in a while. “I think this was probably one of the better games we have played in a very long time as a team and only the second time we have beaten Costa Rica in straight sets. Coach Drakes added: “We are moving forward to Sunday (against Mexico) very confident. As I said before, I believe my team could win this tournament, but we need to be focused, we need to concentrate more and believe more.” Costa Rican coach Horacio Bastit said: “T&T took advantage of  the strength they have at the net.” Unfortunately the objective that we had to qualify for the World Championship is gone. We have to keep our heads up and finish this tournament.”

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France-based top T&T table-tennis pair, Dexter St Louis and his step-daughter Rhean Chung, continued their unbeaten run at the Pan American Sport Festival in Mexico City with victories in their singles matches yesterday at the National Centre for Talent Development and High Performance Sports. St Louis, a five-time Caribbean singles champion,  swept past Venezuelan, Marcos Rosas, 11–9, 11–8, 11–3 and Jamaica Ryan Peters, 11–9, 11–3, 11–4 in his Group Five matches to reach the main draw knockout stage. However, the two other local men, Aaron Wilson and Curtis Humphreys were beaten in their openers and faced must win matches to advance.

Wilson was humbled by Brazilian Ishiy Vitor, 9–11, 2–11, 4–11 in his Group Two opener and faced Costa Rica Jeison Martinez in his second match, while Humphreys went under to Argentine, Pablo Tabachnik, 10–12, 5–11, 9–11 and came up against Barbadian Kristian Doughty 8–11, 6–11, 1–11 in Group Seven. In the women’s competition, Chung, also a five-time Caribbean women’s champion, defeated Colombian Paloma Sarmiento 11–9, 11–7, 11–6 before she was taken the distance by Canadian Alicia Cote, 5–11, 11–6, 6–11, 11–4, 12–10 in Group Six, while ten-time national women’s single champion, Aleena Edwards was beaten in her Group Four curtain raiser 5–11, 7–11, 7–11 by Chile’s Paulina Vega with her final match against Dominican Republic, Lineth Vila carded for last night.

Last night in the men’s doubles, St Louis and Humphreys came up against Tyrese Knight and Marcus Smith of Barbados in the round-of-16 with a quarterfinal encounter against Argentine’s Gaston Alto and Pablo Tabachnik up next for the winners ahead of today’s semifinal and finals. In the women’s doubles, Chung and Ashley Quashie started off the round-of-16 versus Canada’s Alicia Cote and Michelle Liaw. On Thursday, the T&T men ended bottom of their round-robin Group Two series after losing to Canada and Dominican Republic, both by 3–1 margins while the local women’s team also suffered 1–3 losses, against Brazil and Guatemala with St Louis and Chung getting both wins in each category.

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As the T&T Guardian continues its talks with some of the people of Port-of-Spain, in recognition of the city’s 100th anniversary celebrated last month. This week we feature pan enthusiast Ernest Ferreira, who lived most of his life on Scott-Bushe Street. He shares his story about growing up in town and his wish for the city.

 

I am Ernest Ferreira. I am 79, the father of three boys and two grandchildren and I have been in the business of shipping and marketing most of my adult life. I now live in Maraval but I was born and raised in the city of Port-of-Spain. The house I lived in is still there and has now been converted into my office.

 

My father and mother, both descendants of Portuguese immigrants, purchased a house from store owner Charles Kirpalani, at number three Scott-Bushe Street in the late 1930s. My grandfather was the owner of SSN Pereria Confectionery at 69 Prince Street in Port-of-Spain. The confectionery was sold and is now known as KC Candy.

 

Growing up in Port-of-Spain for me were the wonder years. I can remember always enjoying waking up to the sounds of the tram cars at 5 am. Those tram cars would come from St Ann’s, go through Belmont and into Port-of-Spain. I can also remember the trolly buses. We used to call them the silent murderers in those days because you could never hear them coming.

 

Scott-Bushe Street was always very quiet. Mostly middle-class families lived there and if you wanted some action you had to go into the heart of the city like Charlotte Street and Marine Square, now Independence Square.

 

I can recall as a young boy going to the neighbour’s house to listen to my favourite shows on Rediffusion, a business which distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. In those days not many people had television and my father could not afford one. So my siblings and I would go to the neighbour’s house to listen to popular shows like Second Spring, Journey into Space and my personal favourite, Mandrake the Magician. I have a vivid recollection of 1930s and 40s the pan revolution era, which I had found was so interesting. I attended St Mary’s College but was expelled in form three for my involvement in pan. In those days to be involved in pan you were seen as a roughneck and thug and it was unheard of to see a so-called “white boy” beating pan or even showing an interest in it. Eventually I founded the Dixieland Steel Orchestra. But the story of my involvement in pan is a whole other story in itself. So I will leave that for another time.

 

But I would say going to Port-of-Spain was always exciting. People would leave their homes just to go window shopping on Frederick Street. I don’t suppose they still do that. I remember after school, some of us would go downtown where the aloo pie, press (sno cone) and coconut vendors were, to buy especially press for a penny. And we used to pay four cents for a coconut water. Aloo pie was also a penny. Those were the days.

 

Port-of-Spain was always a very lively place, but it was also always safe. The most bacchanal it ever had in those times were the steelband clashes. Other than that it was a safe place to go. I grew up there and I cannot even recall a single time my father or any neighbour had to call the police for anything.

 

The young people in those days were very focused and respectable. It always had the one or two mischievous ones, but what they did was nothing much to fuss about.

