The T&T duo of Jonathan Thomas and Priyanka Dhanie just missed out on adding to this country’s medal haul when the 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games concluded in Barranquilla, Colombia, yesterday.

Competing in the Compound Team Mixed bronze medal match, Thomas and Dhanie were defeated by Mexicans Linda Ochoa and Antonio Hildago, 155-138 to end in the fourth position.

By missing out on another medal, T&T ended with his second- best medal tally ever at the CAC Games with 30, comprised of nine gold medals, which equalled its best tally ever, eight silver and 13 bronze.

Included in the record gold medal haul is three gold medals for USA-based swimmer Dylan Carter, three for cyclists Nicholas Paul, two of which were individual, a first ever in women’s cycling for Teneil Campbell, a third straight for veteran shot-putter Cleopatra Borel, and a second forOlympic gold and bronze javelin thrower, Keshorn Walcott.

Four years ago at the 22nd CAC Games, in Veracruz, Mexico, T&T ended in the tenth spot with 11 medals, two gold, one silver and eight bronze from 197 athletes.

The medal tally was the smallest return for this country since 1990 in Mexico when T&T managed 13 medals, five silver and eight bronze.

Back in 2010 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico T&T captured its biggest ever medal haul, 34 (nine gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze) for the eighth spot on the medal table while in Colombia (2006) T&T won 21 medals (one gold, nine silver and 11 bronze).

In 2002 in San Salvador, El Salvador, T&T bagged 17 medals (five gold, one silver and 11 bronze); 1998 in Venezuela, T&T won 14 medals (one gold, eight silver and five bronze) and five years prior in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the T&T contingent picked up 26 medals, three gold, seven silver and 16 bronze.

T&T has won a total 239 medals in the history of the CAC Games, 50 gold, 83 silver and 106 bronze to be the second-ranked English-speaking Caribbean country behind Jamaica’s 367 medal haul - 113 gold, 121 silver and 133 bronze

Portugal-based T&T professional Marc-Anthony Honore was voted as the “Best First Blocker” when the 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games Men’s Volleyball Tournament concluded at the Humberto Perea Coliseum, Barranquilla, Colombia on Thursday night.

Honore, who plays professional with top European-club SL Benfica, was the lone T&T player to pick up an individual as his team ended in the cellar-spot in the eight-team competition.

He is expected to be a key member of the T&T team which is due to defend its title at the Senior Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Men’s Championship in Suriname beginning tomorrow.

In the women’s competition, the trio of Krystle Esdelle, Channon Thompson and Sinead Jack picked up awards when their competition ended last week at the same venue. Puerto Rican Sequiel Sanchez received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after Puerto Rico won the gold medal match over Colombia in straight sets 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-14) with a remarkable performance, winning their fifth gold medal in the history of the event, having played a total of nine title matches.

Sanchez was also granted with the “Second Best Wing Spiker” award. Also from the gold medallist team, Maurice Torres received the recognition of “Best Opposite” and “Best Server”, along with Arnel Cabrera, named the “Best Receiver”.

The “Best Scorer” of the tournament was handed to Liberman Agamez of Colombia, whose team won the silver medal in their first ever podium at CAC Games.

Mexico’s Pedro Rangel was recognised as the “Best Setter” while Cuban Yonder Garcia was the “Best Libero” and “Best Digger”. Also from Cuba, Manuel Lopez was the “First Best Wing Spiker” and Livan Osoria the “Second Best Blocker.”

FINAL STANDINGS: 1 Puerto Rico; 2 Colombia; 3 Mexico; 4 Cuba; 5 Venezuela; 6 Dominican Republic; 7 Guatemala; 8 T&T

T&T bowlers Navin Bidaisee and Justyn Gangoo sparked collapse of Windward Islands’ lower order but match at Park Hill in Kingstown, St Vincent remains evenly poised at the end of the first day of the opening round of matches in the Regional Under-19 Championships yesterday

Batting first, the Windward Islands were dismissed for 238, thanks mainly to half centuries from Teddy Bishop and Kimani Melius.

Bishop scored 79 and Melius made 53 and along with Johnel Eugene’s 37, were able to get the Windwards to their total.

They would be disappointed with their eventual score though, as they were cruising on 179-5 at one stage.

The Windwards then lost their last five wickets for just 59 runs.

Bidaisee was the pick of T&T’s bowlers ending with 3-29, while Gangoo (3-34) and Jayden Seales who took 2-36 also proved useful.

T&T closed on one without loss in their reply.

At the Arnos Vale Stadium, Guyana skittled out the Leeward Islands for just 116 runs to take command.

Kevin Sinclair finished with the outstanding figures of 4-19, Kelvin Umroa chipped in with 3-28 and Joshua Jones took 2-27, to help rout the Leeward Islands.

No batsman scored more than 20 runs for the Leewards.

The Leewards actually needed a last-wicket partnership of 26 between the pair of Kian Pemberton (17) and Javin Spencer, who finished unbeaten on 11, to make it past three figures after crumbling to 90-9.

In their reply, Guyana had reached 58-2, trailing the Leewards by just 58 runs. Sachin Singh is unbeaten on 23 while Javin Spencer has so far taken 2-22.

Over at Sion Hill, Shian Brathwaite scored 87 to lead Barbados to 175 for five in their contest against Jamaica, before rain brought a premature end to the day’s play.

Brathwaite’s 113 ball knock contained 11 boundaries and two sixes and together with opener Nico Reifer who made 39, put on 105 runs in an opening partnership.

However, Jamaica fought back through the efforts of Raewin Senior, as Barbados lost five quick wickets for 68 runs.

Senior was the main destructor, claiming four of those wickets to end with the figures of 4-43 from his 19 overs. (CMC)

Scores

At Sion Hill: Rain ended play prematurely.
BARBADOS 175 for five (Shian Brathwaite 87, Nico Reifer 39, Kadeem Alleyne 35; Raewin Senior 4-43) vs JAMAICA.
At Park Hill: T&T trail by 237 runs without all 10 first innings wickets intact.
WINDWARD ISLANDS 238 (Teddy Bishop 79, Kimani Melius 53, Johnel Eugene 37; Navin Bidaisee 3-29, Justyn Gangoo 3-34, Jayden Seales 2-36)
T&T one without loss.
At Arnos Vale Stadium: Guyana trail by 58 runs with eight first innings wickets intact.
LEEWARD ISLANDS 116 (Kevin Sinclair 4-19, Kelvin Umroa 3-28, Joshua Jones 2-27)
GUYANA 58 for two (Sachin Singh 23 not out; Javin Spencer 2-22) CMC

The Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs has agreed to support the T&T Netball Association Inc., through its national senior team with financial help to the tune of $100,000 which will guarantee the team’s participation at the August 26 to September 2, Americas World Cup Qualifier in Barbados.

