Sportification with Anand Rampersad

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Sportification

By Anand Rampersad

Religion, sport can serve good of all
Published: Monday, May 5, 2014 (T&T Guardian)

Religion has had both a positive and negative relationship with sports.
 
On one hand, both religion and sports have been built upon a positive ethos of commitment to hard work, personal sacrifice, fairness and achievement. They both incorporate the use of rituals and customs and it is common to see the invocation of God in training, team meetings and in the celebration of success and even failure.
 
On the other hand, it has been argued that the spirit of competitive sports have sometimes weakened the spiritual bond of people both as active and passive participants.
 
In the Christian-dominated US, Woods (2007) argues that religion has been used as a means to justify American preoccupation with sports. Not only is sports seen as having an appeal to God, it has also been a means through which religious bodies have used sports to reinforce its membership.
 
For instance, Woods (2007) cites the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), secondary schools such as Christ the King and universities such as Oral Roberts University use sports through the provision of sporting facilities and excellent sporting programmes to attract new members, students and even donors.
 
Amara (2008) cites that sports have been able to mobilise nationalist support throughout the Muslim world cutting across class, gender and sectarian differences. She argues that modern sports and Islam can coexist in the same world.
 
However, she claims that sports have to be seen as a site for the negotiation of differences which can enhance cross cultural experiences. This approach has the potential to minimise the clash of western and traditional value systems which has been the source of some of the controversies in sports participation as it relates to the athletes from the Muslim world.
 
In an in-depth study of eight schools in West Midlands, England, to gain an understanding as to why Muslim girls were withdrawing from physical education, Dagakasa et al. (2011) concluded that religious concerns of the girls needed to be incorporated into the schools’ policies as well as in its physical education programmes.
 
Some of the specific problems that were identified by the students and their parents were the lack of flexible dress codes especially as it related to the wearing of the hijab and the use of public swimming pools. Dagakasa et al. (2011) argued that a more embracing sport policy would allow for the inclusion of Muslim girls.
 
As studies have been conducted elsewhere in the world, the same has to be done in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. The benefits of understanding this link can be multiple and everlasting especially in a society that is highly differentiated along religious lines.
 
As research has indicated, females are more likely than males to be restricted from participating in sports and physical activities as they are expected to be the prime bearers of religious values and practices.
 
Outside of engaging in sports and physical activities for recreational and fun reasons, many talented persons may be discouraged from taking part in sports seriously because of insensitivities to religious diversity in existing sporting programmes.
 
As such in formal settings such as schools, once a proper understanding of how religious beliefs and practices impact upon how students view and engage sports, proper intervention strategies can be undertaken. These strategies can be helpful to physical education teachers, parents and most importantly the students.
 
Local religious organisations must also look to put greater effort at encouraging their followers young and old to participate in sports and physical activities.
 
Not only would such activities benefit the individuals personally but collectively it can be a means through which religious groups can further connect with their members. As much as competition and winning is important, sports can also be a good means through which religious bodies can teach important life lessons to their members.
 
At the end of the day it would not be surprising to hear some sport administrators claim that religion is not their business but many governing bodies are adopting measures that reflects some degree of understanding of differences in religious beliefs of sport personnel.
 
A perfect example of this is the recent decision by FIFA to allow for religious head wear to be worn by players. Such a move not only recognises the difference in religious beliefs but also paves the way for more persons to come forward to participate in football.
 
Religion when combined with other variables such as social class, family, school and community does impact on the level and extent of participation in sport and physical activities. As such the various sporting authorities and researchers should embark upon gaining a deeper understanding of the connection between religion and sports as it can best serve the overall good of the society.

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Sportification
PE, sport in schools head in right direction
Published: Monday, May 19, 2014
Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)

Physical Education (PE) and sports has received an enormous boost with the attention provided by regional Ministers of Education in the last two weeks.
 
Locally, the Minister of Education indicated that from September 2014, PE will become part of the ongoing assessment (40 per cent) of students in standards four and five preparing for their final Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) which will account for 60 per cent. Regionally, the CXC has announced the introduction of five ‘new generation of CAPE subjects’ which includes PE and sports.
 
One of the intended major benefits of these new subjects is the creation of a cadre of skilled personnel who will have the opportunity to stimulate growth in existing industries and or create new ones.
 
The opportunity and encouragement to participate in PE is enshrined in the UN Declarations of the Rights of the Child 1959. Therefore, once PE is properly introduced, taught and encouraged, children stand to benefit tremendously.
 
It has been well documented (for example, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, USA) that PE offers children numerous physical, mental, academic and social benefits which can only contribute to their individual and collective development. Therefore, PE at the primary school level is an important forerunner for encouraging interest in PE and Sports at the CAPE level.
 
At the CAPE level, the CXC must be applauded for finally recognising the need to treat PE and Sports as more than recreational activities. Politicians, administrators, academics and even the business community have for too long neglected PE and sports as serious activities necessitating systematic scholarly attention as well as the potential social and economic benefits. And this has happened over the years against a backdrop of consistent stellar performances in many sporting disciplines such as cricket, athletics, netball and cycling.
 
