The Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago delegation departed for Los Angeles California, USA, earlier this week. Sixty-four athletes and 22 officials left in two groups to participate in the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

The T&T team will be competing in eight disciplines including aquatics, athletics, basketball, bocce, equestrian, football, power-lifting and volleyball for which they have been involved in vigorous training sessions for the past two years.

The Digicel Foundation, long-standing partner of the team, donated over $100,000 to the games and hosted a number of events to raise awareness and build support for persons with special needs. The games begin Saturday with the opening ceremony and continue until August 2.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) is setting up a Governance Commission.

A TTOC press release on Monday stated that the Commission, established by TTOC president Brian Lewis will comprise five individuals who have no known official affiliation to any local Olympic sport organisation. Of the five persons, four are from Trinidad and Tobago and the fifth is well known Olympic sport governance expert Prof Leigh Robinson, Head of Sport Studies at the University of Stirling in Scotland.

The release said the intention of setting up the Commission was to put together a Sport Governance Code that meets international benchmarks in relation to good governance.

The TTOC said discussions with the proposed members of the Commission will conclude by the end of this month.

The Commission will begin work on the Code in August Lewis said.

The release added that the Commission will be pushing to have the Good Sport Governance Code included in the TTOC Constitution at next year’s Annual General Meeting. And the hope is that the Code will serve as a road map for Olympic sport governance in Trinidad and

Tobago.

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Over the next 14 days, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis, will establish a local Governance Commission which will comprise of four local individuals who have no affiliation to any Olympic sporting organisation.

This commission will work towards putting together a Sport Governance Code for TT that meets the international benchmarks in relation to good governance. Lewis has already brought Olympic Sport Governance professor and head of Sport Studies at the University of Stirling in Scotland, Leigh Robinson, on board for this initiative and discussion with the other four proposed members of the Commission will be concluded by the end of July.

According to Lewis, the Commission will begin working on the Code in August since it is being hailed as a roadmap for Olympic Sport Governance in Trinidad and Tobago. The former Harvard man, who was elected as a member of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committee (CANOC) Executive Board in October 2014, is also chairman of the CANOC International and National Olympic Committees Relations Commission, and will be pushing to have the Good Sport Governance Code included in the TTOC Constitution at next year’s Annual General Meeting.

The Tobago Netball League got on the way on July 11 with the traditional parade of the teams and an exhibition match that showcased a number of youngsters at Shaw Park.

The highlight of this season’s launch was the match featuring Black Rock Ballers and Jets 1 showcasing players in the age-group six to 13 years old in the Classification Tournament. Both teams boasted a number of six, seven and eight-year-olds in their line-ups and the spectators were in high praise of the toddlers’ effort in competing against the older and bigger players.

The march past saw 19 registered teams participating and only three teams were short of the minimum quota of players, seven, which they were required to parade with.

Secretary for the Division of Community Development and Culture, Dr Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus in delivering the feature address said, “Netball is one way of remaining healthy and given the level of participation from young and senior athletes in the league, one can safely conclude that the future of Tobago is in good hands.

“Beyond that, we look at the sport itself and the sport is about teamwork; and I see the women here, the women and young girls here learning how to rely on each other as part of a team, learning that there will be losing moments and you comfort each other as part of that team, there will be winning moments and you will stand shoulder to shoulder and celebrate.”

She stressed that those leadership qualities should not just be practised on the courts, but should also be taken back to homes, communities and workplaces. “If we continue to do that, we would certainly build a stronger Tobago together,” said Dr Tsoiafatt-Angus. In declaring the season officially opened, Assistant Secretary of the Division of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport, Jomo Pitt said the committee has transformed the face of netball in Tobago.

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Women’s boxer, Chimere Taylor, missed a first ever medal for T&T among her gender at the 28th Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada yesterday when she was kayoed in her middleweight (69-75 kg) bout by Dominican Republic’s Yenebier Guillen Benitez. Fighting at the Oshawa Sports Centre, 27-year-old Taylor was trailing 30-27 on points  when she was floored by her opponent with a minute and 20 seconds left in round two of their quarterfinal, with the winner certain of a bronze medal for the least.

In taekwondo, Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medal winner in 2010 and 2014, Dorian Alexander, 31,  started well before losing to Colombian Miguel Trejos, 5-11 in their three-round battle, helped by four penalty points  at the Mississauga Sports Centre.

Alexander, who fought at the 2009, 2011 and 2013 World Taekwondo Championships and is a medical doctor by profession, won the first round 2-1, but in the second round Trejos turned up the heat and outscored his T&T opponent 8-1 to take command of the contest, 9-3, before the second round played out 2-all on points.

At the Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre, Fabien Whitfield and Daneil William secured ninth spot via their default win over Venezuelans Jackson Henriques and Jesus Villafane. On Sunday night, cyclist Njisane Phillip failed to add to his silver medal in the Match Sprint when he ended fifth in the Men’s Keirin which was contested over eighth laps at the Cisco Milton Pan Am Veledrome.

