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Sport Minister says ‘women’s football won’

The curtain came down on the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) last Thursday at the St James Barracks. The fiery closing act from the Boom Champions Fuego concluded a month of extremely competitive women's football across the country.

The Minister of Sport Brent Sancho was overall very satisfied with his administration's first crack at a women's professional league. "Women's football has been neglected for a very long time," the minister told the Express. "When I became sports minister, I felt I had to make sure that women's sports would get the kind of attention it needs."

According to the minister, he wanted to reach out and create an outlet for the premier women's footballers in Trinidad and Tobago.

There had been concerns however after Sancho's announcement of the WPL in March. The league itself was met with a lot of scepticism, particularly amongst the media in the build up to the opening day of action. The minister acknowledged the setbacks, citing the fact that they were inevitable seeing that the league was the first of its kind in T&T.

Many critics of the league were waving the red flag at the plausibility of the league being a state-run entity, therefore wasting tax dollars in the process. Sancho ensured that there was no such issue once the league kicked off.

"The majority of this league was sponsored by corporate T&T," he said. "The various teams took franchises and it boded well with the concept of the league." The minister also indicated that the private-sector sponsorship has ensured the longevity of the league. "What it has done is it has made sure the league has a projection, and we have already had calls from future suitors that want to be involved with the league for next year," he added.

Sancho also indicated that the players involved with the franchise teams were duly compensated for their endeavours. "We went along with most leagues around the world in terms of payment. We tried to do a tier system, and I think the main thing is that we tried to make players comfortable," said the minister.

According to Sancho, coach Karla Aleman praised the league as well, saying that she has yet to see the effort made for the league done anywhere else. "On this side of the world, I don't think there's any other women's league except the US that gives the players that type of financial opportunity," emphasised Sancho.

The Women's League Football (WoLF) was also a talking point, however. Many felt that the league which served as the premier women's competition in T&T since 2009, would have been overshadowed by its brand new successor. Sancho reiterated that the intention was never to push WoLF out. "This league is not in competition with the WoLF at all," he said. "It is actually meant to enhance it... in terms of the development of the league (WPL) we hope that the WoLF would play an even bigger part."

Attention inevitably has shifted away from the WoLF however. The St Ann's Rangers team, who were the defending champions, had to pull out entirely as most of their first eleven were drafted into the WPL.

The league itself had matches featured in tandem with the WPL on two different match days. Currently it seems the competition has taken a bit of a lull before its knockout phase, as even coaches are unsure as to when their next match will be played. The minister was unable elaborate on any perceived organisational issues that the competition was having.

But Sancho is already looking ahead to the future despite the WPL's recent conclusion. "This has been cabinet approved for three years," he said. "The first year would always be a challenge, but we're very happy to see that it turned out as it did. From an awareness standpoint, women's sport was really the winner from this."

Sancho hopes to see a tier system being used as a part of women's football in T&T, with the idea being that a girl's career could start at the secondary level, then move up to the WoLF, with the WPL being the top level of women's football available in T&T.

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It was a day of mixed results last Thursday for the Trinidad and Tobago Special Olympics Team, currently in Los Angeles, California, USA, for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

In Equestrian English Equitation Competition, athlete Joanne Piango scored 53 points to bring home a gold medal while Aaron Ben Ali won a bronze medal with 48 points.

In athletics, T&T's athletes competed in the finals of the men's 200m and 400m. In the 200m, Donald Doyle clocked 25.63 seconds to attain an 8th Place Ribbon. Yetendra Singh one minute, 8.26 seconds, and Ishmael Perpignac in 1:10.29, both won 7th Place Ribbons in their 400m races, respectively.

There were mixed emotions for Rickey Quow in his 200m race. Rickey, who is the brother of T&T international Renee Quow, came to the Games with a pair of running shoes donated by his elder brother and a promise to follow in the illustrious footsteps of his sibling.

For a brief moment it appeared that he had fulfilled that dream when he ran 25.22 to just be beaten across the finish line by Gharawy Faris from Saudi Arabia in 25.19.

It was subsequently learnt though, that Rickey had been disqualified for a “Lane Infringement” or crossing lanes. Rickey will have to await the 100m and 4 x 100m relay.

Female Bocce player Beverly Adams finished with a 6th Place Ribbon while, Renee Massiah, Alicia Khan, will be in action in Singles Competition on Thursday.