 

A typical teenager’s lime was going to the Queen’s Park Savannah after school to hang out. Those of us who lived in town would go home, take a bath and head up to the Savannah. Most times we would give the girls fatigue when they passed, but nothing rude or disrespectful. In those days you could not do that because if your parents found out, you would get an unimaginable cut tail.

 

I remember Christmas time in the city was a joy. Everybody shopping, boys and girls on roller skates. The stores adorned with Christmas decorations and carols playing. Charlotte Street was the liming spot for the holidays. It was where you got your fill of the funny characters who would be telling jokes or stories on the street.

 

The city has changed quite a lot. Our children today don’t know of Donkey City. That was where cart and donkey owners would assemble to provide transportation for commuters. It was located at London Street on Wrightson Road where the Radisson Hotel is now. Then there was the Goat’s Manna in the spot where the Central Bank is. And the Caricom Jetty is where live cattle from Venezuela were brought in and transported to the Port-of-Spain abattoir to be slaughtered.

 

Victoria Square was a hub for young people to meet and socialise. Now that square and all the other squares have been left for ruin. You would think they were not historic landmarks. What was once a beautiful Port-of-Spain is now the place many flee from and avoid for fear of gang wars and other criminal activity.

 

I certainly wish I could see a revival of Port-of-Spain, starting with all the squares; Lord Harris, Victoria and Woodford Square. These squares have so much history attached to them. It would be nice if our young people and tourists could go into these squares and see stories of this land being told through murals or even theatrical plays. We can tell stories of our politicians, sportsmen and women, academic enthusiasts, and other great people of our nation who have contributed to the development of T&T.

 

I have always thought Victoria Square should be the place where we showcase this country’s indigenous flowers and plants. Maybe it can be renamed Hibiscus Park. From the lighthouse to the Breakfast Shed, the wall of that entire stretch should be filled with murals.

 

Port-of-Spain is indeed in need of a vast facelift. When we got our independence in 1962, things should have got better, but we are not seeing that today. Something is absolutely wrong when a nation allows its history to die and that is what has been happening to Port-of-Spain. It is fast becoming a dying city.

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Nicholas Baldeosingh,videographer with the TT Men's Hockey team,poses
with receptionists at the Comonwealth Games Village's opticiian's
centre,after receiving his first ever pair of spectacles at no cost.A
vast range of dental,optical and medical services are available to
athletes and officials at Glasgow 2014 entirely free of charge.

Trinidad and Tobago's contingent also has its own athlete-centred
medical team to attend to its personnel,headed by Doctors Terry
Ali,Anil Gopiesingh and Zynul Khan.Three physios and six massage
therapists are part of this team which,on a long day like Saturday 19
July,worked without a break from early morning to midnight.

"We have one hundred and twenty-nine athletes at this edition of the
Commonwealth Games," says Dr Ali."It's our biggest representation ever
at one of these Games.The demands on our staff are
enormous...andactual competition is still to begin!"

T&T are lucky so far in that there have been no major injuries or
illness scares.The mini-outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea that
affected  12 or so of the Scottish CWG assistants did not affect any
member of the contingent.

There have also been no positive drug tests among our athletes.The
Commonwealth Games have adopted a very rigorous approach to random
drug-testing on a round-the-clock basis.

"It has annoyed a few people," says Chef de Mission Ian Hypolite,"but
we must realise that this is now a serious business.Our contingent is
party to a Whereabouts policy,which means that our athletes must be at
a certain location at a given time for possible drug-testing.If they
are not,they are searched out and tested wherever they are".

Athletes may also be selected at random in the dining areas,or at
training,apart from the usual practice of post-competiion testing.The
aim is to provide an entirely drug-free Commonwealth Games 2014.

Cleopatra Borel recorded her third best toss of the season, yesterday, when the two-time Commonwealth athlete placed third at the Herculis Meeting in Monaco. Borel, the only T&T athlete in Diamond League action on the day, secured a 18.96 meters distance on her first attempt, before she threw 18.65m  twice and 18.46m in her next three attempts. She was beaten by runaway Diamond League leader, Valerie Adams of New Zealand, who won the event with a 20.38m effort. USA’s Michelle Carter finished second with a 19.05m throw.

Borel’s feat comes two weeks after she placed fourth in Lausanne with an 18.88m effort. Her season best stands at 19.10m (Copa La Habana, Cuba), which was a winning throw recorded in March. Her second best effort for the season was at the New York adidas Grand Prix, where she recorded 19.04m. Borel is a member of T&T’s athlete contingent preparing for the upcoming Commonwealth Games starting in Scotland on Wednesday.



Meanwhile, top T&T women’s sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye, who opted out of yesterday’s action because of a hamstring injury scare she suffered in Switzerland after copping a 100m and 200m double on Tuesday, is now recovering well and getting some vital rest before the challenge for the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Despite remaining unbeaten for the year, Ahye’s previous world leading time (10.85) was erased by Diamond League leader USA’s Tori Bowie, who clocked 10.80 seconds. Veronica Campbell-Browne (Jamaica) placed second in 10.96 seconds, while Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure placed third in a season-best 10.97 seconds. Allyson Felix of the USA and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce (Jamaica) both ran season-best times in 11.01 to place fifth and sixth, respectively.

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Despite being dropped by Team Sky, Olympic hero is still a huge inspiration to his team-mates at in Glasgow

What a coup it is for the Commonwealth Games to have Sir Bradley Wiggins, the white knight of the London Olympics, riding on the track next week.

