Source: www.guardian.co.tt
TTOC winners also Sportsman, Sportswoman of the Year
By Kern De Freitas
"Oh man! It's overwhelming. I feel great."
Top Trinidad and Tobago shooter Roger Daniel could hardly put his feelings into words as he stood next to shot putter Cleopatra Borel-Brown, moments after the duo were named First Citizens Sports Foundation (FCSF) 2010 Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year.
The pair, who were also the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) picks for top male and female athletes, respectively, were presented with their trophies at the Foundation's 49th annual awards ceremony, which was televised live on Wednesday night from the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain.
Daniel explained that he had been trying to keep his nerve as the country waited to see who had gotten the Foundation's nod.
"Many people called and say 'we think you're going to be the one'," Daniel revealed after the function, "but you try not to put too much expectations and wait until the moment has come."
Borel-Brown was in a state of "shock" and shared some of the praise with the other athletes who took the stage.
Said Borel-Brown: "My immediate reaction was really shock, because looking at the other nominees, they were all so good. I really didn't feel as confident as I had in the past, but I really want to say 'good job' to all the other nominees, because I felt this year we had a really good field."
Both athletes had strong seasons that culminated in medals at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, with Daniel securing silver in the 25-metre air pistol event, after teaming up with Rhodney Allen for 50m pistol pairs bronze. Borel-Brown also lifted shot put silver.
The other eight athletes named among the top ten nominees on the night included boxer Tariq Abdul Haqq—who also grabbed Commonwealth silver in the men's 91 kilogramme class; 400-metre hurdler Jehue Gordon; swimmer George Bovell III; golfer Monifa Sealy; and West Indies woman cricketer Anisa Mohammed.
Volleyballer Kelly Ann Billingy, West Indies batsman Adrian Barath and cyclist Njisane Phillip were also among the top ten candidates.
There was little surprise for the audience when swimmers Christian Homer and Cherelle Thompson—also TTOC youth winners—were named Youth Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year in that order.
Homer was celebrated for his Youth Olympic Games gold in the 50-metre back stroke event, while Thompson had a great year and reached the 50-metre freestyle final at the CAC Games.
The Lystra Lewis Top Team Award went to the T&T women's hockey team, while the National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA) shared the Jeffrey Stollmeyer Award for top administrators with the T&T Netball Association.
Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Anil Roberts addressed the nominees with some stirring words, reminding them that sport is about much more than awards.
"We are not involved in sport for the accolades," Roberts told the athletes. "These come by the way. If the day comes when you only think about the awards, you will not be able to sacrifice and be disciplined and to put your body through the torture necessary to become the best in the world."
He reflected on the 2004 awards hosted by the then WITCO Sports Foundation, when Brian Lara broke the world record for highest individual Test innings and was still edged out by Bovell III, who clinched a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics.
"This is the level of competition we expect to see," Roberts stressed. "This is the level of competition for this award and this is where we must go."
The Minister urged the athletes to respect all sports, no matter the discipline, recalling chessist Steve Tavarez's shocking Sportsman of the Year win in 1983.
He also declared that construction of the national tennis centre, cycling velodrome and the national aquatic centre will begin later this year.
"We will continue to support (T&T's athletes) as the Government of Trinidad and Tobago," stated Roberts, "so that we will not only take credit when they do it on their own, but we will partner with them throughout."
During his speech, FCSF chairman Dr Keith Clifford paid tribute to his predecessor, Hayden Newallo, for "his years of astute and dedicated leadership" of the Sports Foundation.
He stressed on areas where the FCSF aims to improve, including sustainability and a development thrust, and announced intentions to introduce "monitoring and evaluation and systems" to ensure this, while adhering to their long-held values.
Clifford also said that the Foundation will later this year add to the 181 names currently in Trinidad and Tobago's sports Hall of Fame.