ago.10.2009
Mark Pouchet -www.trinidadexpress.com
After Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (T&TCB) president Deryck Murray publicly announced his organisation's reasons for boycotting the West Indies Cricket Board AGM which started yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (T&TOC) president Larry Romany spoke to the main reasons why sport in this country and the region had reached a crisis.
Murray and Romany were speakers at the TTCB's 53rd Annual Presentation Function at President's House in St Ann's Port of Spain Saturday evening.
Romany, the feature speaker with over 25 years' involvement in sport (coaching, management, sports marketing and administration) used an eating metaphor to describe the country's attitude to sport.
The former Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation (T&TCF) official described himself as an eating connoisseur who could easily differentiate between different types of foods and meals. But he admitted he was at a loss in the kitchen on how to cook those same meals. Then he said: "In this country in sport, we have a lot of eaters...but we have very few cooks." He said there were a lot of people who have opinions but who do not have the ability to propose and execute solutions to problems.
Romany told his audience there was a notion held by sports administrators that the country could manage its way into success without the use of any specific intellect.
He said that cricket and football started with the biggest resource pool of people but that cricket's and other sports' greatest challenge was determining how to keep that population interested.
The former cycling coach segued into West Indies cricket, stating that of 457 Tests the region had contested, the West Indies had won, lost and drawn 33 per cent each.
"Anyone who knows about numerology, knows that that statistic signals a time of transition, a time of testing and that if you fail that test you do it again," he said.
Romany advised there was a need to delve into what made sport good in the country and region 80 years ago.
"We are a society that never experiences the how or the why. We are only interested in losing and winning, we never go to the start. We are interested in the end. We have become a KFC crowd. We want instant coffee, instant food and we are not interested in what causes the journey to be successful," he emphasised.
After stating that sports needed the cognitive, affective and psycho motor skills to be perfected, Romany encouraged the liaison of the national sporting organisations with the primary and secondary schools to truly develop successful sporting teams and individuals.
He also said that the West Indies cricket brand was the biggest brand after the island of Jamaica on the world map, attracting 20 million from around the globe who actively follow the fortunes of the regional team.
Earlier the president of the Republic, George Maxwell Richards delivered the welcome address.