jul.31.2008

A Caribbean title while deserving of recognition is not the same as winning an Olympic, World or Continental title.

In most sporting disciplines, T&T are dominant players in the Caribbean region; we however struggle to get to the next level. Why? What is holding back world class success?

Olympic and elite level sport has come a long way in recent times. Medals are won by as little as thousandths of a second or fractions of a centimetre by athletes who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of success.

It typically takes around eight years to reach their peak once their talent has been identified and nurtured and involves coaches to physiotherapists, massage therapists and doctors. Nothing can be left to chance, from the kit, the athletes use to the food they eat and the tactics their coaches employ, every aspect is athlete-centred.

In 1997, Douglas Camacho was elected president of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC), during his tenure he had the vision to fashion a change within the National Olympic Committee (NOC). Larry Romany, elected president in 2005, has sought to build and expand on the vision of transforming our Olympic and Commonwealth sports into significant players on the world stage.

The TTOC has been in the vanguard of contemporary efforts to foster and facilitate change. The aim is revolutionary: to harness business and sport. It is revolutionary in that it challenges conventional thinking as it relates to sport and physical education. The pathway is intended to be visible, transparent, accountable and accessible from the grassroots to the Olympic podium.

But as we head to Beijing, the truth be told is that the local Olympic committee has fallen short of its 2008 Olympic Games team selection objectives.

Winning medals on the international sporting stage is incredibly tough and the margins between success and failure become smaller every year. To ensure that T&T?s most talented athletes have every chance of realising their potential, the TTOC has tried to design world class performance programmes at three distinct levels:

Elite - supporting athletes with realistic medal winning capabilities;

Development ? comprising of athletes whose performances have suggested that they have realistic medal winning capabilities for 2012 and beyond and team sports that are demonstrating the ability to be competitive by 2012;

Talent - designed to support the identification of athletes who have the potential to progress through the World Class pathway.

Having run programmes since 1997 and with the benefit of lessons learned over the Sydney and Athens Olympiads, the TTOC?S Beijing Summer Olympic target was to qualify 65 athletes in eight disciplines, including at least one team sport and improve T&T?s medal haul.

T&T?s Beijing Olympic team is comprised of 30 athletes in four events - 50 percent below target. It is a historical fact that the 2008 team is the largest ever. But the reality remains that the overall TTOC target was not met including the failure to qualify any team sport.

I am not one of those who feel a sense of satisfaction as I genuinely believe in my heart and soul that we are better than where we are at.

There are many excuses but I prefer to face the reality and address the issues some of which acted as constraints and obstacles. Mediocrity is not an Olympic ideal or value. Hope was not part of the strategic plan.

Amongst the 30 athletes wearing red, black and white in Beijing, there are some with genuine world class talent and potential and once they get to the final of their respective events anything is possible.

They are living their Olympic dream and at this juncture the institutional, organisational and systemic issues are not their concern. So don?t take the matters that I have raised out of context. Having qualified, their job is to focus on doing their best and giving it their all.

The sport leaders and administrators, however, are charged with a greater responsibility.

Euphoria or dismay, post Beijing, the TTOC must facilitate frank dialogue on sport and long term athlete development. There is little time for ?ole talk? and ?mamaguy?, London 2012 is only four years away.

Then again, the same thing was said four years ago.