Thursday's Events

Basketball: T&T v Japan

Volleyball: T&T will face Russia then Croatia

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Michelle-Lee Ahye was the best of the Trinidad and Tobago athletes on show at the American Track League meet, in Atlanta, United States, on Saturday night. Ahye picked up silver in the women’s 100 metres dash in 11.29 seconds. Jamaica’s 2007 world champion Veronica Campbell-Brown clocked 11.22 to claim gold. Bronze, meanwhile, went to another Jamaican, Simone Facey (11.30). The other T&T sprinter in the race, Kai Selvon got to the line in 11.70 seconds to finish seventh.

Ahye and Selvon are coming back from injury, and used Saturday’s meet to prove their fitness ahead of the August 22-30 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

Semoy Hackett secured bronze in the American Track League women’s 200m, the T&T athlete getting home in 23.37 seconds. Campbell-Brown was also the winner in the half-lap event, the two-time Olympic 200m champion stopping the clock at 22.82 for a comfortable cushion on second-placed Charonda Williams (23.25) of the United States.

Like Ahye and Selvon, Deon Lendore ran a comeback race at the American Track League meet. The T&T quartermiler was sixth in the men’s 400m, completing his lap of the track in 45.94 seconds. Nineteen-year-old Bahamian Steven Gardiner triumphed in 45.11, forcing decathlete Ashton Eaton to settle for the runner-up spot in 45.55. Eaton’s fellow-American, Kyle Clemons clocked 45.76 to finish third.

In a Twitter post, on Saturday night, Lendore said: “I’m thankful I’m not hurt no more but I’m disappointed I didn’t trust myself in this race. Brighter days ahead.”

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The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro begin 5th August 2016.

Wednesday 5th August will mark the 365 days to go countdown.

IOC President Thomas Bach will head  to Rio de Janeiro for the one year to go celebration.

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee will join with the rest of the global Olympic Movement in acknowledging the important one year to go mile post along the 2016 Olympic journey.

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) is set to receive at least TTD$750,000 (£76,000/$118,000/€107,000) into its #10golds24 athlete welfare and preparation fund from Toyota Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TTTL) over the next five years.

The deal, due to run until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was announced by TTOC President Brian Lewis and TTTL marketing manager Sean Shaffie at Olympic House as Toyota presented the first cheque of TTD$150,000 (£15,000/$24,000/€21,000) to the fund.

In March, Toyota joined The Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme in the newly-created mobility category, which will see the Japanese car manufacturer work with the organisers of future Olympic Games to provide safe, efficient and sustainable mobility solutions.

Rio 2016 counts another Japanese carmaker Nissan among its roster of official sponsors, meaning Toyota will not join the TOP Programme in 2017, but will have marketing rights in Japan with immediate effect.

Lewis claimed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) usually returns 90 per cent of the revenue generated back to sport development and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) across the globe.

"What would usually happen is even though you may have a worldwide partner, it doesn’t necessarily mean in the domestic market there is a sign-on market," he said.

"It usually happens in bigger NOCs, not usually in smaller NOCs, so Toyota T&T signing on to be a partner complements, so to speak, what is happening on worldwide basis but is a landmark deal for the TTOC and we would like to congratulate and welcome them on board."

Shaffie insisted TTTL was forward-thinking and therefore decided to offer Olympic support 12 months ahead of its parent company.

"We will be supporting our local Olympic contingent via the TTOC in readiness for the Olympic Games in 2020, not only because our parent company is an official Olympic sponsor, but it is part of our burning desire to coordinate and contribute to Olympic success for our very own athletes," he said.

Toyota has also agreed to provide internships for athletes in human resources, public relations, communications and sales.

Ongoing training and education will also be offered by Toyota, which will be the official vehicle and mobility partner of the TTOC.

"To be fair to our other corporate sponsors, there is an ongoing emphasis in all our negotiations now in terms of actioning our athlete-centred approach from a strategic perspective," said Lewis.

"That component is very important and I acknowledge Toyota for agreeing to that."

Lewis stressed the importance of making sure that Trinidad and Tobago's Federations improve their brand to attract commercial investment.

"It is also about the ability of the brand you are associating with to drive sales," he added.

"I am saying this because we hear a lot about why corporate T&T is not coming on board.

"Maybe it is because the brand needs to be looked at, maybe we are unable to convince corporate T&T that we can help create a win-win, not only help them meet their corporate social responsibility ambitions but to drive sales."

Trinidad and Tobago won a total of eight medals at the recent Pam American Games in Toronto, including three golds in athletics.

