Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis has called for an urgent review of The Ministry of Sport's Elite Athlete Assistance Programme (EAAP) policy guidelines. Lewis believes if the review isn't conducted Trinidad and Tobago's Rio 2016 Olympic medal prospects will be compromised.
According to the national Olympic chief the issue of national teams and support for team sport athletes seeking to qualify for Rio 2016 Olympic Games is another area that requires discussion.
Recently the TTOC had seven applications for Elite Athlete Assistance rejected by the Ministry of Sport on the basis that the applications don't meet the EAAP policy guidelines.
Some of the athletes are in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 men and women relay pool.
'We can't adopt the attitude that the athlete don't meet the guidelines and shut the door in our athletes' faces. Athletes who are part of the relay pool and those with the potential to win medals are placed at a disadvantaged. The policy guidelines should be reviewed. " said Lewis.
George bags 2 titles at Judo Championships
National judo competitor Christopher George won two senior male titles when Judo T&T (JudoTT) held its annual National Judo Championship at the Chinese Association in St Ann’s, on Saturday.
All the country’s top judokas converged in St Ann’s to compete and test their skills at the country’s most exciting and important event on the local judo circuit.
George, 30, of Queen’s Park Judo Club won the senior male over 90kg category and the open category, steamrolling the opposition. George is set to represent T&T at the Central American and Caribbean Games next month.
Also claiming titles on the day were Kai Sammy, Suraya Ali, Giovanni Lopez, Luke Walker, Gabriella Wood, Adrian Aquan and Jelanie Boyce.
RESULTS
Senior Male Over 90 Kg
1 Christopher George – Queens Park Judo Club
2 Kendell Padarath – Queens Park Judo Club
3 Kerwyn Carrabon – Southern Warrors Mixed Martial Arts
Senior Open Male
1 Christopher George – Queens Park Judo Club
2 Jelanie Boyce – Culb Judo Inc
3 Kendell Padarath – Queen’s Park Judo Club
3 Thomas Teufel – Queen’s Park Judo Club
Infantile 1
1 Kai Sammy – Queen’s Park Judo Club
2 Aidan Greaves – Maria Regina
3 Nicholas Siu Butt – Dunross Prep
4 Nicholas Lai – Maria Regina
Infantile 2
1 Suraya Ali – Queen’s Park Judo Club
2 Jeillon Jackman – Queen’s Park Judo Club
Intermediate 1 Male
1 Giovanni Lopez – Holistic Primary
2 Joshua Ahwai – Queen’s Park Judo Club
3 Adam Siu Butt – Dunross Prep
4 John Nahous – Dunross Prep
Juvenile Male
1 Luke Walker – Queen’s Park Judo Club
2 Brandon Lakhan – Culb Judo Inc
3 Christian Victor – Arima Judo Club
4 Aswad Harvey – Queen’s Royal College
Senior Female Open
1 Gabriella Wood – St Joseph’s Convent
2 Christie Modeste – Queen’s Park Judo Club
Senior Male Up To 73 Kg
1 Adrian Aquan – Queen’s Park Judo Club
2 Jason Sieunarine – Queen’s Park Judo Club
3 Omar Smith – Rough House
Senior Male Up To 90 Kg
1 Jelanie Boyce – Culb Judo Inc
2 Devon Brito – Queen’s Park Judo Club
3 Thomas Teufel – Queen’s Park Judo Club
3 Robert De Gannes – Queen’s Park Judo Club
Judo Spirit Award
Joshua Ahwai
Queen’s Park Judo Club
Ippon Trophy
Luke Walker
Queen’s Park Judo Club
IOC statement on the death of South African Olympian Mbulaeni Mulaudzi
The IOC was saddened to hear the news that South African Olympian and former world 800-metre champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi has died at the age of just 34.
"Our sympathies go to his family and friends, and to the whole sports family of the rainbow nation of South Africa. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was a true Olympian and a fine athlete. A World Champion, he always showed huge commitment to his craft," said the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach. "He proudly represented his new nation around the world, and at home his successes inspired a new generation of young people to take up sport. He will be missed by the Olympic family."
Mulaudzi, who was killed in a car crash on his way to a Johannesburg athletics meeting, was South Africa's flag bearer at the opening ceremony at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he won silver.
Platini hails "historic" step for European sports policy
Michel Platini, President of UEFA, the European football body, has hailed the so-called "Cooperation Arrangement" signed in Brussels with the European Commission, the European Union (EU)'s executive arm, last week as a "historic step forward for European sports policy".
The French footballer turned administrator used a keynote speech to EU Sports Ministers in Rome to pledge continued collaboration with the EU on matters of mutual interest, while asking for reciprocal support to ensure that sport would be based on values of "honesty, sustainability and solidarity" in future.
"I am counting on your active support because we can achieve more together than alone and because progress for one means progress for everyone," he told Ministers.
In the course of a scathing attack on the practice of third-party ownership (TPO) of the economic rights of footballers, Platini called for a "tailor-made legal framework" and said there was "no place" for TPO of players in European sport.