As it is said, better late than never, and PE and sports can provide a potential foundation for the establishment of a sport industry that will incorporate such areas as the development of athletes, coaches, sports researchers, dietitians, PE lecturers and teachers, sport agents/managers, sport lawyers, sports medicine doctors, sports officials, sports planners and administrators among others.
 
The objectives of the CXC and regional governments are well intentioned, however, success of these programmes require not only technical expertise but also cultural and sociological changes in the way we as a people view PE and Sports.
 
Firstly, parents, teachers and the wider non-sporting community have to see PE and sports as being significant for human development.
 
They have to accept that PE and sports are not just recreational activities and are no less important as the academic subjects which are used for assessing students’ ‘smartness’ or ‘brightness’. Easier said than done!
 
Hence, for PE and sports to be effective at both the primary and secondary school level, students have to be taught by persons who have not only technical training in PE but also the passion for the subject—just as someone teaching sociology, mathematics or biology. In other words the established view that once someone played sports he or she is automatically a “good” coach inter alia has to be tossed out.
 
Additionally, the specialised skillset of the PE teacher becomes even more important as studies have shown that social, economic and cultural factors influence students’ participation in sports and physical activities.
 
The aforementioned points are reinforced by Carole Beckford, lead facilitator for CAPE Physical Education syllabus. She indicated that one of the biggest challenges the introduction of PE and Sports faces is the lack of regional scholarly material. Consequently, in the initial phase there is going to be a heavy reliance on foreign material in the syllabus. It is hoped that PE teachers, researchers at UWI, UTT and other regional academic and sport research institutions such as Caribbean Sport Development Agency (CSDA) would take up this challenge and offer future students Caribbean material for their skills development.
 
Caribbean sporting talent has to be rationally and efficiently monetised to the social and economic benefit of the region. The inclusion of PE and sports in the school syllabus is a start in the right to direction to achieving this goal.

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Sportification
The ‘I’s’ have it for sport
Published: Monday, May 26, 2014
Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)

The Caribbean Sport Development Agency (CSDA) conference on Redefining Normal held at the Cascadia Hotel May 21-23, demonstrated the importance of bringing together local, regional and international researchers, practitioners and administrators to discuss the most effective approach physical education and sports can contribute to the social development of people of the Caribbean.
 
The nature of the conference themes concentrated on using physical education (PE) and sports to empower Caribbean youth in terms of their health, personal development and becoming leaders in their communities and the region at large.
 
The discussion from Andre Collins of CSDA, on the Delivery of Elementary Physical Education in Trinidad and Tobago highlighted the importance of having a clear vision and direction for PE if it is to be taken seriously by all stakeholders. A clear vision is rudimentary for the development of a proper framework for PE. This framework he suggested should be comprised of four important constituents: curriculum; teacher training; implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Although welcoming the decision by the Ministry of Education and the CXC to promote PE and sports in schools, he emphasised that they should not be driven solely by examinations. In other words, establishing an exam-less culture of physical activity and sports is more important.
 
According to Collin Higgs, effective collaboration between governments and civic society provides a strong foundation for practicing effective sports for development programmes. Therefore, the Ministry of Education can forge (if they do not do already) a working partnership with CSDA, UWI, UTT among others to ensure that its PE programme is properly devised, implemented and monitored and evaluated. It is important that there is no duplication of resources especially as its availability is one of the major logistical drawbacks of sports for development programmes locally, regionally and internationally especially in developing countries.
 
A collaborative effort can offer training of trainers (teachers) which is very critical to the effectiveness of PE especially at the primary school level where basic skills are developed. Therefore, such training should not only include the various physical activities that children should engage in but also incorporate other areas of human development such as social and communicative skills.
 
John Campbell’s discussion on Active After-School Programmes for the Caribbean, provided information on work currently being done by Caricom to promote children’s involvement in after school physical activity. The intention of the programme is commendable but based on the presentation one of its fundamental weaknesses is its failure to include the key participants (children) of the programme in the pre-pilot discussion. Knowledge in what children want to engage in and what are the reasons they may or may not engage in physical activity is very important to any successful programme.
 
Even in the delivery of sporting activities, the top-down decision making approach may not be effective. Researchers such as Allender, Cowburn and Foster (2006) have indicated that it is important to understand the meanings that children attach to physical activity and sports. Such an understanding will provide for proper formulation of programmes as well as allow for better training of teachers and coaches. This approach has the potential to increase the efficacy levels of the physical activity programmes. Participatory development and the importance of data informed programmes and policy cannot be overstated.
 
The use of physical activity and sports to teach about sexual health was brought out in the presentation by Linda Torege entitled How Do We Educate Youth About Sexual Health.
 
The essence of the presentation was to demonstrate how games and sports can teach children about understanding important life skills and their surroundings while at the same time having fun. The ongoing study by Sarah Zipp entitled Sport for Development with at-risk girls in St Lucia, raised questions as to how sport is viewed by at-risk girls and how has sports for development impacted on the girls lives. Some of the benefits identified have been of peer bonding and community connectedness. At the same time she indicated that some of the girls were faced with gender identity issues especially as it related to their body.
 