Casual cycling fans might find themselves wondering where the real action is: over in the Pyrenees at the Tour de France or inside the Glasgow velodrome.

In truth, Wiggins’s hopes of riding at the Tour were taken out of his hands even before he crashed in Switzerland a month ago, after Team Sky’s general manager David Brailsford intimated to him that he would not make the team supporting Chris Froome’s abortive bid.

But the beauty of cycling is that it comes in so many different formats.

Few riders have more pedigree on the track than Wiggins, the owner of three Olympic gold medals in individual and team pursuit. Next week, his return to the indoor events should bring a welcome fillip to a group of riders who underperformed at the world track championships in March.



“For me personally, to have someone like Brad back with the team at track sessions is really, really good,” said Jess Varnish, the 23-year-old who took bronze in the team sprint in Cali, Colombia, four months ago.

“For young riders – and I still class myself as one even though I’m not now – we’ve always had these amazing athletes to look up to in the squad: Vicky [Pendleton], Chris [Hoy], Brad. And when they go you think there’s no one there you can watch, and see how classy they are.

“I really love having him back in the squad and it’s great for the team. It is reassuring, just to see him doing what I’m doing, changing his gear, rolling around on his road bike between sessions. I quite like tattoos and he’s got sleeves drawn on his arms so I’ve been talking to him about them.

“You just chat to him like he’s a normal person, that’s what people prefer.”

Some sceptics have questioned whether Wiggins’ focus on road racing over the past six years might have drained the fast-twitch muscles from his legs. It is unquestionably a big shift to go from three weeks of teeth-grinding struggle to a four-minute burnout. But his selection for the 4,000 metre team pursuit is not in doubt.

It may surprise some that Wiggins’s plan – at the moment – is to leave the Commonwealth Games after that first Thursday, rather than ride in the time-trial the following week. He did wallop his Team Sky comrade Geraint Thomas, as well as defending champion Alex Dowsett, in this format at last month’s national road championships in Monmouthshire.

But Wiggins’s management indicated on Friday that his training schedule had not allowed him room to prepare for multiple events in Glasgow. And in the absence of Jon Dibben, who broke an elbow in training recently, there is no one else who can step in as the fourth team pursuiter alongside the settled combination of Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Andy Tennant.

“Brad hasn’t touched a track since 2008, although he did one World Cup [in 2011],” said Clancy. “He just wants some confirmation that he’s still got it, that he can still be a big player in the team pursuit. The way he’s riding at the moment, it looks like that is the case. Even when he dropped back in, he wasn’t too far from his best.

“I remember the first day he turned up. There’s us guys: Burkey who is Olympic champion, Tennant who has been there, but Brad’s still a celebrity to us. When he walked in, we thought ‘We haven’t seen this guy for a while and since we last saw him he’s won the Tour and what not.’

“He’s a big deal these days. I didn’t want to say anything stupid. You test the water, see how things are. But he’s dead cool, just like he always was.”

With or without Wiggins, the Commonwealth Games were always going to reshape the whole team’s agenda, not least because the home nations will be competing against each other rather than combining as usual under the Team GB umbrella.

This shift of emphasis has brought a freshness to the last couple of weeks’ preparation, which found the riders at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester hoarding their own personal data rather than sharing everything as normal. Given the stale feeling that afflicted the men’s squad in Colombia four months ago, head coach Shane Sutton must be hoping that a change will prove as good as a rest.

“To my mind, we were overtrained at the worlds,” says Clancy now. “We worked too hard if anything and went there completely burnt out. I’ll argue that to the bitter end. We were tired, and it was unfair that a few of the guys got that stick. So Brad coming in it’s a big boost for the team. It’s another strong guy.”

It is also a chance for some of the young riders to think back to the moments that first inspired them. This is especially true for Joanna Rowsell, the only British cyclist to take two gold medals at the Cali meeting in March. Now 25, Rowsell came into the junior reckoning in 2004, after a talent-spotting delegation had picked her out from her classmates.

But she had no cycling background at all, to the point where she had barely even ridden to school. Later that summer, she became fascinated by Wiggins’s achievements at the Athens Olympics.

“Brad was one of my big motivators,” says Rowsell. “Watching the Athens Games was a big eye-opener. I remember seeing him win the individual pursuit and feeling that I liked the look of that one. I knew nothing about cycling and when I went to my first training camp they must have thought they had the wrong girl because I turned up in trainers and tracksuit bottoms, I didn’t know how to use cycling shoes and I immediately fell off.

“It has been a long road from there to here.”

The path of sport meanders down some unexpected courses, and a few months ago Wiggins might have been expecting to follow Glasgow’s track events from the Team Sky bus. Now that he is committed, however, his star quality seems to be invigorating the rest of the England squad.

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In light of the Minister of Sport, Anil Roberts requesting that officials of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) remove T&T from the Red Steel name, Damien O'Donohoe, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CPL has responded by saying that the Red Steel franchise is not based in T&T.

 

Roberts wrote to O'Donohoe on Tuesday and asked him to make a public statement on whether or not the CPL had agreed to drop T&T from the name. Roberts said that a while now CPL had agreed but yet the name was still being bandied around.

 

O'Donohoe responded by stating: “CPL can confirm that it has agreed to omit the words ‘T&T’ from the Red Steel team name based on a request from the Minister of Sport due to his view that the use of the country name ‘infringes’ on the protocols surrounding the use of the name and the sovereignty of the nation.

 

"CPL would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that the Red Steel team is not a franchise that is based in T&T. It is a team selected from the fantastic talent pool across the country. The team is not restricted to play its home games in T&T, and ultimately, any decision on where the team is based is dependent on the commitment and support that CPL has already enjoyed with other Governments and owners.

