Fermin awaits ‘elite’ funding
By JONATHAN RAMNANANSINGH Thursday, September 8 2011
BOXER, Andrew Fermin is still in the dark as to when he will receive his Elite Athlete Funding from the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT).
Fermin’s coach, Reynold Cox revealed that this has been a major setback for the amateur boxer as he prepares for the World Amateur Boxing Championships this month and the Pan American Games in Mexico next month.
“We haven’t gotten any word since from the Ministry of Sport,” said a frustrated Cox yesterday. He added,
“ Pertaining to training, we’re doing what we can right now. The time is getting very close and we have no other choice but to wait it out.”
Although Cox continues his training with Fermin, he has accepted that preparations will not be to the level he wanted for the forthcoming World Amateur Boxing Championships and Pan American Games.
“Think about it, how can the Ministry of Sport expect us to be at our full potential and give our best performance if we do not receive the elite athlete funding. This was supposed to take us to either Cuba or Panama to get the needed sparring practice for Fermin. In Trinidad and Tobago, there are no boxers we can use to put in the ring with Fermin to get in the required sparring sessions,” said Cox.
He continued, “Fermin has been doing the other physical exercises and so forth but sparring is a critical factor in boxing and it must be on the front-burner if we are to get the desired results. We can’t expect results if we have no support.”
Cox and Fermin have been forced to fly to the World Amateur Boxing Championships a couple days before, to hopefully get some sparring sessions in with other competitors.
“We will now have to go to the worlds a week before competition to scrape in some sparring for Fermin. We have no choice, the Championships are almost two weeks away. But I will ensure that win or lose at the Worlds, Fermin will not stop training. He needs to be on top of his game for both tournaments but it looks like we would also have to use the worlds as a preparation tournament for the Pan Am. This is what it has reached to,” added Cox.
The duo has been preparing intensely for the two major tournaments at various locations in south Trinidad.
“We have been conducting some sessions at the Sand City Boxing Gym in Siparia and at the Cosmic Boxing Gym in Marabella. But there’s only so much you can do at these gyms. We’ve been working tirelessly from Monday to Friday and he’s been doing his personal training on weekends. But again, we need the sparring. At this moment in time, I can’t say how well he is in the ring because of the lack of sparring sessions. I cannot say his current level and where he’s at right now,” Cox said.