The decision was reached following a meeting between the Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe along with other Ministry and SporTT officials who included Permanent Secretary, Nicolette Duke; Director of Physical Education and Sport, Patrice Charles and Executive Manager, Sports Development, SporTT, Anthony Creed when they met with T&TNA President Dr Patricia Butcher and her management team at the Ministry’s Head Office in St. Clair recently.

The agenda items also included discussions on the current as well as future plans the Association had for Netball in T&T. The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs committed to assisting the Association with the costs associated with accommodation, airfare and umpire fees to the tune of $117,000.00.

The meeting also raised concerns that as at July 23, 2018, the TTNA had only been 65% compliant with SporTT guidelines for funding given that their audited financials for the years 2016 and 2017 were outstanding. At the meeting on July 30, 2018, the 2016 audited financials were presented to SporTT. TTNA’s 2017 financials still remain outstanding, however, at the meeting Dr Butcher committed to having this submitted in the ensuing weeks.

Guided by the Ministry’s Policy Values of integrity, transparency and accountability, the Honourable Minister Cudjoe urged the TTNA and by extension all other sporting bodies to ensure that their financial documents are up to date. Minister Cudjoe also called upon all sporting organizations to be compliant with the Ministry’s and SPORTT’s guidelines for accessing Government funding.

She said the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs continues to play an important role in providing assistance to NGBs and athletes, as well as contributing to the holistic development of sport and sporting achievements in T&T. Likewise, the Ministry is committed to enhancing meaningful relationships with all stakeholders, towards the advancement of sport in T&T in keeping with the vision of the National Sports Policy 2017-2027.

Certifications in nothing related to sports with an opinion on everything. The illusion of the CAC Games; how does T&T’s cycling performance really measure up?

Four gold medals, five bronze medals, four National Records and two CAC Games Records over the past week in Barranquilla, Colombia, would measure up to nil if some analysts had their views published.

Even though it is a fact that the CAC Games is not as competitive as the Pan American Games, World Cups or World Championships, can we confidently state the same about our team’s performance?
In the publication of a recent local newspaper, the President of the T&T Olympic Committee Brian Lewis is quoted as saying,

“The harsh reality is if you can’t perform, medal, achieve personal bests and make finals at the Central American and Caribbean Games, then it is difficult to see athletes moving up to the Pan Am level and then to Tokyo 2020 Olympics”.

This is a general analysis as one approaches the Games. His sentiments are accurate but now that the dust has settled on the velodrome, we can quantitatively perform comparisons and evaluate the actual performances.Prior to compiling this article, it was asked how well do the times performed by Nicholas Paul, Njisane Phillip, Teniel Campbell etcetera measure up to current world time standards? The answer to

that question is a difficult one to conjure up without being subjective since each track is unique and therefore will affect cyclists and their times differently; that is to say, some tracks are conducive to fast times while others are laborious to get around.

Fast Action Sports and Timing (FAST) services have developed a mathematical model that theoretically converts the performances of a cyclist in timed events on one track to a proposed time on another. It takes into consideration the tracks’ banking angle, the surface, the atmospheric conditions inclusive of temperature and altitude, the age of the track and the experience of the cyclist. Even with this information, the model is simply the best guess at most and cannot conclusively predict times since there are many other variables which cannot be accounted for inclusive of the cyclist’s preparation for the event.

The fairest analysis which can be performed is a quantitative comparison on times recorded at the velodrome in Cali, Colombia at recent global events. The most recent of these would have been the UCI Track World Cups in February 2017, October 2015 and January 2015 along with the UCI Track World Championships in February 2014.

Sprint Analysis

The Men’s Team Sprint time of 43.873 seconds would have seen TTO qualify between 2nd to 4th in any of the World Cups or World Championships. Without any real analysis, the results are obvious that the performance by the Men’s Team’s Sprint was world class and knocking on the door of some of the top countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Russia etc. It was also the first time that a T&T team sprint dipped below the proverbial 44.0 second barrier after narrowly clocking 44.096 in the qualifiers. Both times in Barranquilla (qualifiers and final) also edged the previous National Record of 44.098 set back in Aguascalientes (2010).

The Flying 200m times were more impressive with Nicholas Paul’s 9.720 seconds time being faster than the times recorded at any of World Cups and World Championships hosted in Cali. Njisane Phillip’s 9.886 seconds time would have seen him qualify in the top 5 of any of the World Cups or World Championships, again a testament to the world-class performances.

Within 10 months at the helm, Erin Hartwell has converted Team TTO’s sprint program from a mid-level best in the Pan American region to genuine global contenders. Consistency at this level will now be key to ensure that T&T not only qualifies but is a medal contender in Tokyo2020.

Endurance Analysis

T&T’s performances at the Endurance level has been wanting for many years, however, this year’s CAC gave us a glimmer of hope with the Campbell siblings leading the way. Teniel Campbell’s unprecedented four medal haul with 1 Gold and three bronze medals against some of the best competitors in the Pan American region was history itself.

Her time of 3:36.731 in the 3km Individual Pursuit, when compared to the World Championships, hosted at the same velodrome would have seen her place 5th overall, an impressive finish for any TTO endurance cyclist whether male or female. Her brother’s competition in the Omnium included some of the Pan American region’s best, save for the USA and Canada but did feature the former World Champion, Edwin Avila (COL).

Teniel podium bronze

Campbell was visibly unhappy with her bronze medals on the track so she decided to turn it around on the road to win gold in the Women’s Road Race.

Witnessing their Omnium performances, however, shone a light once again on T&T’s need to improve specifically in points race type events. This showed in the Teniel and Akil’s performances in the Omnium IV – Points Race and Tyler Cole and Kemp Orosco’s performances in the Men’s Points Race. We seem to have a subliminal aversion to Points Races and our results over the years have supported this conclusion.

It is a stark comparison to our results in the Scratch and Elimination Races which complement our natural style of racing in T&T. Trinbagonian fans love a Devil take the Hindmost; love the excitement from in the stands, the roar it creates and the improved bike handling skills required.

It is also not surprising that the endurance cyclists who had significant racing exposure away from T&T were the ones who stood out from the rest. Until the quality and the level of racing can improve locally, however, seeking competition elsewhere is going to be our local endurance cyclists best bet to improve.

Women’s pursuit

The women’s Team Pursuit quartet of Alexi Costa, Jessica Costa, Alexandra Bovell and Christiane Farah have reduced their previous record from 5:27 in August 2017 to now stand at 4:51 by July 2018 even without T&T’s best female endurance cyclist, Campbell. In less than a year, these ladies have shown that consistency while training has reaped the rewards on the track. Though the time itself is still not world class, if they continue along the existing growth curve, this Women’s Team Pursuit can be medal contenders at the Pan American region within a few years.