 

"The fans in T&T are second to none. They were fantastic supporters of CPL during its first year, and we look forward to bringing more games to T&T, no matter where the franchise is based."

 

Information reaching the T&T Guardian was that the three matches scheduled for later this month in Trinidad will remain at the Queen's Park Oval, Port-of-Spain.

 

A source close to the situation said that there is no truth to the fact that the matches were going to be moved to St Kitts, where the finals weekend will be played.

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German Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg has been forced to change the design of a helmet he planned to wear to celebrate his country's World Cup win.

Football's world governing body Fifa said an image of the trophy would breach "intellectual property" rights.

The 29-year-old championship leader hoped to wear the helmet for his home grand prix at Hockenheim this weekend.

"I would have loved to carry the trophy as a tribute to the guys, but I respect the legal situation," he said.

Rosberg has opted to keep other emblems on his helmet, such as the national flag and four stars to represent four World Cup wins.

In a statement, Fifa said it was "obliged to take action against any unauthorised reproduction of its intellectual property in a commercial context".

It added: "We cannot allow a commercially branded helmet to feature the trophy as this would jeopardise the rights of our commercial affiliates.

"We appreciate Nico Rosberg's desire to congratulate the German team and have therefore been in discussions with the Rosberg team to attempt to find a solution, whereby he is still able to show his support for Germany without using Fifa intellectual property in a commercial context."

Germany won the 2014 Fifa World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Argentina in extra-time on Sunday. The old West Germany won the World Cup three times - in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

Rosberg, who leads his British team-mate Lewis Hamilton by four points, had proudly shown off the new helmet design on Tuesday.

"This will be my Hockenheim World Cup special edition helmet with the Fifa trophy," he tweeted.

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Brian Lewis, president of the T&T Commonwealth Games Association (T&TCGA) is defending concerns raised from several quarters in the national community regarding the number of officials that are accompanying athletes to the Commonwealth Games which starts on Wednesday in Glasgow, Scotland.

 

The T&TCGA has appointed 47 officials to assist more than 100 athletes.

 

The team officials comprises exercise physiologists, sports nutritionists, doctors, athletic trainers, chiropractors, team managers, coaches, as well as Dr Ian Hypolite, the contingent’s chef de mission and Ms Diane Henderson who is the assistant chef-de-mission.

 

“T&T claims to be a sport loving public and they watch a lot of international events, but still hold the view that sports psychologist, sports nutritionist, athletic trainers, chiropractors, exercise physiologist and all of these conditioning experts are unnecessary. If people feel that it is unnecessary, then we are in the wrong business and we are not talking about high performance sport. Then we are doing our athletes a disservice. The TTOC/CGA has no intention of doing our athletes a disservice,” said Lewis.

 

“All over the world, success drive success. I am convinced that for the TTOC/CGA, National Sporting Organisations (NSO), the athletes and coaches that attend major events such as the Commonwealth Games, go to perform and not just to participate. T&T athletes have passed the stage of just being happy to barely qualify. We’ve gone past that stage. That is no longer an acceptable position. We are going to these Games to perform. It’s not about going for a joy ride or a vacation. It’s about performance. I expect quality performances.”

 

Lewis said Dr Hypolite had the experience having attended several high level games in the past and he understands what is required to bring home gold by creating the right environment from the administrative side of things.

 

“In the past, people complained about all the officials going and there are still people that have that view. If they pay attention to what is happening in the modern environment, you will see that support staff is crucial. And in many ways, T&T still have a long way to go. Simple things like video analysis I think should be part of the team. There are lots of things we need to do, but it’s a building process. We are also reviewing how we construct medical services for athletes. For me the focus has to be on the podium and how do we ensure that our athletes have what they need to perform at their best on the day, to deliver their full potential,” Lewis explained.

 

He added: “We are focused as a CGA and our partnership with the Michael Johnson Performance Centre in the USA and BPTT to compliment the training programmes that the various coaches have for the various athletes. It’s all about working as a team. The Commonwealth Games still remains very much an important event for T&T. Within recent time the Commonwealth Games were held in November or around that period or like in 2006, in March-April. So it has been quite a while since we have been able, on paper, to go into the Games with what should be a very strong track and field contingent. That is really a big boast for us. We have the opportunity this time around because the Games are in July. It will be a very interesting Games and I am very optimistic that we would see some huge performances.”

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Track and Field in T&T will always have a friend in Sagicor General Insurance (SGI) says Dyan Loutan-Ali, vice-president of local operations. She made the announcement at the company’s tenth anniversary celebration held at Hyatt Regency Trinidad on Dock Road in Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

 

Sagicor General was a title sponsor of the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) Senior Open Championships held at the Hasely Crawford National Stadium in Woodbrook last June. On that occasion Richard Thompson broke his own national record of 9.85 by three hundredths of a second–a 9.82 seconds run in the 100-metre re-match against fellow Olympic medallist Keston Bledman.

 

The spectacular performance earned him the honour as the ninth fastest athlete in the history of the sport as he went on to hold the world’s top spot for two weeks as declared by the IAAF. Thompson is now ranked second in the world. Justin Gatlin of the United States was able to better Thompson’s time by two hundredths in Lausanne Diamond League meet on July 3.

 

Michelle Lee Ahye was also praised having won her 100-metre at the Sagicor Senior Open Championships. As of yesterday, her standing remained unchanged as the world’s number one since that performance. These were among the top-performing athletes who have convinced the regional insurance giant to focus its corporate social responsibility on sport and, in this instance, track and field.

