Jeminise Parris will make her Carifta Games under-20 debut in St Kitts and Nevis on the weekend.

The Trinidad and Tobago athlete is a former champion at the regional junior meet, having captured the girls’ under-17 300 metres hurdles title in 2013. At the 2015 edition, she will bid for honours in the girls’ under-20 100m hurdles.

Parris warmed up for the Games with a wind-assisted 14.34 seconds clocking at the trials, earlier this month. The 18-year-old hurdler told the Express that while she was not satisfied with the run, she is anticipating a successful Carifta campaign.

“I’m expecting in the heats to make 13.4 (seconds). And I’m expecting to medal. This is my first time under-20, so I’m just going there to represent and to execute what I learnt in training.

“I’m a little sore from therapy,” Parris explained. “Just strengthening up my hamstrings so they would get stronger and powerful. But I’m getting there, and just going there (Carifta Games) to perform.”

At the 2014 Youth (under-18) Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, last August, Parris finished fifth in the 100m hurdles final in 13.76 seconds. As a result of her participation at that meet, she is not attempting the hurdles double at Carifta 2015.

“China finished late last year, and I missed out a lot of off-season training, so I’m not as ready for the 400 hurdles as I am in the 100 hurdles. Hundred hurdles is just sprinting, but I need sprinting plus endurance for 400 hurdles, so I’m just focusing on one event for now.”

The St Francois Girls’ College student has set herself goals on and off the track for 2015.

“Finishing CXC and getting all my passes, and to be injury-free for this year. And every meet I attend I would like to get PBs (personal bests) all the time,” Parris ended, “and to also have Trinidad and Tobago at the highest.”

Portious Warren signalled a warning to her regional rivals with a solid series of throws at the Carifta trials, earlier this month.

Warren landed the iron ball 14.29 metres to secure a comfortable victory in the girls’ under-20 shot put. Her best effort on the day was short of the 14.47m throw she had produced to win the 2014 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championship title, in Mexico. But Warren could take pride in bettering 14 metres four times at the trials.

“No, I’m not satisfied. My goal was to break the 15-metre barrier. I didn’t walk away with that goal but it was my first meet for the season so I’m thankful. Going into the throws I was taking it very calm. I wasn’t putting much effort into it because I just want to peak at the right time.”

Warren is confident of throwing 15-plus at the 2015 Carifta Games in St Kitts and Nevis, on the weekend.

“Based on my preparations, definitely. I’ve been training Monday to Friday, no rest, just thinking about it, breathing everything about Carifta Games, just hoping to get up on that podium and hopefully getting the record.”

To replace Martinique’s Claudia Villeneuve as the Carifta Games girls’ under-20 shot put record holder, Warren would have to better 15.75m. The record, though, is the secondary goal.

“My coach always tells me you walk into the event with the gold medal. What you do during competition determines if you walk away with that gold medal. Hopefully I’m prepared, do everything, go through all my phases, and yes, definitely that gold medal is mine.”

Warren is also looking forward to the July 31 to August 2 Pan Am Junior Championships, in Edmonton, Canada.

“Firstly, I’m focusing on my short-term goal, but Pan Ams is definitely my long-term goal. I want to get over 16 (metres) by Pan Ams, so now I’m just putting in all the preparations necessary. Hopefully, I’ll use Penn Relays as a prep for that.”

RAYMOND TIM KEE, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), says that the local governing body is not ignoring the national women’s football team, but they are stretching their financial resources to deal with various national teams (both men and women), in all age groups.

Tim Kee made this disclosure in a telephone interview yesterday, a couple days after national women’s team captain Maylee Attin-Johnson took to social network site Facebook to highlight the perceived neglect towards the squad, dubbed the “Women Soca Warriors”, by the TTFA, since their failure to qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Trinidad and Tobago lost a home-and-away playoff to Ecuador 1-0 (after the first leg in Ecuador in November and the return leg at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on December 2) for the 24th and final World Cup spot.

The TTFA boss said, “right now, we are preparing a document for release, because we also have other women’s teams, like the Under-17s who are preparing for a (CONCACAF) tournament in a few weeks.

“It’s ten national teams we have,” Tim Kee continued. “And because of our limited resources, we have to be distributing the monies in the best possible way. The only (other) option we have that could present a different picture is if we pull out about five different age-group teams from activities. And we don’t want to do that because, in the development process, we’ll need the younger ones coming up.”

He emphasised, “we have not ignored the senior team. We’re bringing Randy (Waldrum, the American-born women’s coach) and all those things are very costly. I know the Ministry of Sport has been doing some supporting but it’s not as easy as people may think because we have the men’s team to prepare too. “We still have a huge amount of debts that have been incurred in the last two years,” Tim Kee added. “So we have to be playing a balancing act. All I can say is that the administration wants to do the best they can.”

Tim Kee referred to the use of funds towards the TT Beach Soccer team, who are currently involved in the CONCACAF Championships in El Salvador, and the Futsal team, with screening sessions underway for potential national players.

About the women’s team itself, Tim Kee noted, “(we) have to do things in harmony with the coach and his technical staff. They would know where their plans are and they’ll come to us with their plans, in terms of training and preparation.

He added, “Randy sent me an e-mail on Friday making recommendations of how we should proceed with our fitness exercises and so on. What we are trying to do is put the training for three teams together — the women’s team, the men’s team and the (women’s) Under- 17s.