The Men’s Team Pursuit has not seen the growth and consistency when compared to their female counterparts. Coupled with the absence of Akil Campbell and possibly the addition of young Jabari Whiteman in the starting line up, Team TTO’s time in the 4km Team Pursuit was below their best and highlights the requirement for this team to train together more often.

However, overall T&T’s cycling performance spoke for itself on the podium with five (5) different cyclists winning medals. This has broken the repeated custom that one person carries the hopes of the nation.

Now, the red, white and black of T&T was well represented by the quintessential definition of a team.

GARY ACOSTA
Former T&T cyclist & Racing Secretary

Isabel Abraham and Aalisha Alexis were the lone T&T players to capture a title at the JITIC 2018 Confederation of Tennis for Central American and the Caribbean (COTECC) Junior Circuit which ended in San Salvador, El Salvador on Thursday.

Competing in the Girls Under-14 Doubles Second Draw final, Abraham and Alexis swept past another T&T player, Cameron Wong and Curacao’s Sarah Nita 6-2, 6-4 at the El Salvador Tennis Federation Complex, City Merli Sports Centre, Final Gardens of the Shroud, Santa Tecla, La Libertad, El Salvador on Friday.

When the knockout stage began, Abraham and Alexis outplayed the sisters Dana Bryan and Serena Bryan of Barbados, 6-2, 7-5 and Dominican Republic’s Deidi Abreu and Rocio Espinal 7-5, 6-3 while Wong and Nita, dumped Hondurans, Adriana Navarro and Siham Richmagui 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals followed by a 7-6(6), 6-1 defeat of Daniela Aguilar and Luciana Vidal of El Salvador.

In the Girls Consolation Second Draw Singles, Alexis came up short in her bid for the title after going under to Aguilar 3-6, 6-0, 3-6 in the title match.

This after Alexis advanced to the final by beating Vidal 6-4, 6-0 and Dana Bryan 6-1, 6-1.

In the Girls Under-14 competition Second Draw, Wong fell to Kissmel Cedano of the Dominican Republic, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 in their semifinal.

This after, Wong defeated Adriana Navarro of Honduras, 6-3, 6-1 and Abby Chandelier of the Dominican Republic, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 in her previous matches.

Alexis was beaten in her opener by Nita, 1-6, 2-6 while Abraham defeated Serena Bryan, 6-1, 6-3 before losing to Espinal, 2-6, 2-6.

In the Under-14 Boys Second Draw Grade Three Singles competition, Ethan Wong went under to El Salvador’s Cesar Cruz, 4-6, 0-6 with a spot in the final at stake.

Earlier in the week, Wong served off the knockout phase of the competition by beating Guatemala’s Gabriel Porras 6-3, 7-5 and Puerto Rican, Matthew Melendez 6-0, 6-0 while T&T’s Kyle Kerry dismissed Puerto Rican Antonio Del Toro 6-0, 6-0 in the round-of-16, but was then stopped by host player Rene Morales, 4-6, 3-6.

The pair of Wong and Kerry were also beaten in the Boys Doubles Under-14 Second Draw Grade Three semifinals, 6-7(3), 3-6 by Porras and Morales.

Wong and Kerry defeated Puerto Rican, De Toro, and Christopher Polish 6-1, 6-0 in their quarterfinal.

In the Under-16 Division Second Draw, T&T boys Alijah Leslie and Nathan Valdez did not get past their first knockout matches.

Leslie was beaten by Dominican Republic’s Angel Maleno, 3-6, 2-6 and Valdez went under to Dominican Republic, Braine Paulino, 2-6, 1-6.

Leslie then played his way to the runner-up spot in the Consolation draw, losing to Puerto Rico’s Daniel Gruen, 0-6, 1-6 in the final.

Leslie won his first match, 6-4, 6-2 over Barbadian Curt Seifert and then beat Suriname’s Yannick Issa 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 in the semifinals while Valdez was ousted by Dominican Republic’s Donaldo Guerrero 4-6, 1-6 in the first round.

And in the Doubles, Valdez and Leslie failed to get past the opening round, losing 0-6, 2-6 to Paulino and Maleno.

It’s easy to do little or nothing when the focus is not on you. And then again, it’s also likely that you can tend to do little when the attention is on you, simply because this attention might have been brought upon by your success and you’ve simply decided to sit on your laurels for a bit. Sounds familiar right. Perhaps we’ve all been a little guilty of this at some point in our lives.

The recent successes of our athletes at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia was welcoming news for us following at home with the limited media coverage we got on it, thanks at least to some live streams that were available and the daily comprehensive reports in the Guardian newspapers. With each day that passed we all felt really good to see, hear or read the news of yet another medal with a top three finish.

There is a Russian proverb that goes “Success and Rest don’t sleep together”. And our athletes most of whom will be line for participation at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar next September or any of the other major championships to follow, may be well advised to keep pushing on. The key to more success will be how they handle their achievements coming out of the Barranquilla experience and how well they carry themselves over the next few months.

When we think of successful people, we often think of their lives of leisure. The act of achieving success gives one the chance to relax and take it easy. But how true is that, really? How do many ‘successful’ people you see resting? They might take a fantastic vacation from time to time, but then what? Whether it’s Hollywood stars, sporting giants, business tycoons or famous artists, they go back to it, whatever ‘it’ may be. They might even change it up and try something new. But you won’t find them resting for very long.

Success may sleep from time to time, but it rarely rests. I will always refer to the National Under-17 Men’s football team that qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea. The likes of Kevin Molino, Sheldon Bateau, Daneil Cyrus and the late Akeem Adams were on top of the world as fifteen and sixteen-year-olds. They didn’t let up and two years later they were again going onto another World Cup at the Under-20 level in Egypt. It showed that they continued to chase more dreams within that two-year period.

They say real success comes when you are doing something you love. Think about that. Doing something you love to do, and never thinking of it as work. Wouldn’t that be a good definition of personal success and happy living? Not everything you want to do will pay the bills, so sometimes you have to have a job to be able to be successful elsewhere in your life.

Some of our athletes may not always want to train like there is no tomorrow and the conditions may not always be right. Those of us who live sport in this country is well aware of that. We know exactly how to engage in other things that may have to help us along the journey in achieving success.

I read somewhere that success will come in as many forms as you have definitions. You can be successful financially, a successful member of a family, have a successful business and be successful in helping others, right? But you are always working towards it, and if you do it correctly, it rarely works. And it brings you satisfaction. Success is partly motivation and partly action in a consistent and organised manner.