 

Loutan-Ali said her company continued to grow its market share and it would keep reinvesting in the sport, which continued to produce world champion medallists at every international championship. Loutan-Ali said T&T operations of SGI remained strong and consequently served as the largest revenue generator of all its branches in the network across the Caribbean.

 

“Compared to other companies that wrote a similar income the fact that SGI achieved so much with less than 100 in head count was in itself a great accomplishment,” Loutan-Ali said.

 

“Today, T&T counts for 58 per cent of the entire Sagicor General underwriting portfolio. The T&T branch has successfully contributed to the rapid growth of the company. Prior to the opening of the branch in 2004, SGI recorded a gross premium income of $145 million dollars.

 

“Today, the company writes 396 million. In addition to the premium growth, the branch, through its prudent financial management, has contributed significantly to the growth on SGI’s balance sheet which stood at $659 million at the end of 2013. It is no surprise that SGI has maintained an AM Best rating of A-Excellent since June 2002.”

 

Loutan-Ali added: “To improve the lives of the people in the communities in which we operate represents a section of our vision which we at Sagicor General are very passionate about.

 

“It is for this reason we have sponsored events such as the NAAA. This particular event has had our support since 2004 when we started operations in T&T. We believe that these games open many doors for our athletes and in particular our youth, through scholarships, endorsements and opportunities to represent our country at one of the highest level.”

 

To the benefit of future athletes and the national community as well, the Sagicor official said three years ago, the company took the decision to adopt projects in communities that would enhance the level of education to primary school children. So far, the insurer provided air conditioning to the Brasso and Caparo Primary Schools and refurbished and restocked the library at the Salazar Trace Primary School in Point Fortin.

 

“The success of these initiatives was made possible because of the contribution and dedication of personal time by both Sagicor General and Sagicor Life staff. In 2013, we partnered with Sagicor Life with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Programme in an effort to promote science in secondary schools throughout the Caribbean countries in which the Sagicor Group has a presence. This was quite successful and we will be continuing this initiative,” Loutan-Ali said.

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Described as a precautionary move, world leading sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye will sit out of today’s Diamond League 100 meter action in Monaco.

 

Ahye, who pulled up and collapsed on the track holding her hamstring on Wednesday after winning the women’s 200m events in Switzerland, was originally carded to line-up against Jamaican pair Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown as well as USA’s Allyson Felix, today. However, she confirmed her decision to opt out of the race today on her Twitter account saying: “Won’t be competing this weekend resting up for Commonwealth.”

 

Ahye has confirmed that a cramp was the cause of her pulling up on Wednesday and was “nothing serious”. She is expected to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, which runs from July 23 to August 3.

 

In Switzerlands, Ahye won both the women’s 100m and 200m races, in 11.09 seconds and 22.77 seconds, respectively. The latter time equalled her personal best she secured at the National Championships, last month. In the 100m, Ahye holds the world leading time, 10.85, which she also clocked in Port-of-Spain, last month.

 

Meanwhile, T&T’s top shot athlete, Cleopatra Borel will be the lone national representative in Monaco today. The women’s shot put will open proceedings. Borel currently sits in sixth position in Diamond League rankings.

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Glasgow, July 16 2014

 

Scotland and people of Glasgow formally welcomed the Trinidad and Tobago contingent to the Commonwealth Games Village in a bright and energetic ceremony this morning.

 

TTOC Secretary General Annette Knott, Assistant Secretary General Diane Henderson and Chef de Mission Ian Hypolite led the colourful group of Trinidad and Tobago athletes from their residence halls to the ceremonial venue in the International Zone. The procession drew admiring looks from the gathered groups of workers, security officials and other athletes.

 

An energetic music and dance program followed, presented by the National Youth Theater of Scotland. The open-air theatrical performance dramatised the aspirations of athletes on their journey to the Commonwealth Games.

 

Glasgow 2014 has abandoned the practice of Mayors of the Games Village in favour of a policy of rotating chieftains, more in line with Scottish cultural tradition. Current Chieftain Rona Simpson, Scotland's most-capped female hockey player, urged the athletes to enjoy the total Games experience.

 

Trinidad and Tobago Chef de Mission Ian Hypolite than exchanged gifts with Chieftain Simpson and Pat Reid, Provost of the City of Falkirk.  Falkirk has adopted Trinidad and Tobago as its special 'Country' for Commonwealth Games 2014.

 

One hundred and ten Trinidad and Tobago athletes are already at the Games Village. A further Twenty-two are expected tonight.

Autonomy should be respected in National Olympic Committees (NOC) all over the world but should be complimented by the obeying of principles of good governance, International Olympic Committee (IOC) director of relations with NOCs, Pere Miró, has claimed.

Miro cited the topical examples of The Gambia and Pakistan, two countries where the IOC are currently striving to achieve this balance.

A possible Pakistani suspension from the IOC was only avoided by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) undertaking a written pledge to obey a list of demands, while a meeting has been requested between the IOC and representatives from The Gambian Government and National Olympic Committee to resolve disputes in the African country.

"For us autonomy should be respected in all the countries, as well as in all sports and Olympic organisations," Miró, who is also responsible for Olympic Solidarity funding, told insidethegames.

"But also, it is absolutely clear that autonomy should be deserved.

"We speak about 'responsible autonomy', meaning that they have their house in order.

"We want to improve good governance to avoid any kind of excuse or reason for Governments to intervene and act on behalf of our organisations."

