The top Trinidad and Tobago cyclists will continue a busy year as they prepare for the 2015 Pan American Games, which will be hosted in Toronto, Canada. A small six-member team has qualified for the big meet, and will be participating in both the sprint and endurance events during the Games.

The members of the team are all abroad currently, preparing for their competition which starts next Thursday, July 16. The team includes London Olympian Njisane Phillip, Quincy Alexander, Justin Roberts, Jude Codrington as the sprinters, while Varun Maharajh is the sole endurance rider and Emile Abraham will participate in the road race.

Rigtech Sonics clubmates Phillip and Maharajh are both based in Pennslyvania, USA at the moment, while Alexander, Codrington and Roberts are in Colorado. Emile Abraham is in Atlanta.

The T&T cycling contingent will be competing in the team sprint event via Alexander, Codrington and Roberts. Phillip will compete only in the individual events which will include the match sprint and keirin. His local rival Alexander will also be in the sprint. Elite class endurance rider Maharahj will contest the men's omnium.

T&T's cyclists qualified for the Pan American Games based on the results from the last two Pan American Cycling Championships held in 2013 and 2014, as well as results from the CAC Games last year. This year's team will be headed by Des Dickie, team coach, while David Francis will serve as the team manager. Christopher Pitt is the team's mechanic.

The Games as a whole will commence tomorrow and will conclude on July 26. The cycling competition runs from July 16-19.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Cheer Federation (TTCF) held its third annual "Cheer Xplosion" competition at the Hasely Crawford Stadium last Sunday. Twelve teams participated at the competition, which comprised of cheer and dance routines.

The TTCF is the recognised governing body of the sport in T&T, and includes over 200 active athletes in the sport. These athletes range from various univeristies, secondary schools, primary schools and clubs locally.

Among the competing teams Sunday, included; Treasure House Cheer Club Limited, Woodbrook Secondary, Holy Name Convent, Bishop Anstey and Trinity College East, Atwell's Primary School as well as the UWI Cheer Team among others.

Sunday's Results:

Dance Hip Hop Juniors: 1. Sacred Heart Girls 2. Teamwork Dream Team

Dance Hip Hop Seniors: 1. Holy Faith Convent 2. Holy Name Convent

Stunt Level Two: 1. Woodbrook Secondary School 2. Treasure House and Holy Faith Convent - Elite (tie) 4. Holy Faith Convent - Royals, 5. Holy Faith Convent - Warriors

Stunt Level Three: 1. Phoenix All Stars, 2. Holy Name Convent

Level One Youth Mini: 1. Atwell's Primary School - Blue Eagles 2. Sacred Heart Girls

Level One Youth Prep: 1. Sacred Heart Girls 2. Southern Scarlets

Level One Youth Open: 1. Teamwork Dream Team 2. Treasure House 3. Chaguanas North Secondary

Level Two Team Cheer: 1. Holy Faith Convent - Infinity 2. Belmont Secondary

Level Three Team Cheer: 1. St Joseph's Convent

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AARON WILSON reached the singles quarterfinals and under-21 semifinals and Trinidad and Tobago compatriot Catherine Spicer stunned a former champion on the penultimate day of the Caribbean Table Tennis Championships yesterday in Martinique.

After winning all three matches to top his round-robin group, Wilson edged Carlos Hernandez of Cuba 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4 to reach the last eight in the open draw.

His three compatriots were beaten in the “round of 16.”

Curtis Humphreys, the country’s top-ranked player, surprisingly took second-seeded Emil Santos of the Dominican Republic to five game before he eventually went down 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4.

Yuvraaj Dookram was the only member of the quartet who did not get a bye in the first round. And after prevailing in three straight games, the national champ was beaten 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11 by Cuban Livan Martinez, the top seed in the under-21 category.

National under-18 champ Arun Roopnarine went down 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 against David Vila of Dominican Republic and was also sent packing in the under-21 quarters when No. 2 seed Hernandez prevailed 11-4, 11-9, 11-5.

Wilson, crowned Caribbean under-19 champ a couple months ago, crushed Andre Freeman of St Kitts 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 to reached the last four in the under-21 division.

Spicer registered by far the biggest victory of her career when she edged former open and under-21 champ Eva Brito in five games to top her group and quialify for the knockout phase.

Brito also moved into the last 16 and the top seed from Dominican Republic won her two matches to reach the under-21 final.

Spicer trounced a player from Dominica in three straight before she was beaten 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 by Yasiris Ortiz of Dominican Republic in the last eight.

Brittany Joseph also went out in the under-21 quarters as the national under-18 champ lost 11-5, 11-9,. 11-6 against Yuneisy Galvan of Cuba after a stright-set first-round triumph.

Linda Partap-Boodhan and 11-time national champ Aleena Edwards advanced to the last 16 in the open draw, along with compatriots Joseph and national under-21 champ Spicer.

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From this weekend, another slew of medals will be on offer for athletes and teams from the Pan American region. The question that comes to my mind is how large a share can the Trinidad and Tobago contingent reasonably be expected to win?