You don’t have to be a professional athlete or an Olympic champion to be a successful athlete. Nor do you have to have a room full of trophies, win a Championship medal or make the front page of the sports section.

I’ve worked with several players who’ve never played in a World Cup, probably never will and possibly never be members of a championship team. But they’ve stuck it out and they are grinding just as hard.

What these athletes have in common is that their sport is important to them and they’re committed to being the best that they can be within the scope of their limitations – other life commitments, finances, time, and their natural ability.

According to Jack J. Lesyk, Director of the Ohio Centre for Sports Psychology, they set high, realistic goals for themselves and train and play hard. They are successful because they are pursuing their goals and enjoying their sport. Their sports participation enriches their lives and they believe that what they get back is worth what they put into their sport.

So whether you are a national athlete, one of those who is back from Barranquilla or maybe someone I described a little bit above, let’s remember that success doesn’t come from resting, on your laurels or anything else. What we do today will determine what benefits we reap tomorrow. While we work on that, let’s back our boys and enjoy some T20 CPL action over the next few weeks.

• Editor’s Note

Shaun Fuentes is a former FIFA Media Officer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He is also currently a CONCACAF Competitions Media Operations Officer and has travelled extensively because of sport and media over the past eighteen years. He is also a certified media trainer for athletes. He will be off to Jamaica next week on CONCACAF duty and will miss out on the CPL action at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Twelve new players are expected to line-up for five of the six franchises as replacement players when the 2018 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) bowls off on Wednesday at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain with the defending champion team, the Trinbago Knight Riders hosting the St Lucia Stars.

Among the players coming in is T&T pacer Shannon Gabriel, Fawad Ahmed, Steve Smith David Warner, Mohammed Sami and Muhammad Irfan.

Smith is set to play his second T20 tournament after being axed from Australian cricket for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. Smith will replace Shakib Al Hasan in the Barbados Tridents because the Bangladesh allrounder is no longer available for the tournament. Smith featured for the Toronto Nationals in the Global T20 Canada tournament last month. Even though his team finished last overall, Smith played six innings and scored 167 runs with two fifties at an average of 33.40 and strike rate of 119.28 which means he will be a valuable asset to the Tridents.

Smith compatriot David Warner, who was also banned for one year from Australian cricket like Smith, is going to represent St Lucia Stars as a replacement for another Australian D’Arcy Short, a left-arm unorthodox spin bowler.

Gabriel joins the defending champion team TKR and he will strengthen its bowling department, while Shadab Khan, who was a major influence in the team’s title success last year will be replaced by Ahmed who will team-up with T&T’s Sunil Narine in their title defence.

The only franchise that will not have a player change is the Jamaican Tallawahs which is led by all-around Andre Russell.

Meanwhile, last year’s losing finalists St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have been hit with two player withdrawals ahead of Wednesday’s opener. Eighteen-year-old leg-spinning sensation, Sandeep Lamichhane has been ruled out of the latter half of the tournament as he is now set to link up with his national side Nepal on August 26.

Also, the experienced Zimbabwe all-rounder, Graeme Cremer, will take no part in the tournament because of injury.

Lamichhane will be replaced in the squad by South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen while Antiguan leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr comes in for Cremer.

“It is always sad to lose players that we drafted but in Hayden Walsh Jr and Rassie van der Dussen we have two players that we are very confident will succeed at this year’s Hero CPL as we look to go one game better than last year and win the tournament in 2018,” said Patriots head coach Donovan Miller.

Patriots, which feature superstar opener, Chris Gayle, open their campaign against Guyana Amazon Warriors in Georgetown next Thursday. (CMC)

HERE ARE THE CHANGES

St Lucia Stars
• Mark Chapman replaces Dasun Shanaka
• David Warner replaces D’Arcy Short
• Mohammad Sami replaces Rumman Raees
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
• Anton Devcich replaces Tabraiz Shamsi
• Hayden Walsh Jnr replaces Graeme Cremer
• Rassie van der Dussan will cover for Sandeep Lamichhane from 26 August
Trinbago Knight Riders
• Shannon Gabriel replaces Junior Dala
• Fawad Ahmed replaces Shadab Khan
• Ali Khan replaces Ronsford Beaton
Guyana Amazon Warriors
• Chris Green replaces Cameron Delport for the first four matches
Barbados Tridents
• Steve Smith replaces Shakib al Hasan
• Muhammad Irfan replaces Junaid Khan

Veteran Horse Trainers, John O’Brien and Glen Mendez attached to Arima Paddock, were honoured on Emancipation Day (August 1) for their sterling contributions to the Sport of Kings in T&T on Day 24 of the 2018 local racing season which took place at Santa Rosa Park, Arima.

Their colleagues who planned the event also awarded John O’Brien for his 100 plus winners and Glen Mendez for his 70 plus winners so far for the season in the parade ring and in front the massive crowd that assembled to enjoy one of the biggest racing days on the local calendar. And they show their appreciation by ringing out thunderous applause.

This was followed by a celebration party at the Trainers and Owners stand, with music provided by owner Dave Chadee and plenty of thirst quenchers and food too.

Race Horse Trainers Association said it was the first time such an event took place and will continue with an objective to motivate the younger trainers.

Andy Bissessar was recently recognised for his achievements in world motorsport.

The World governing body for Motorsport, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, held a gala FIA Americas Awards for 2017, in Montevideo Uruguay on July 23 where Bissessar received the FIA National Champions of the Americas Senior Motorsport Award.

Bissessar, driver of the Chevron Havoline Qualitech VP Race Fuels Meguiars, was also recognised for his successes in a number of events including 2017 T&T Automobile Sport Association (TTASA) Drag Racing Open Class Champion. He qualified no 1 and won seven race events. Bissessar was also lauded for resetting the Wallerfield International Raceway T&T 1/4 Mile Track Record—7.2 seconds at 180 mph, winning the 2017 Grenada International Drag Racing Event and resetting the 1/4 mile national and track record—7.4 seconds at 180 mph.

The ace T&T racer also earned recognition for winning the 2017 St Vincent and the Grenadines International Drag Racing Event and resetting the 1/4 mile national and track record—8.4 seconds at 180 mph, as well as claiming the title at the Open Class Race Event in May, while setting a new national record of 5.0 seconds at 146 mph on the recently sanctioned and safer 1/8 mile track length on July 29.

Bangladesh, led by a solid all-around performance from skipper Shakib Al Hasan, defeated the Windies by 12 runs in the second match of their three-match series to leave it even at 1-1 with one game to play last night.

The teams were battling it out last night, to see which one will take the trophy for the final format of Bangladesh’s tour of the region. The Windies won the Test series 2-0 and Bangladesh took the ODI series 2-1.