So, in relation to Pakistan, the Government has accepted the principles of autonomy, respect and the Olympic Charter, Miró explained.

But, on the other hand, the POA has also given a guarantee that the organisation will obey some of the principles of good governance, especially in relation to democracy, open elections and use of funds.

With relation to The Gambia, the situation is even more complex because the Government, unlike the IOC, believe the last NOC elections were not conducted properly, he added.

After the simmering of tension for several years, in May the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) was barred from its headquarters at Olympic House in Bakau after it was seized by police on instruction from the Government.

This led to the NOC effectively grinding to a halt and Gambian athletes being unable to participate at the African Youth Games, held in Gabarone in May.

"The IOC President sent a letter to the President of the country asking him to intervene in favour of the athletes," Miró said.

"The President replied, saying he had given instructions to sports and other Ministries to be in contact with us, and we are now hoping a meeting will take place in Lausanne very soon.

"As a proof of goodwill for these conversations, we also want them to inform us that next week the headquarters of the NOC will be released."

Athletes from Pakistan are set to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from July 23 and then at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing from August 16.

The "possibility still exists" that The Gambia will participate in Nanjing, but the IOC will have to work "very hard now" to achieve this goal.

Gambia is no longer a member of the Commonwealth after President Yahya Jammeh announced a withdrawal last October on the grounds that his country will "never be a member of any neo-colonial institution".

Problems have also been seen in relation to other NOCs in recent times, including Egypt and Kuwait, while a 14-month suspension of the Indian Olympic Association from the IOC was only lifted in February after the election of Narayana Ramachandran as President.

The autonomy of NOCs has been a key focus of IOC President Thomas Bach since his election last September, and earlier this year he described it as something "vital" for the future of the Olympic Movement.

But Miró added that problems remain because many Governments still fail to understand the concept as expressed in the Olympic Charter.

"They get confused with the concept of sovereignty in a country and the national need," he told insidethegames.

"Sovereignty is important and we respect that circumstances are different in different countries.

"But if they want to belong to an international community, then they must obey national rules, otherwise there would be nothing to stop one country saying 'lets play football with 10 players on each team' and another team saying 'they will do so with nine'".

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The local franchise participating in the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament has dropped T&T from its name and will now be known only as the Red Steel. The decision was met with great surprise by team captain Dwayne Bravo and other players, with Bravo expressing his dissatisfaction with the change during a press conference after the opening match of the tournament in Grenada.

 

“When I went out to do the toss against the Barbados Tridents, I was told that we cannot use T&T before the Red Steel name again. I was shocked and I thought it was a joke but I was told so officially.” CPL T20 official Gillian Power sent out the following message after the announcement was made by Bravo. “Yes we can confirm that the CPL changed the name of the Red Steel based on a request from the Minister of Sport.”

 

The request came from Sport Minister Anil Roberts. Bravo said: “When the players found out, they were really upset and they could not understand the move behind this. I am personally going to continue to use T&T Red Steel and if I get into trouble for that, I will deal with it then.”

 

Yesterday afternoon, the Sport Minister released a statement explaining the reason for the change. In it, he said the name T&T was reserved for citizens and nationals of the country, adding that the T&T brand was for the exclusive use of national governing bodies that are recognised by the Government and citizens as the representatives in a particular sport. He said these bodies were funded by the Ministry of Sport and the Sport Company of T&T and chose athletes based on the criteria that they are citizens of T&T.

 

 

As such, he added, the T&T brand could only be used by national teams chosen by the T&T Cricket Board. The release continued by stating that since the CPL is a private for-profit organisation that builds team franchises consisting of players from around the world, it could not use T&T's name in order to “distinguish their Red Steel franchise.”

 

“Nowhere in the world are sport franchises given country names. The IPL, the NBA, the EPL, the NFL and all other franchises carry the name of a city or region, eg. Mumbai Indians, Boston Celtics, Manchester United, New Orleans Saints. If this were not so, we could possibly see James Rodriguez or Cristiano Ronaldo or Andrea Pirlo or Yaya Toure suiting up for Argentina in tomorrow's (yesterday's) World Cup finals. So the position is clear, and will continue to be clear for centuries to come, that the brand T&T is owned by a sovereign nation and can only be attached to teams that are 100 per cent comprised and representative of citizens of the Republic of T&T.”

 

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KINGSTON, Jamaica—The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has ordered that the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) pay all costs involved in the Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson hearing following a reduction in the athletes’ bans to six months.

“CAS has not just reduced the sentences of both athletes but it also awarded all costs associated with arbitration for the CAS hearing as well as additional monies in legal fees to be paid by JADCO. It is believed to be one of the largest awards in the history of CAS,” a release Monday from Powell’s publicist Tara Playfair-Scott said.

A JADCO Disciplinary Panel banned both athletes for 18 months in January this year after they tested positive for the prohibited substance Oxilofrine in June 2013.

Simpson and Powell challenged the decision in an appeal to CAS, arguing that the penalty handed down exceeded the nature of the offence.

CAS, an international appeals body, agreed with the case put forward by the lawyers representing the athletes, and chopped the sanction to six months commencing June 21, 2013.

Playfair-Scott tweeted Monday that justice has been served after a lengthy affair with JADCO.

She tweeted: “was a long road but in the end this was how it was supposed to be. ALL costs + extra for legal fees awarded. A statement was made! #justice”.

Attorney for both athletes Paul Greene said: “The nearly historic cost that JADCO will be required to pay is a sign from the CAS that JADCO’s failures in handling their cases are unacceptable.”