“We’re trying to get them under the same training regimen instead of having three different sets of people or facilitators.”

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The TTSA National Dinghy Championships Series 1 were sailed in strong winds last weekend and featured 28 sailors from the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association (TTSA) Sailing School in Chaguaramas,

Vessigny Vikings Sailing Club and the HydroTec Point Fortin Sailing Club participated in three classes of boats.

Star of the show was Kelly-Ann Arrindell whose seven straight wins in the Laser Radial class left little doubt who will be this year’s Laser Radial Class Champion when the event concludes in June at either Vessigny or Point Fortin. With a catalogue of strong international results this year, Arrindell is up for a pick to represent TT at the Pan Am Games to be held in Canada in July this year. Second to Arrindell was Abigail Affoo and third by one point was Noel Furlonge-Walker, both showing improvement due to experience gained from attending

international events. The Laser 4.7 Class was won by Meiling Chan Chow with Kwame Gudel second and Isiah Paul of HydroTec Point Fortin Sailing Club in third. The Laser Standard class was won by Ian Mahon by one point from James Arrindell with Emmanuel Joseph of Vessigny third.

In the two-man 420 dinghy, victory went to Patrick Francois and Michael Stewart of Vessigny with Kathryn Christopher and Brittany Assam of TTSA second and Grace Moraine and Owen Joseph of Vessigny in third.

Thirteen participants took part in the 15 and under Optimist class. Proceedings started with an early tussle for dominance in the Opti class between TTSA’s Nathaniel Clarke and Christopher Dells of Vessigny but a more consistent second day performance by Clarke told in the end. Clarke won the class with Dells second and Akim Williams and Jamal Morson of Vessigny tied for third.

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IN LATE February, even as the national men’s team was flying out to California, their female counterparts were returning from Uruguay; both squads failed to advance from their respective World Hockey League Round Two play-offs.

Recently, Newsday published the reflections of the men’s coach Glen Francis. Today, we feature those of women’s team coach Anthony Marcano.

Whereas the TT men lost all six of their matches, the women actually registered two victories - a 5-0 score awarded against Kenya by default and a predictable win over Caribbean neighbours Dominican Republic. Omitting the Kenya result, the women scored five goals and conceded 19 in five outings.

The World League is a means to qualifying for major hockey tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup. TT’s challenges, Marcano told Newsday, began at home; just getting the players assembled and in training was difficult. “We had a hectic year coming out of Commonwealth Games, straight into World League Round One, straight into the CAC Games,” he reflected.

The three tournaments were compressed between July and November 2014, after which the players took a break to recuperate, and some were also seeking gainful employment. The latter fact doubtless influenced the decision to select nine youngsters among the final18.

It was done, Marcano claimed, looking forward to the 2016 Pan Am Under-21 Women’s Championship, which Trinidad and Tobago are scheduled to host.

Given the many issues, “Bumper,” as Marcano is affectionately known, felt TT had done well. Key to their performances, he said, was the fact that in the three weeks available before flying to Montevideo, they had worked strictly on their defensive game.

“The young ones obviously need some work, but I think they stood up pretty well,” he stated.

Among the stand-outs, he said, were co-captains Alanna Lewis and Patricia Wright-Alexis, goalkeeper Petal Derry, Kryzia Layne and youngsters Amie Olton and Jessica Lee. On opening day, Azerbaijan, ranked 19 by the FIH, beat TT 5-1; Alanna Lewis scored TT’s only item. Following Kenya’s default, they suffered successive 3-0 losses to France and Italy.

A double from Blair Wynne led them to victory over the Dominican Republic, but the French returned to hand TT a 6-1 beating, consigning them to sixth place among the eight teams. “We played a half-court game on everybody; we never played a normal three-quarter, and I think that was the difference,” he mused. “We know we’re quick at the front; if we get the opportunity and we counter-attack we are going to be fast, and teams understand that.” He believes long-term work on defence would ultimately change the TT’s international performances significantly, “But we need high-level competition to test that defence, he added.” With that in mind, “Bumper” has been working on a four-year-cycle plan that would avoid problems such as those which arose before the tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay and it would be critical in attracting quality opponents, both for purposes of player development and assessing overall team progress.

“If finance is an issue, then invite teams,” he adds. “But you can’t invite a team today for tomorrow. If you have a four-year cycle, you can invite a team to come next year, and they’re going to fit it into their programme.”

Meantime, domestic competition remains on hold as the National Hockey Centre turf in Tacarigua is being cleaned. Marcano says it costs upwards of $600 for a training session on the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, the only other artificial surface in TT.

Unlike the men’s team, the TT women did not qualify for Pan Am Games. Their next overseas assignment will be in October - the Pan Am Challenge in Peru.

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The national Under-15 female water polo team delivered a 20-1 drubbing of Jamaica over the weekend in a friendly encounter at the Marlins Swim Pool, Westmoorings.

With the cancellation of the CARIFTA Water Polo Championships, Jamaica and Curacao’s water polo teams decided to come to Trinidad for some friendly competition. Curacao brought their Under-18 male team which took on this country’s Under-15 counterparts. In two games, it was all square when the water calmed, as both team registered a win each.

Next up for Trinidad and Tobago is CCCAN Water Polo Championships later this year.

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