However, on Saturday night the fans turned out in their numbers to take Bangladesh’s first match in the United States and they were not disappointed. With the game getting off at 8 pm, the mostly Bangladeshi crowd started arriving around 4 pm, waving flags outside their cars down the US 441. This caused a massive pile-up of vehicles and when they finally got into the ground Al Hasan made it worth the effort.

Firstly, he rescued his team after they slipped to 48 for three in the eight over to a final score of 171 for five. The left-hander got the scoreboard moving from the moment he came in and roughed up the Windies bowling. The Windies paid the price of not having out and out bowlers in their line-up, as they mostly played the all-rounders. With three wickets down they could not press home the advantage and allowed Al Hasan and opener, Tamim Iqbal, to prosper.

Iqbal started slowly but blossomed nicely as his innings went along, as he added 90 runs for the fourth wicket with his captain. The left-hander finally fell for 74 made off 44 balls with six fours and four sixes. When he left, Al Hasan finished off nicely, scoring 60 from 38 balls with nine fours and one six. There were two wickets apiece for spinner Ashley Nurse and pacer Keemo Paul.

When the Windies went in to bat, the team lost the out of form Evin Lewis for one. Andre Russell batting at number three was able to take the score to 33 in the fourth over with opener Andre Fletcher, but when he fell for 17 the wheels came off. Batsmen came and went and although Fletcher stood firm for his 43 off 34 balls, with three fours and two sixes, the required rate mounted too high.

In the end, the Windies with just two wickets in hand were left to get 15 runs from the last over and fell short, losing the game by 12 runs. Al Hasan bowled beautifully in taking 2/19 off four overs, while Nazrul Islam held his nerve well at the end in taking 3/28.

SCOREBOARD

Windies vs Bangladesh
2nd T20I
BANGLADESH Innings
L Das c Brathwaite b Nurse.................... 1
T Iqbal c Paul b Russell .........................74
M Rahim c Russell b Nurse.................... 4
S Sarkar c Powell b Paul ........................14
S Al-Hasan c (sub) Walton b Paul .......60
Mahmudullah not out ..........................13
A Haque not out .......................................1
Extras (lb2, w2) ...............................4
TOTAL (5 wkts, 20 overs) ............171
Did not bat: Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.
Fall of wickets: 1-7; 2-24; 3-48; 4-138; 5-167
Bowling: Badree 2-0-14-0, Nurse 4-0-25-2 (w1), Russell 4-0-33-1, Paul 4-0-39-2 (w1), Williams 3-0-29-0, Brathwaite 3-0-29-0.
WEST INDIES Innings
A Fletcher c S Al-Hasan b
Nazmul Islam.......................................... 43
E Lewis lbw b M Rahman....................... 1
A Russell c wkpr M Rahim b Rahman .17
M Samuels c Das b S Al-Hasan........... 10
D Ramdin lbw b R Hossain ....................5
R Powell c wkpr M Rahim
b M Rahman............................................ 43
C Brathwaite c L Das b S Al-Hasan .....11
A Nurse c A Haque b N Islam ..............16
K Paul b N Islam ........................................2
K Williams not out................................. 09
S Badree not out...................................... 1
Extras (b1, w9)............................. 10
TOTAL (9 wkts, 20 overs)............ 159
Fall of wickets: 1-5; 2-33; 3-48; 4-58; 5-116; 6-131; 7-146; 8-158; 9-158
Bowling: Abu Hider 4-0-26-0; Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-50-3 (w5);
Rubel Hossain 4-0-35-1 (w2);
Shakib-Al-Hasan 4-0-19-2 (w1);
Nazmul Islam 4-0-28-3 (w1)
Result: Bangladesh won by 12 runs
Series: Three-match series level 1-1
Toss: West Indies Player-of-the-Match: Tamim Iqbal. Umpires: L Reifer Jr, J Wilson; TV – G Brathwaite.

Transport & Cleansing moved into sole possession of top spot in the Port-of-Spain City Corporation Inter-Department Football League with a narrow 2-1 win over Central Market at Nelson Mandela Park (formerly King George V Park) , St Clair on Thursday.

Akil Peterson and Christopher Wilson netted a goal each for Transport & Cleansing to cancel out Arnold Sherry’s strike for Central Market.

With the win, Transport & Cleansing improved to ten points from four matches, two ahead of previous joint leaders Cemeteries, and Central/Eastern.

On Friday, Cemeteries needed a double from Akhel Fairbain to salvage a 4-4 draw with Western Division.

Keston Williams and an own goal also helped Cemeteries cause while Kashief Moses scored twice, and Akional Paul, and Nicholas Valentine, one each for Western Division,

In the two other matches played, defending champions City Hall blanked St James Division 2-0 with a goal each from Tyrell Sancho and Jabari Raphael while Jahi Molick’s lone strike earned Central/Eastern a 1-0 victory over Public Health.

Matches continue today with another doubleheader from 4.30pm.

Results 

Thursday August 2:
Transport & Cleansing 2 (Akil Peterson, Christopher Wilson) vs Central Market 1 (Arnold Sherry)
City Hall 2 (Tyrell Sancho, Jabari Raphael) vs St James Division 0
Friday August 3:
Cemeteries 4 (Akhel Fairbain 2, Keston Williams, o.g) vs Western Division 4 (Kashief Moses 2, Akinola Paul, Nicholas Valentine)
Central/Eastern 1 (Jahi Molick) vs Public Health 0

LATEST POS CORPORATION LEAGUE STANDINGS

Teams P W D L F A Pts
Transport & Cleansing 4 3 1 0 9 2 10
Cemeteries 4 2 2 0 11 5 8
Central/Eastern 4 2 2 0 5 1 8
City Hall 4 2 0 2 5 4 6
Western Division 4 1 1 2 9 11 4
Public Health 4 1 1 2 5 10 4
Central Market 4 0 2 2 4 6 2
St James Division 4 0 1 3 1 6 1

UPCOMING MATCHESBPTT

Today (Nelson Mandela Park, St Clair)
St James Division vs Central/Eastern, 4.30 pm
Central Market vs Cemeteries, 6 pm
Tomorrow
Transport & Cleansing vs Public Health, 4.30 pm
Western Division vs City, 6 pm
On Wednesday
Cemeteries vs St James Division, 4.30 pm
Central/Eastern vs Central Market, 6 pm
On Thursday
Western Division vs Transport & Cleansing, 4.30 pm
Public Health vs City Hall, 6 pm

Shaquille Ferrier and Keston Jordan were both on target to lead defending champions Guaya United to a 2-1 triumph over table leaders Queen’s Park Cricket Club in the T&T Super League on Saturday.

Ferrier sent the home supporters at the Guaya Recreation Ground into a frenzy when he fired in the opener in the 21st minute, which his team took into the half-time interval.