Since June 2014, the elite sprinters were given a temporary stay of execution and were free to compete after their respective applications to CAS.

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Sportswear giant Adidas has signed a £750m deal to make Manchester United's kit for 10 years from next season.

It comes after US rival Nike decided to end its association at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Nike has been paying United £23.5m a year, and the new deal is worth a world record-breaking £75m ($128m) a season to the Old Trafford club.

Champions League winner Real Madrid's £31m-a-year deal with Adidas was previously the biggest club deal.

Adidas will provide training and playing kit to all the club's teams and will have the exclusive right to distribute dual-branded merchandising products worldwide.

The huge sum involved is only £40m less than the Glazer family paid for the club in 2005.
Sales boost

Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer said the deal would help the firm "to further strengthen our position in key markets around the world".

He added: "We expect total sales to reach £1.5bn during the duration of our partnership."

Adidas has not given any details about the design of the new strip but said they may look to the Manchester United kits of the 1980s and early 1990s for inspiration.

It will be the first time Adidas has made the Premier League's team's strip in 23 years, since the 1991-92 season.

The announcement comes a day after the German firm, a Fifa World Cup sponsor, provided the kit for 2014 finalists Germany and Argentina.

In trading on the German stock exchange on Monday, the firm's shares closed up by 2.73%.

Adidas also supplies Bayern Munich, Chelsea, AC Milan and Flamengo. From the 2015-16 season, they will also provide kit for Juventus.

'Robust'

Sean Hamil, director of the Sport Business Centre at London's Birkbeck College, said that the Glazers had put in place "an exceptional marketing and sponsorship team", although they had taken flak for the way they had put debt onto the club's books and for increasing season ticket prices.

He said: "They have been able to secure this landmark deal in the sector, against the background of no Champions League football next season. This is clearly a major vote of confidence in the Manchester United brand.

"Also, it shows that leading English clubs are sufficiently robust in terms of global appeal that sponsors are making value decisions based on the long term and not just around one season."
'Global position'

Dr Leah Donlan, a marketing expert at Manchester Business School, said the deal will give Adidas "a significant competitive advantage" over Nike.

She added that Adidas could "strengthen its global brand position" by adding Manchester United to its portfolio of teams.

Nike had been given a period of exclusivity to negotiate an extension with United and also retained the right to match any other offer.

But the company decided against exercising either option, claiming the terms "did not represent good value for Nike's shareholders".

Manchester United suffered their worst Premier League finish to date last season after manager Sir Alex Ferguson left following 26 years in the job.

Manchester United in numbers

The Glazer family bought the club for £790m in 2005


Club's commercial operations grew by 30% to £34.9m in 2012-13 - Deloitte

The club still owes about £400m in loans used to finance the takeover


£10m-a-year interest payments due on the club's debt

Turnover for the 2013-14 financial year is expected to top £418m

Juan Mata is the club record signing - bought for £37.1m

Net profit of £146m for 2012-13

Wayne Rooney's new four-year deal worth a reported £300,000 a week

Chevrolet will pay £53m a year to have its name on United's shirts


Total wage bill estimate for the financial year 2012-13 was £182m- Deloitte

Aon paid £120m to sponsor the club's training ground and kit


No Champions League football will cost £50m- 10% of annual revenue - Deloitte

His successor, David Moyes, lasted just 10 months as the club failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 19 years.

United will now be managed by Louis van Gaal, whose commitments with the Netherlands are over following the climax of the World Cup.

The club has already unveiled the last MUFC kit bearing the Nike logo.

It features Chevrolet as shirt sponsor for the first time.

The US motor giant is said to be paying £53m a year to have its name splashed on the red shirt fronts.

Since the Glazer family took over at Manchester United, they have segmented many of their sponsorship deals, seeking specific regional partnership deals in many of their sponsorship sectors.

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Five-time Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe has revealed he is gay in an interview on Australian television.

The 31-year-old told British journalist Sir Michael Parkinson on Channel 10: "I've thought about this for a long time. I'm not straight."

Thorpe had previously denied he was gay and wrote in his 2012 autobiography 'This Is Me' that he was heterosexual.

Australia's most decorated swimmer has suffered from depression and was in rehab earlier in the year.

In an emotional interview, Thorpe said he had only become comfortable in the last fortnight about talking openly to close friends about his sexuality.

"I've wanted to [come out] for some time but I couldn't, I didn't feel as though I could," he said.

"What happened was I felt the lie had become so big that I didn't want people to question my integrity."

Thorpe's decision to come out was supported by fellow Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice who tweeted:  "Thorpie is, and always will be, a superstar in my eyes."

He has spoken in the past of "crippling depression", having suicidal thoughts, and drinking too much.

In February, he was found in a state of confusion by police near his parents' house in Sydney.

Ian Thorpe factfile

Born: 13 October 1982

Young star: Aged 16, won 400m freestyle at 1998 World Championships to become youngest ever individual male world champion

Titles: Winner of nine Olympic medals, including five golds, 10 Commonwealth Games titles and 13 World titles

Thorpe had taken anti-depressants and medication for a shoulder injury - sustained in a fall at home - but was not under the influence of alcohol.

He made his Olympic Games debut in Sydney in 2000, winning three golds there and another two in Athens, but retired in 2006, before making an unsuccessful comeback bid for the London 2012 Olympics.