"If we fail to deal with this properly it will not just be a defeat for UEFA, nor even just for the sports movement, but for all Europe," he argued.
On his own body's Financial Fair Play (FFP) initiative, Platini claimed that "previously unthinkable" reforms had been adopted and implemented.
"Aggregate losses among European clubs, which had reached €1.7 billion (£1.3 billion/$2.2 billion) in 2011, fell to €800 million ($1billion/£631 million) in 2013, a drop of more than 50 per cent in less than two years," he said.
"Thanks to Financial Fair Play, we are therefore heading in the right direction."
Platini's comments on TPO come less than a month after Sepp Blatter, his counterpart at FIFA, announced that the world governing body had decided to ban TPO after a transitional period.
Other leading football figures have, however, either expressed opposition to an outright ban or underlined the difficulty of stopping it.
TTFA elections postponed ...local football’s ruling body reviewing its constitution
SCHEDULED Trinidad and Tobago Football Asscociation (TTFA) elections has been postponed to June 2015, while a Constitutional Reform Panel begins work on the new TTFA Constitution that will be presented to the TTFA Executive Committee, members, and stakeholders for national review and ratification. The ratification process and several other areas of concern cited by football’s governing body FIFA, resulted in the delay in TTFA elections. However, regional zone elections will take place as originally scheduled.
CONCACAF representatives Reudi Broennimann, Primo Corvaro and Marco Leal, will join TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee in selecting local representatives to serve on the Constitutional Reform Panel. Tim Kee had written CONCACAF president and FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb in April 2014, when Tim Kee recommended a TTFA constitutional overhaul centred on the principle of “One Club, One Vote” for the national body.
The TTFA also sent correspondences to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke and legal affairs director Marcos Villiger, recommending the same and proposed the setting up of Constitutional Reform Panel consisting of two TTFA members and four local persons of impeccable credentials and character.
“As the newly-elected president I have been charged with the awesome and serious task of bringing true reform to our organisation and address a multitude of buses committed by the previous regime,” Tim Kee said in his letter. Tim Kee cited that efforts by some Executive Members to “undermine constitutional reform”.
He noted that the body had held no agm with its stakeholder members for many years, and under its former name (TTFF) is registered as a sole proprietorship owned by its former president Oliver Camps. He cited that recent audit shows the local football body in more serious financial peril than first thought.
“As it is currently organised, an inornate amount of authority is centred on the Executive Committee, from personal decisions, including selection of the national team coach, to daily operational duties, to carrying out the policies of it implements, the TTFF Executive Committee encompasses legislative, executive and judicial function in its 12-member body,” Tim Kee added in his letter.
“The current TTFF constitution created by the past regime to consolidate power in the hands of a few and is anathema to true democracy.” Tim Kee further added that the purpose of the Reform Commission was to address structural deficiencies, and its finding will be shred with the shared with the general TTFF membership.
Responsing to Tim Kee, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said FIFA is aware of the dire financial difficulties faced by the TTFA, and urged that the organisation launch a diligent statutory reform process which will allow it to function efficiently and prevent crisis by the one currently faced.
T&T ready to turn tables on Costa Rica
T&T’s Soca Princesses will be looking to make it three wins in a row when they meet Costa Rica in the semi-finals of the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Friday. “Coming into this tournament we knew all we needed was two wins to get out the group. Those two wins have now seen us into the semi finals where we hope to make it three wins in a row,” said captain Maylee Attin-Johnson following T&T’s 2-1 victory over Guatemala on Monday night which sealed this country’s place in the semi-finals. The squad was scheduled to arrive in Chester around 3 pm yesterday.
T&T also defeated Haiti but lost to the United States. “We knew US was going to be challenging. But we always believed we were a class above Haiti and Guatemala,” she continued. About her penalty strike which turned out to be the winner after Guatemala pulled a goal back later on, Attin-Johnson added: “It definitely boosted my confidence. I haven't been playing my usual game but I think this game I came into my own on the offensive side of things which is a plus for the team.”
Admitting that the build up to the tournament had its challenges for the T&T team, Attin-Johnson credited the TTFA for being able to negotiate to have Randy Waldrum take over the reigns of the team prior to the Caribbean Finals which followed a training camp in Houston earlier this year. He is assisted by his son Ben and goalkeeper coach Lincoln Phillips. “I definitely want to give credit to the Association (TTFA) for bringing in Randy. It's a fantastic feeling seeing that all the hardwork is finally coming to fruition. We have a world class coaching staff that prepares us well. Once we execute the game plan, it's going to be difficult to beat us and we hope that on Friday we go out there and do so,” she said.
Attin-Johnson said the team is eager to turn the tables on Costa Rica after they defeated the T&T Under 20 Women in their final World Cup qualifying match in January. “We haven't played to our full potential thus far and we haven't fielded our full team throughout this tournament due to injuries, so we hope that the three days rest will do well for the injured ones. We are very anxious for this game and we want to avenge the Under 20 loss to them.” If T&T loses on Friday, they will have a further chance for a World Cup spot at the third place match on Sunday and a possible home and away playoff with Ecuador looms in November.