Jordan then doubled the advantage in the 71st minute before Benedict Barrett netted for the Parkites in the 85th minute to give his team hope of earning a share of the points.

However, it was not to be as the defending champions held on for the win, inflicting a first defeat on the Parkites in the process.

Despite the defeat, QPCC still remained top of the table with 21 points from ten matches, two ahead of Guaya United, while FC Santa Rosa and Cunupia FC are a further point behind, with the latter of having a match in hand.

Also on Saturday, Petit Valley/Diego Martin United got its first win of the season, 3-1 over San Fernando Giants with a goal each from Raychard Alleyne, Eric Charles and Seker Mural.

Andrei Pacheco got the lone reply for Giants who slipped to the bottom of the table.

Results

Guaya United 2 (Shaquille Ferrier 21st, Keston Jordan 71st) vs QPCC 1 (Benedict Barrett 85th)
Petit Valley/Diego Martin 3 (Raychard Alleyne 6th, Eric Charles 26th, Seker Mural 45th) vs San Fernando Giants 1 (Andrei Pacheco 37th)

Standings

Teams P W D L GA GF Pts
1. QPCC 10 6 3 1 22 12 21
2. Guaya Utd 10 5 4 1 18 9 19
3. FC Santa Rosa 9 6 0 3 23 9 18
4. Cunupia FC 9 5 3 1 21 10 18
5. Matura ReUnited 9 5 2 2 17 17 17
6. Prisons Service 8 3 4 1 12 11 13
7. Police FC 9 3 4 2 10 10 13
8. UTT 9 3 2 4 13 17 11
9. RSSR FC 9 2 4 3 11 13 10
10. Club Sando Cultural 9 2 2 5 7 13 8
11. Erin FC 8 1 3 4 9 11 6
12. P.V.D.M Utd 10 1 3 6 9 18 6
13. Bethel Utd 9 0 5 4 10 19 5
14. San F’do Giants 10 0 5 5 8 21 5

Increasing participation in sport and physical activity among the population should not be limited to the able-bodied. Persons with disabilities must be equally encouraged to participate in sport and leisure activities so that they can also reap benefits such as health and fitness.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states, “Parties shall take appropriate measures to encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels”.

It also calls for governments to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting venues both as participants as well as spectators. Furthermore, children with disabilities are to be included in school physical education enjoying equal access to “play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities”.

Despite the UN Convention, persons with disabilities face several barriers to participation in sports and physical activity. Some of these barriers may be similar or different from that which affect the general population.

Persons with disabilities may suffer from a lack of knowledge. They may not be aware of the various programmes, facilities and resources that are available. This situation may be compounded when programmes have an able-bodied bias.

The social environment from which people with disabilities have to function may also be problematic. Attitudinal, transport and barriers of omission may serve as major deterrents. Persons with disabilities may face a variety of negative behaviours such as exclusion, verbal abuse and even violence.

Transport can pose an enormous hindrance where persons have higher support needs and there is a lack of suitable and affordable accessible transport. Barriers of omission include all facilities, programmes, policies and procedures that fail to include effective practices for persons with disabilities.

Another set of barriers is related to effective communication. Persons with several disabilities such as hearing and speech impairments may experience a breakdown in communication with other persons.

It is evident that addressing the issue of increasing sport and physical activities among persons with disabilities requires a comprehensive policy and committed implementation. Various ministries such as Sport and Youth Affairs; Finance; Community Development; Social Development, Health and Education have to work with the Special Olympics Committee and the business community to ensure that all persons in Trinidad and Tobago are treated equally as it relates to access and participation in sport, recreation and leisure activities.

“I don’t feel it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.” —Michel Foucault

T&T’s junior tennis stars will spring into action again in a series of continuous competitions that will serve to boost the country’s chances of achieving its target of having a player ranked among the top 150 in the world by 2026.

Following on the heels of the ITF Under-12 Development tournament at the National Racquet Centre (NRC) last month and the JITTIC U-14 tournament in El Salvador last week, the country’s young budding stars will next contest the Tobago ITF competition for U-12, 14 and U-18 players, both boys and girls, at the NRC in two weeks time, August 18-23.

Public Relation’s Officer at Tennistt, the governing body for the sport locally, Carlista Mohammed said the tournament will provide an ideal opportunity for players to gain valuable points towards their international rankings, both at the ITF and JITIC.

Last year, Kobe James was the lone T&T player to have won a match in the boys Under-18 singles category. The girls equivalent, however, produced a much better showing with Jade Tom Yew and Abigail Jones reaching the semifinals in the team doubles.

Mohammed, who is still among the top senior players presently, believes the country’s players should be able to hold their own this year, saying many of them have been playing pretty well.

Among them are the members of the under-12 boys development teams which qualified for the ITF/COTECC final out of the Sub Region 4 play-off such as Daniel Jeary, Luca Denoon, Jaylon Chapman, Jace Qushie, Nathen Martin, and girls: Kiera Youseff, Jaeda Lee Daniel-Joseph, Jordane Dookie, Cameron Wong and Zara Ghuran.

Among the U-18s, Yin-Lee Assang could head the list of girls to be considered, along with Tom Yew and Jones, who have both grown in confidence, Anya King and Victoria Koylass.

The boys U-18 will feature a team comprising of Aiden Carter, Adam Ramkissoon, who is set to wing out for an international tourney where he will receive much-needed practice, Ebolum N’Wokolo, Akile Duke and Kyle Kerry, among others.

REGIONAL UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 3RD DAY, 1ST ROUND

SUMMARISED SCORES
KINGSTOWN–Summarised scores from the final day of the opening round of matches in the Three-day Regional Under-19 Championship yesterday.
At Sion Hill: Match drawn.
BARBADOS 223 (Shian Brathwaite 87, Kadeem Alleyne 54, Nico Reifer 39; Raewin Senior 7-58, Sanjay Brown 3-32) and 129 for three (Kadeem Alleyne 50, Nico Reifer 47; Kirk McKenzie 2-24)
JAMAICA 140 (Raewin Senior 54, Carlos Brown 25; Camarie Boyce 3-38, Joshua Bishop 3-40) and 138 for six (Andre McCarthy 47, Carlos Brown 30, Ricardo McIntosh 27; Camarie Boyce 2-36, Shemar Persaud 2-42)
At Park Hill: Match drawn
WINDWARD ISLANDS 238 (Teddy Bishop 79, Kimani Melius 53, Johnel Eugene 37; Navin Bidaisee 3-29, Justyn Gangoo 3-34, Jayden Seales 2-36)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 304 for eight decl. (Navin Bidaisee 87, Christian Thurton 75, Leonardo Julien 46, Avinash Mahabirsingh 32; Simeon Gerson 5-82)
At Arnos Vale Stadium: Guyana won by 10 wickets.
LEEWARD ISLANDS 116 (Kevin Sinclair 4-19, Kelvin Umroa 3-28, Joshua Jones 2-27) and 114 (Mikyle Louis 31, Joshua Grant 26 not out; Ashmead Nedd 6-30)
GUYANA 229 (Kevin Sinclair 51, Sachin Singh 49, Bhaskar Yadram 35, Javid Karim 30; Javin Spencer 5-70, Zawandi White 3-16) and four without loss.
(CMC)

WALTER ALIBEY
 

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season is here and there has been a refresh of the trophy for this year. The sleek and modern design integrates the colourful and vibrates Hero CPL logo with a cutting edge look.