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Hampden gets a taste of athletics; Scotland uniform causes a stir; royal baton relay reaches Argyll and Bute; and ticket news

HELLO HAMPDEN

The Glasgow Diamond League meeting gives the first glimpse of athletics inside Hampden Park after a £14m refit that included raising the playing surface by 1.9 metres and removing eight rows of seating. It leaves capacity for the Games at 44,000 – some way short of the stadium record crowd of 149,415 for a football international between Scotland and England in 1937. Hampden makes its Games debut when the athletics begins on Sunday 27 July as the opening ceremony on Wednesday 23 July actually takes place over at Celtic Park, featuring a 100m screen in front of the South Stand (the side where the dugouts are during Celtic games) described as the “largest screen of its kind ever seen in Europe”. And among the other venues Ibrox also gets a look-in, of course – Rugby Sevens takes place there over the weekend of 26-27 July.

FASHION WATCH

The Games, with a battle on its hands to draw the attention of the sporting world until the World Cup finishes, at least managed to go viral last week – though not for the best reasons. The launch of the Scotland team uniform caused a stir on Twitter and the inevitable change.org petition against “this travesty of a design, an embarrassment to our athletes and to Scotland”. Scottish Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison backed them, saying they were “bold” and “colourful”.

ROYAL RELAY LATEST

The Queen’s Baton Relay, the equivalent of London’s Olympic torch journey, began at Buckingham Palace nine months ago when the baton, bearing an upbeat message from the Queen, left for Glasgow. On Sunday it arrives in Argyll and Bute.

BEING THERE

While 1.1m tickets have been sold, there are still seats for the first two days from £15. Also available: a selection of £20 restricted view seats for the opening ceremony – which features 3,000 performers plus Nicole Scherzinger, Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Alex Ferguson – plus a batch of tickets for early rounds of the badminton and weightlifting, the latter a real crowd-pleaser at London 2012. More: glasgow2014.com/tickets

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UNITED STATES of America (USA) South edged Trinidad and Tobago 19-17 on Saturday on the opening day of the North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Men’s Under-19 tournament.

At the Fatima College Grounds in Mucurapo, Trinidad and Tobago got three tries, from Joel Baird, Jonathan Blackburn and Leroy Wilson respectively, while Leon Pantor scored a conversion.

Assistant coach Brendan O’Farrell remarked yesterday, “both teams played very well. Trinidad and Tobago played a bit more expansive.”

He continued, “It could have gone either way. It was a very good match, under good conditions.

“I’m a little disappointed for our boys. We’ll have to rely on Mexico beating the USA on Tuesday and then we beating Mexico on Thursday.”

In the earlier game of Saturday’s double-header, Barbados strolled to a comfortable 14-0 triumph over Jamaica.

Action resumes today at the Fatima Grounds with Bermuda opposing a Trinidad and Tobago Club Select at 2 pm while the Turks and Caicos Islands will be facing British Virgin Islands at 4 pm.

Tomorrow the Cayman Islands tackle Barbados and Mexico face USA South. On Wednesday, Turks and Caicos meet a TT Club Select while Bermuda battle the British Virgin Islands as well. TT are back in action on Thursday against Mexico while the Cayman Islands and Jamaica meet in the day’s other fixture.

The tournament features 10 teams in two groups - the NACRA Cup and the NACRA Trophy.

The NACRA Cup comprises of the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Barbados (Pool A), Trinidad and Tobago, USA South and Mexico (Pool B).

And, in the NACRA Trophy, the entrants are Bermuda, St Vincent/Grenadines (Pool A), British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands (Pool B).

Matches will take place every day until the finals on July 19.

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Singing legend Rod Stewart is set to perform at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony as organisers reveal more star-studded names that have been added to the line-up for the event in Celtic Park.

Stewart was born in London but has close ties to Scotland through his Scottish father and is a regular at Celtic Park to watch his beloved Glasgow Celtic Football Club.

The 69-year-old Grammy and Brit Award winner has been inducted into the United States Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two occasions - as a solo artist and as a member of the band the Faces.

Joining the rocker on July 23 will be Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who shot to fame in the ITV talent show Britain's Got Talent in 2009 and has gone on to sell millions of albums worldwide, and whose performances have been watched more than 300 million times on YouTube.

Other Scottish acts confirmed to appear at the Opening Ceremony are Classical Brit Award winner and violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti, Glasgow singer/songwriter Amy MacDonald and Julie Fowlis, who found global recognition through the songs she performed in the Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning film Brave.

"We have always said that the Opening Ceremony will present Glasgow and Scotland to a global audience," said Glasgow 2014 chief executive, David Grevemberg.

"But when we got to welcome an iconic talent like Rod Stewart it takes the excitement and anticipation for the Opening Ceremony to a whole new level.

"We will also be welcoming internationally renowned and acclaimed artists Susan Boyle, Nicola Benedetti, Amy MacDonald and Julie Fowlis on the night.

"They will join the thousands of people who are part of our cast  for a unique celebration of the host city and nation which will not only welcome the athletes to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, but which will also be seen and enjoyed across the world."

Around 2,000 volunteers are currently taking part in rehearsals as part of the Ceremonies cast for the Opening Ceremony.

Last month, organisers announced a UNICEF campaign will be featured on the night showing special films recorded by the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Alex Ferguson and Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulker, aimed at raising funds for projects being run across Commonwealth countries.

The Opening Ceremony will also feature a near 100 metre wide and 11m high LED screen erected in front of the South Stand at Celtic Park to broadcast images on the night.

Preparations and rehearsals are also taking place for the Closing Ceremony of the Games due to take place at Hampden Park on August 3.

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