Some 115 competitors in 14 disciplines, inclusive of men’s and women’s football and hockey teams will, in principle at least, be aiming to mount the medal rostrum in Toronto, Canada. I have to stress “in principle” because the majority of that group will not get near the podium. Check the history.

Since these regional games began in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, T&T have come away with no more than seven medals at a time—in Winnipeg, Canada in 1967, Cali, Colombia 1971 and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 2003. And only eight times in the 16 editions of Pan Am have T&T won gold, and five of those golds have come from cyclists alone.

Bare figures do not tell the whole story of course. For instance, while competition might not be open to the whole world, in some disciplines like track and field, the quality will truly be world class given that the Caribbean and North America currently dominate the globe in a number of events, especially the sprints.

And with a population just past one million, it would be like waiting for donkeys to fly to expect that TRI could ever be above USA on a Pan Am medals table.

So what is reasonable to expect? Not 10 gold medals. That ambitious target of Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis is not supposed to bear fruit until 2024.

Ten medals then?

Well let’s see where those ten might possibly come from.

From track and field I can see four, possibly five.

Right now the 400 metres pool is deep. Machel Cedenio and Deon Lendore have been among the best quarter-milers in the world this year; and T&T can also call on people with big games medals like Berlin World Championships 2009 bronze medallist Renny Quow and London Olympics 2012 bronze man Lalonde Gordon, in addition to Jarrin Solomon who is also an Olympic bronze medallist in the 4x400 relay and World hurdles champ Jehue Gordon is a relay option.

T&T got 4x400 bronze at both last year’s Commonwealth and World Relay Games, so a top three placing in Toronto should be expected; and should things go smoothly, gold could be the colour.

On form, Cedenio, the teen sensation is a candidate for a top three 400 finish also, should he pace himself well through the rounds.

So that takes care of two medals.

I can also see the evergreen Cleopatra Borel collecting another top three placing in the shot put. The older she gets the steadier her arm seems to grow. The current Sportswoman of the Year collected gold at the CAC Games and silver at Commonwealth in 2014 and was also a silver medallist in the last Pan Am event in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011. Borel’s 2015 best so far of 19.26 metres is markedly better than the 18.46m that got her silver four years ago; so another medal of high shade is a definite possibility.

Three down, seven to go.

Here’s a fourth: I expect something solid from Keshorn Walcott also. His progress since his London 2012 gold strike has not been smooth. But his form this year seems to be on the improve. His re-setting of the national record in Birmingham last month was proof positive. The Pan Am competition, devoid of the high quality Europeans should be the ideal stage for the Olympic champ to gain needed confidence ahead of the World Championships by winning another significant title.

Jehue Gordon could also get a Worlds boost with a podium finish in the hurdles which should not be beyond him at this stage.

That’s five.

I’m less certain about a medal for Kelly Ann Baptiste in the women’s 100m given the strength in depth of the Jamaican and American camps. But her form since her return to competition this year certainly does not rule out a top three finish. A lot could depend on which athletes show up for these games.

In the swimming pool, it would be a surprise if George Bovell leaves Toronto empty-handed. We are talking about an elite level, world class performer who regularly holds his own with the world’s best in the 50 free. In 2003 he left Santo Domingo laden down with gold and silver. It was the year before his historic Athens 200 individual medley bronze. His history often does not neatly repeat itself so neatly. But even if the effort in Toronto is not followed up by Rio precious metal, big George will do his part at Pan Am.

I’ll be conservative and put him down for just one medal; that would make seven.

Roger Daniel took good aim in 2011 and got silver in the 10m air pistol competition. Possibly he could get another, or maybe bronze on the range.

That would be eight, but I’m stretching now. Don’t see hockey for football bagging anything but goals. With few exceptions, T&T’s record in team competition at this level is not good.

Cycling is another story. Sprinter Nijsane Phillip got bronze four years ago to keep up the sports rich Pan Am tradition. But the years since his promising fourth place finish at the 2012 Olympiad have not been as productive as he might have hoped. An individual medal is not a certainty this time, in either the sprint or the keirin. A medal in the team sprint looks even more remote for Quincy Alexander, Justin Roberts and Jude Codrington.

So I’m stuck at a shaky eight. But even that would be breaking new ground for T&T.

At least the next couple weeks will help president Lewis and his committee members to gauge how much more work needs to be put into their 10-gold plan.

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Trinidad and Tobago's main Pan American Games swimming prospect, George Bovell III made the Olympic A qualifing time despite finishing only fifth in the 50 metres freestyle at the French Open on Sunday.

Bovell, who will be competing at a Pan Am Games for the first time since his four-medal haul in Santo Domingo in 2003, clocked 22.26 seconds to finish behind Frenchman Florent Manaudou (21.61), Brazilian Cesar Cielo (22.15), Kristian Gkolomev (22.17), and Ukranian Andriy Govorov (22.21). On Saturday, in the 50m breatstroke final, Bovell set a new national record in clocking 27.57 seconds to finish third.

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