In the morning heats, Phillip was second in heat two behind Canada’s Hugo Barrette while Argentina’s Leandro Battasso earned the other qualifying spot to the final ahead of USA’s Matt Baranoski. And in the other heat, Colombian Fabian Puerto won ahead of Venezuela’s Hersony Canelon and Suriname’s Jair Tjon En Fa, while Brazil’s Flavio Cipriano was fourth and did not advance.

However, in the six-man ride off for the gold medal,  Phillip could only muster a fifth spot behind gold medal winner Puerta while Canelon took silver and Barrette, bronze. Bottasso was fourth while Tjon En Fa was sixth followed by Cipriano and Baranoski. At the Angus Glen Golf Club, the local quartet of Sachin Kumar, Talin Rajendranath, Christina Ferreira and Monifa completed tough campaigns.

Rajendranath carded rounds of 74, 78 75 and four over 74 for a total of +13 (301) and 24th, one spot above Kumar who had scores of 78, 76, 73 and 75 for a +14 (302) tally. Ferreira carded a final round of 82 (+10) to go with previous rounds of84, 85 and 79 a four-day total of 330 (+42) an 26th while Sealy ended four places higher after she shot a final round of 83 (+11)  to add to previous scores of 81, 77 and 77 for a combined 318 (+30) and joint 22nd with Bolivian Natalia Soria.

And in the Mixed Event, the T&T quartet had rounds of 155, 153, 150 and 156 for +38 for 15th. At the Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre, T&T’s Ayana Dyette and Malika Davidson ended in 14th spot after going under to Guatemalans, Maria Jose Orellan and Blanca Recinos, 15-21, 16-21.

Today (Tuesday), at the CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium, T&T men, beaten 4-0 by Uruguay and 5-1 by Paraguay tackle Mexico from 5.35pm while at the Pan Am Hockey Field, the national men’s team come up against the host country in their final quarterfinal from 7.30pm. So far swimmer George Bovell (50m freestyle bronze) and Phillip are the lone T&T athletes to medal at the games which steps into high gear this week with the start of the track and field events.

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The Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada acted as the first Continental Qualification regatta for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition.

One spot was up for grabs for the best ranked nation from North America and from South America in the Laser and Laser Radial.

The two North American nations to qualify are:

Laser - Trinidad and Tobago
Laser Radial - Aruba

The two South American nations to qualify are:
Laser - El Salvador
Laser Radial - Uruguay

Of the 46 places available on the Rio 2016 Laser start line, 34 places (including hosts Brazil) have now been snapped up. Ten more places will be awarded through a string of Continental Qualification Events sanctioned by ISAF, to finish by 1 June 2016 at the latest. The remaining two places in the Laser will be decided via the International Olympic Committee Tripartite Commission.

Twenty two Laser Radial spots out of 37 have been taken following the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships and the Pan-American Games. As hosts, Brazil automatically receives a place. The next opportunity for sailors to qualify will come at the 2015 World Championship which is set to be held in Al Mussanah, Oman at the end of November. Following the Laser Radial Worlds, the Continental Qualification Events will decide nine further spots with the remaining two decided by the IOC's Tripartite Commission.

The inclusion for the first time by ISAF of Continental Qualification Events in the Qualification Pathway is an opportunity to develop sailing around the world and reflect the IOC Qualification System Principles. Key requirements of these Principles are to ensure the participation of the best athletes and ensure universality through continental representation.

Click here to view the nations qualified following the Santander 2014 ISAF Worlds.

Click here to view the Rio 2016 Qualification System.

Guatemala's Juan Ignacio Maegli took gold at the Pan Am Games following a consistent week of racing. From the 13 race series, including the Medal Race, Maegli took one race victory but remained in the top five throughout with only a discarded 17 blemishing a strong run of results.

Robert Scheidt (BRA) walked away with silver whilst Canada's Lee Parkhill took bronze on his home waters.

In the Laser Radial, Paige Railey (USA) walked away with the victory, her second Pan Am gold medal following her success at the 2007 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Uruguay's Dolores Moreira booked her nation a spot at Rio 2016 with a silver medal. Moreira's rise has been a rapid one. From finishing ninth at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, to gold fleet racing at the 2014 ISAF Worlds where she finished 31st to securing her nation a spot at Rio 2016, Moreira will be one to watch building up to Rio 2016 and beyong.

Bronze medal in the Laser Radial went the way of Brazil's Fernanda Decnop.

Click here for Pan American Games Results

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More Articles …

  1. Track & Field To Take Centre Stage
  2. Exclusive: Hosting Olympics and Paralympics is Lima's ultimate ambition, says Quiñones
  3. TTOC Governance Commission to be Established
  4. Njisane, Bovell benefit from TTOC bonus programme
  5. REAL DEAL: Ato heaps praises on St Fort
  6. Silver Medallist Falls Just Short in Second Medal Attempt at PanAm Games
  7. The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee Youth Camp Kicks Off
  8. Njisane Phillip Claims Silver for Trinidad and Tobago at Pan Am Games
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