Designed by Ryan McClean of Ryan McClean Silver, the new trophy will be up for grabs when the tournament gets underway tomorrow with defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) taking on St Lucia Stars.

The trophy was delivered to Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain by Hero CPL’s official logistics partner, eZone. Present at the unveiling were Damien O’Donohoe and Pete Russell, CEO and COO of the Hero CPL, and Dwayne Bravo and Javon Searles from TKR.

Speaking about the vision behind the trophy McClean said: “I designed the trophy after spending time looking at the Hero CPL logo. I wanted to try and tie the two things together. The logo, just like Hero CPL, is dynamic and colourful and I felt the trophy should mirror this. The swirls from the logo holding a cricket ball seemed a perfect fit to reflect what Hero CPL represents - the perfect synergy of carnival and cricket.”

This year will also see the arrival of the Bouncers, the new mascots for Hero CPL. The cricket-loving siblings – Vivian and Richard – will be helping to keep the crowd entertained across the tournament. They were both present at the trophy launch in Port of Spain to help celebrate the new trophy and get us ready for the upcoming tournament.

Damien O’Donohoe, Hero CPL CEO said: “It’s great to be back here again at the Queen’s Park Oval. It is hard to believe for Pete and I that this is year six, we couldn’t be more excited. We definitely believe that this is going to be the biggest and best year by far. It’s great to be playing the home games here at Queen’s Park Oval and the finals at the Brian Lara Stadium. We just want to showcase our new trophy which we’re very proud of. We had a top silversmith working on this for about six months and we think it’s first class.”

Dwayne Bravo, captain of TKR said: “It’s a pleasure for me to be standing here next to this nice trophy. Hopefully, I’ll be the first captain to lift it again this year. CPL is a very good tournament, it’s one of the most successful tournaments in the world one of the most anticipated tournaments in the world.

“Playing the first game here at my home ground here at the Queen’s Park Oval it’s going to be a full house. I want to wish all the teams all the best in this tournament – the fans are going to get their monies worth and once again thanks to CPL for continuing to support Caribbean cricket.”

Aiden Carter was the lone T&T player in winner’s row when the Main Draw of the Coca-Cola/ITF Junior Tennis Tournament served off at the St Lucia National Tennis Centre, Beausejour, Gros-Islet Castries, St Lucia, yesterday.

Carter, with an ITF rank of 2429 is the highest T&T ranked player among the Under 18s and he showed why in his encounter with Martin Heller of the USA, winning in straight sets 6-1, 7-6(2) despite the challenge.

His win was the only bright spark for the T&T players up to that point in the tournament, as all the other players who took the court before he was beaten.

Earlier, Victoria Koylass fell to Anjali Mogili of the United States 6-0, 6-0 on court six and Liam Sheppard, an hour afterwards succumbed to a 6-2, 6-2 defeat to number#3 seed Donte Armorister of the Bahamas on the same court. Aalisha Alexis also suffered a Girls singles nightmare in her match against Marine Michel of France, losing 6-4, 6-4.

In another game Kimberly Sabga had her matchup with Audrey Moutama of France played simultaneously with Carter’s game, on the adjacent court, but still, Sabga went down to her counterpart 6-1, 6-0, hardly troubling the French in the process.

Up top press time, last night T&T siblings Osenyonye N’Wokolo and Ebolum N’Wokolo were prevented from action due to a downpour of rain. Osenyonye was scheduled to face hometown favourite Meggan Williams and her brother was expected to be up against fourth-ranked Phillippe Mercelina of the Netherlands on court five.

Later Shauna Valentine, another T&T player was scheduled to face Selene Kentish of Antigua.

The visitors started their tour of the Caribbean being bowled out for 43 runs but when Bangladesh left on Sunday night for home, they were smiling as they recovered well to take both the ODI series and T20 series by 2-1 margins.

The Bangladesh boys defeated the Windies by 19 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method at the Central Broward Regional Park in the United States to topple the world champions.

Liton Dass was the difference between the two teams as he slapped 61 runs from 32 balls. His innings included six fours and three sixes. His effort enabled his team totally 184 for five wickets in their 20 overs. The Windies were replying on 135/7 in 17.1 overs when the second rain break forced the umpires to reward the game on the DL Method.

The Windies were out of the game when Andre Russell fell for 47 off 21 balls. The right-handed Jamaican came to the crease with the Windies in trouble and his first five scoring strokes were 6, 6, 6, 6, 4. The large expat Bangladeshi contingent in the stands grew very quiet, as he was threatening to take the game away from them. When he holed out after hitting four and six sixes, the series was over for the Windies.

Earlier, Bangladesh got a massive advantage when they won the toss as batting first would have favoured them. The ball came on nicely unto the bat which made scoring easier, as the Windies would realise that there was no profit in batting second, as some balls kept low. Dass led the way for Bangladesh as he smacked the Windies bowling all over the park. At the end of the six-over powerplay, Bangladesh was already 77/2 and out front. The little right-hander scored 61 from 32 balls with six fours and three sixes. He and Tamim Iqbal out on 61 run for the first wicket in 4.4 overs, as the latter made 21 from 13 balls. Towards the end of the innings, Mahmudullah Riaz struck 32 not out off 20 balls with four fours and a six and Abu Hider stroked 18 not out. (CMC)