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(ATR) Toyota gave a check for $150,000 to the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) on Wednesday, the first check in a pledge of at least $750,000 worth of donations to be offered in the next five years.

The award will go into the TTOC’s #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund. The funds were supplied by the Trinidad and Tobago branch of Toyota.

On top of monetary awards, the local Toyota branch will also offer internships to qualifying athletes. Internships in the areas of human resources, public relations, communications and sales will be made available. The company will offer ongoing training and education to the athletes.

Toyota will also be the official vehicle for the TTOC throughout the five year contract and could assist the NOC with promotional and advertising initiatives.

Earlier this year in March, the Toyota parent company signed a record $835 million deal with the IOC to be a top sponsor of the organization through the 2024 Olympics. They will have exclusive worldwide rights with the IOC beginning in 2017.

President of TTOC Brian Lewis says it is a bit surprising for a small NOC such as Trinidad and Tobago to receive such a deal from a worldwide Olympic sponsor.

“It usually happens in bigger NOCs, not usually in smaller NOCs, so Toyota T&T signing on to be a partner complements, so to speak, what is happening on worldwide basis but is a landmark deal for the TTOC and we would like to congratulate and welcome them on board,” he said.

Marketing manager for the local Toyota branch Sean Shaffie says they are forward thinking when it comes to Olympic sponsorship.

“Starting today, we will be supporting our local Olympic contingent via the TTOC in readiness for the Olympic Games in 2020, not only because our parent company is an official Olympic sponsor but it is part of our burning desire to coordinate and contribute to Olympic success for our very own athletes,” Shaffie said.

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COACH OF the Women’s Premier League champion team Boom Champions Fuego, Richard Hood, praised the squad for their successful campaign in the inaugural 2015 event.

The Fuego team drew 2-2 with CNGC Rush on Thursday night at the Police Barracks in St James, but the result was enough to see them lift the title, by virtue of a superior goal difference over runners-up Chancellor Angels.

“It feels great,” said Hood, moments after the hard-fought contest. “I think it’s a tremendous achievement for this team. I don’t think we were, by any means, the most talented team in the tournament but the girls worked really hard throughout.

“They did everything that I asked them to do, at least they tried to do it and I think particularly given as we had to play (on Wednesday) night and come back 24 hours and play again, a great achievement,” he added.

As far as the season was concerned, Hood commented, “for the Fuego team, it was a great season, it was a great tournament. Our girls were not the most technical players but they worked hard. When you have a team that everybody is working hard for each other, you can’t ask for more than that.”

In early July, the WPL went on a three-week break due to the absence of a number of national players, who were involved on international duty at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada.

Asked how he kept the team focused during the lengthy inactive period, Hood responded, “we trained. We tried to improve their fitness levels because, at the beginning of the tournament, their level was very low, particularly the local girls. So we tried to improve their fitness levels and we tried to improve the tactical aspects of their game.”

He continued, “we did some things off the field to keep them away from the boredom. We played a couple of practice games and I think those were very useful.”

The WPL, the brainchild of Sports Minister Brent Sancho, was a hastily arranged competition, which Sancho mentioned was set up to keep the national players active, as well as provide top level competition for the local bunch.

Hood lauded the organisers for staging the games - free of charge - at a number of community grounds, including the Police Barracks, Sangre Grande Recreation Ground, Orange Grove Recreation Ground in Tacarigua, Maracas Recreation Ground in St Joseph, as well as the Palo Seco Recreation Ground.

“One of the things I like about this tournament is the idea of bringing it to a venue like this,” said the Fuego coach. “I think this was a great idea.”

However, if the WPL is to continue in 2016 and beyond, Hood admitted, “what I would love to see improved is the administrative part. The tournament could be well-planned in advance (and) teams would have an opportunity to prepare well.

“So a coach could always know that he is going into a game against whom ever, on a given day, and prepare accordingly,” he ended.

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach today announced that the IOC will launch a free, online education service aimed specifically at Olympians, other elite athletes and their coaches.

The new service, called “The IOC Athlete Learning Gateway”, will go live on 28 May during the 7th IOC Athlete Career Programme Forum in Lima, Peru.

For over a year, more than 4,000 athletes and coaches from around the world have been helping the IOC test and develop the pilot version of the experimental “MOOC” (massive open online courses). Leading academics, sports institutes, sports leaders and Olympians have contributed content for the programme, including courses and live online seminars.

President Bach said: “The long-term interests of athletes are a priority for the IOC. Through Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC has a unique opportunity to act as a bridge between busy athletes and the world’s best academics and learning tools. The IOC Athlete Learning Gateway will allow athletes to shape their futures while still pursuing their athletic careers.”

Recommendation 18 of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, calls for support to athletes to be strengthened. This includes the development of athlete career programmes with all the relevant stakeholders and increasing engagement with athletes on important topics related to their careers on and off the field of play.

“This is just one of many important new initiatives being driven by the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, which will strengthen and improve support for the athletes,” said IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair and Athens 2004 silver medallist Claudia Bokel. “This inspiring free electronic platform will give athletes, wherever they may be in the world and at whatever stage of their athletic career, access to educational material produced by leading academics and athletes. This is an important step forward for the welfare of athletes.”

IOC Entourage Commission Chair and Seoul 1988 gold medallist Sergey Bubka said: “The life of an athlete is extremely busy: they are constantly on the road; they spend a lot of time training. It is very difficult to find the time to study, to properly prepare for life after sport. But thanks to the many changes brought about by Olympic Agenda 2020, athletes will continue to be given more and more opportunities like the IOC Athlete Learning Gateway. This online tool gives athletes the means to successfully combine sport and education for brighter futures.”

The pilot programme for the IOC Athlete Learning Gateway was evaluated by the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission, Entourage Commission and a dedicated independent Academic Advisory Board. The IOC President agreed with their recommendation to establish the full service as part of Olympic Agenda 2020.

To view the pilot service, click here. A new link to The IOC Athlete Learning Gateway will be published on 28 May along with more information about the new service.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.25 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

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It was mightily close but there was no upset.

Embarrassing technical glitches meant it needed a re-vote conducted the old-fashioned way; but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today heeded their heads over their hearts and elected Beijing as host of the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Chinese capital is set duly to become the first city in history to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.

It was always likely that members would adopt a cautious approach in what IOC President Thomas Bach described at the Session’s Opening Ceremony as “difficult times in sport”.

It is, nonetheless, worth pausing to reflect on the remarkable shift that has transformed the Chinese capital into a safe pair of hands for the guardians of the Olympic brand and values.

Fourteen years ago, at the IOC Session in Moscow where Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Summer Games against a field that included Toronto, Paris, Istanbul and Osaka, the decision was viewed widely as daring and risky for the Movement, on grounds that it would be portrayed as a case of putting money above principles.

Such criticisms are far more muted today.

That is not to say that the Chinese bid’s commercial appeal did not play a significant part in its success.

We were told this week that the bid was projecting to generate $660 million (£423 million/€604 million) from domestic sponsorship; I would be surprised if, in fact, the final total were not a great deal closer to the $1 billion-plus (£640 million/€910 million) notched up by the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

The Chinese capital’s ‘safe pair of hands status’ also owes something to the list of casualties which fell by the wayside during the course of this less-than-compelling race.

Beijing and Almaty truly were the last two bids left standing.

How the IOC must be hoping - however well Almaty acquitted themselves in the final stages of this race - that some traditional old West European winter sports cities will present themselves when the time comes for the 2026 Winter Games contest.

In addition to its stellar sponsorship performance, Sochi’s legacy also includes the stonking general infrastructure spend that arguably did more than any other single factor to put European citizens off bidding and produce the change of thinking we now know as Olympic Agenda 2020.

The choice of Beijing sits less well with this new way of presenting the complex business of putting on the greatest pageant in world sport, since one senses a tension between China’s justifiable national pride in, say, its reputed Ұ800 billion (£82 million/$129 billion/€118 billion) a year budget for high-speed rail infrastructure and Agenda 2020’s ‘less is more’ attitude.

A safe pair of hands it may be, but the selected Beijing project is not without risk for the IOC - a factor that may well explain the unexpectedly close vote.

While everyone is confident China will get the job done, I sense no great love for this undertaking.

Should issues arise, as they nearly always do, be they over an overarching matter such as human rights, or something much more specific, such as lack of compactness, or indeed snow, the IOC may find that they quickly generate publicity unhelpful to its efforts to ginger up interest among as wide a range of cities as possible in hosting multi-sports events.

For now, however, attention will quickly switch back to the IOC’s much more sought-after flagship summer product - both Rio 2016, now the Next Big Thing, and an intriguing incipient race for 2024 set to unfold over the next two years.

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