SCOREBOARD

West Indies vs Bangladesh
3rd T20I
BANGLADESH Innings
L. Das c Nurse b Williams 61
T. Iqbal c Williams b Brathwaite 21
S. Sarkar c Powell b Paul 5
M. Rahim c wkp Ramdin b Brathwaite 12
S. Al Hasan c Nurse b Paul 24
Mahmudullah not out 32
A. Haque not out 18
Extras (lb4, w6, nb1) 11
TOTAL (5 wkts, 20 overs) 184
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-66, 3-97, 4-102, 5-146
Did not bat: Islam, Rony, Hossain, Rahman.
Bowling: Badree 3-0-23-0, Nurse 3-0-31-0, Russell 3-0-36-0 (w1), Brathwaite 4-0-32-2 (w3), Paul 3-0-26-2 (w1), Williams 4-0-32-1 (w1, nb1).
WEST INDIES Innings
C Walton c (sub) Rahman b Sarkar 19
A Fletcher c Islam b Rahman 6
M Samuels b Shakib Al Hasan 2
R Powell c Hider b Rahman 23
D Ramdin b Hossain 21
A Russell c Haque b Rahman 47
C Brathwaite c (sub) S Rahman b Hider 5
A Nurse not out 0
Extras (b4, lb3, w5) 12
TOTAL (7 wkts, 17.1 overs) 135
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-30, 3-32,
4-77, 5-96, 6-128, 7-135.
Did not bat: K Paul, K Williams, S Badree.
Bowling: Abu Hider 3-0-27-1
Rubel Hossain 4-0-28-1,
Mustafizur Rahman 3.1-0-31-3 (w1),
Nazmul Islam 0.3-0-2-0,
Soumya Sarkar 2.3-0-18-1,
Shakib-al-Hasan 4-0-22-1.
Result: Bangladesh won by 19 runs (D-L-S method)
Series: Bangladesh won three-match series 2-1.
Man-of-the-Match: Liton Das.
Man-of-the-Series: Shakib-al-Hasan.
Toss: Bangladesh.
Umpires: G Brathwaite, N Duguid; TV – J Wilson.

The unstoppable Police Women’s Rugby team seems well on their way to the clinching their fourth 10-a-side title in as many years.

The team being led by the talented Nicolette Pantor, a member of the now famous ‘Pantor clang’ as well as the equally talented Calisha Harry, Jahlissa Thomas, Angel Jorsling, Avijah Lewis, Kathleen Stephens and sisters Ornella, Onika and Kadiera George among others, have won every title at stake in women’s rugby for the past three years, including the 10-a-side, 7-a-side, Knock Out, the opening Ruggerama title, and the season-ending Caribbean part of the Rugby Barbados World Sevens.

On Saturday the Policewomen earned an easy default win in the Harvard-hosted rugby festival at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, to add to their opening ruggerama title on June 23. Due to the pulling out of UWI Tobago and Rainbow this year, the Lawwomen are among just four teams battling for supremacy and bragging rights, with the others being Harvard, Caribs and Royalians.

The teams are each allowed to host a rugby festival and the winner will be determined by the one with the most points.

Apart from claiming the win from the Harvard-forfeited festival Saturday, Police also won their own festival at the St James Barracks on July 21, as well as the first festival held by Caribs at the Savannah.

The Lawwomen need only to win the other two festivals to be hosted by Royalians on August 26 and the T&T Rugby Football Union festival on September 30 to retain the title.

Yesterday Harry, a standout player on the police roster said her team’s strength lies in the collective responsibility of each player. “Each player has a responsibility and she goes out there and gets it done for the benefit of the team,” Harry explained.

After the three festivals, Police are ahead on the standings with 22 points with Royalians in second on 22 points and Harvard and Caribs occupying the other two positions in third and fourth respectively on 18 and 10 points.

Meanwhile, Harvard men are well ahead in the Senior Division, a position they reinforced on at the weekend with a convincing 27-0 triumph over Caribs. Rainbow was also among the winners in the senior division Saturday, defeating Defence Force 48-32 in Group B, while in Rydeus whipped Policemen 41-21.

Rydeus men were led by double tries from Lemuel Rogers and Solomon Antoine, and other tries from Marquis Samuel, Korri Edwards and Kareem Thomas.

Police on the other hand got two tries and three conversions from Akiel Smith, while Andel Matamoro was the scorer of the other try.

In a Championship Division match, Caribs also prevailed over arch-rivals Royalians 30-10 at the Savannah.

WALTER ALIBEY
 

National senior men’s volleyball coach, Sean Morrison will name his team today for the defence of its Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Men’s Championship title.

The tournament will take place from Saturday to August 20, in Paramaribo, Suriname and will feature ten-time winners Barbados, 2012 champion team the Bahamas, Haiti, three-time defending champion T&T, and the host country, Suriname.

The five teams will play a round-robin series at the end of which the top two teams will contest the gold medal match while the third and fourth placed teams will compete for the bronze.

Morrison will have great memories of competing in Suriname as he was a part of the national men’s team which captured its first-ever CAZOVA crown back in 2010 in Suriname, before adding the last two editions of the competition, in 2014 and 2017, both on home soil.

The tournament will also be a chance for the T&T men to get back to winning ways after a tough outing at the just concluded 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia where they ended with a 0-5 record.

This after losing pool matches to host Colombia (2-3), Puerto Rico (0-3) and Guatemala (1-3) before suffering defeats against Venezuela (0-3) and Guatemala, again, (1-3) in the seventh spot playoff.

Prior to that, the T&T men had a 1-3 record at the Men’s NORCECA Challenge Cup in Pinar del Rio, Cuba with defeats against Puerto Rico (0-3), Cuba (0-3) and Guatemala (1-3) while tasting victory versus Costa Rica 3-0.

Together with captain Ryan Stewart, a few familiar faces from last year’s winning team along with Portugal-based Marc-Anthony Honore, who was voted as the “Best Middle Blocker” at the CAC Games, should be included.

Those expected to be selected are Marlon “Waldo” Phillip, Akim Bushe, Kameron Donald, Mikheil Hoyte, Joshua Mohammed, Brandon Legall and Daneil Williams, all members of last year’s winning team on home soil.

According to Morrison, teams for the CAZOVA Championship are allowed to name a roster of 12 players, but due to a lack of funds, the T&T team will only comprise ten players.

Morrison and his team will continue to train until Thursday at a venue yet to be confirmed before leaving for Suriname on Friday ahead of Saturday’s start of the competition.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Host Year Champions Runner-up Second Runner-up
Suriname 1991 Netherland Antilles Suriname
Jamaica 1992 Barbados Jamaica Bahamas
T&T 1993 Barbados Jamaica Bahamas
Bahamas 1994 Barbados Bahamas Martinique
Barbados 1995 Barbados Netherland Antilles Suriname
USVI 1996 Barbados Suriname Martinique
Martinique 1998 Barbados Martinique Jamaica
Barbados 2000 Barbados Suriname Bahamas
T&T 2002 Barbados Netherland Antilles Martinique
Barbados 2004 Barbados Jamaica T&T
Bahamas 2006 Barbados T&T Jamaica
Barbados 2008 Martinique Barbados T&T
Suriname 2010 T&T Barbados Bahamas
USVI 2012 Bahamas T&T Barbados
T&T 2014 T&T Barbados Curacao
T&T 2017 T&T Martinique Barbados