In T&T there has been discussions about using sports as a means of addressing at risk youth such as the Ryan Report 2013, Hoop of Life, and many anecdotal commentaries. However, there has not being any in-depth study or studies ascertaining how and to what extent sports and physical activity can assist in addressing some of the social issues confronting local and regional youth. One of the fundamental reasons that can account for the lack of studies may be the flawed evangelical view that sport is inherently good.
 
At the end of the conference, it was evident that effective sports for development programmes are directly dependent upon three “I’s”—Intent, Implementation and Impact. Additionally, all programmes require strong committed advocators and the availability of resources of which funding is most critical.

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Sportification
Is sport an answer to social deviance?
Published: Monday, June 2, 2014
Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)

There is an urgent need for politicians, policymakers, administrators and practitioners to differentiate between the ‘Development of Sports’ and ‘Sports for Development.’ This is required to save the ‘innocence’ of sports from becoming the proverbial verbal football of politicians and the general public for all the wrong reasons.
 
In recent times a lot has been said about sports, however, a great deal has either been oversimplified, overestimated, omitted and or totally ignored. As a corollary sports is being saddled with an unpleasant character and image.
 
The ‘Development of Sports’ focuses on athletes excelling in their respective sporting disciplines on the world stage. Therefore, the significant focus is on talent identification and the provision of resources—funding, training facilities, scholarship etc—to athletes representing the country on the world stage such as the Olympics where gold medals and world records are the ultimate return on such investments. The objectives, targets and outcomes of the ‘Development of Sports’ are clearly stated and measurable. Additionally, opportunistic political and economic actors use any sterling performances on any sporting world stage to serve their respective causes.
 
On the other hand, ‘Sport for Development’ focuses on sports as a means of building the social life of society especially as it relates to health, community integration and addressing social issues facing ‘youth at risk’ such as juvenile delinquency, gang activities and a general breakdown in the social fabric of the society. Although the objectives are clear, the targets and outcomes of ‘Sports for Development’ programmes are problematic to measure.
 
In the last two (2) years or thereabout, a number of programmes have been initiated under the umbrella of ‘sport for development.’ The main programmes have been the ‘Hoop of Life’ basketball project and the LifeSport programme. The ‘Hoop of Life’ project is aimed at social control of ‘youth at risk’ in crime ‘hotspot’ areas throughout the country.
 
After two (2) years the programme is being reviewed for its management and effectiveness. The LifeSport programme is also directed at young males who are at ‘risk’ of engaging in sociably questionable lifestyles. The programme is currently being audited for any managerial irregularities. Lennox Bernard’s ‘Give a Sporting Chance,’ in his contribution to the Ryan Report (2013) “No Time to Quit: Engaging Youth At Risk,” also addressed the potential of sports as a mechanism of addressing social deviance. Each of these projects will be analysed from a sporting perspective in subsequent columns.
 
Any attempt to effectively use sports as a means of addressing ‘youth at risk’ requires an analytical framework to assess deviance and collect robust and reliable data to constantly evaluate the overall programme. To date, there has been much discussion about the programmes but little information forthcoming on the basis of the respective strategies have been implemented. For instance who is defined as ‘youth at risk’? Is the data collected thus far able to justify the continued use of sports as a social intervention?
 
Additionally, why has youth sports been identified as possessing the potential answer to the variety of social issues facing young people today? Can it be said with assurance that sports is the best means to inculcate important life skills? Is sports the focus? Is sports a sustainable industry for participants of the programmes?
 
Are there other programmes already existing to which the resources could be combined to provide greater opportunity to the participants? Is the technical expertise of psychologists, social workers etc being used in conjunction with sporting personalities? It must not be assumed that playing sports automatically results in a person being an effective coach or mentor especially when dealing with ‘youth at risk’.
 
How is the programme being measured in terms of outcomes? Is the implementation approach top-down or collaborative where participants are part of the decision making process? How is the data being collected? How is the data being used in the re-evaluation of the programme?
 
If the problems facing ‘youth at risk’ are related to structured economic decline and inequalities in the communities identified, why is there a belief that organized youth sport programmes will solve the many problems? In other words, if at the end of the day the youth has to return to social and economic conditions that do not allow him to use his newly acquired skills, how will the programme be viewed? Since the state is involved in these programmes, is there any guarantee to the participants that the programme will continue if a new government is elected or even if a new minister within the same government takes control of the programme?
 
As much as the intention may be good, it is important that those who want to use sports as a means of quieting social deviance, to remember that sports is only a tool in the development process and as such must not be expected to produce miracles. Let us stop playing ‘sports’ with sports!!!

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Sportification
Benefits of sport outweigh risks of injuries
Published: Monday, August 25, 2014
Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)

Encouraging participation in sports, recreation and exercise (SRE) among the population offers several physiological, psychological and social benefits. At the same time if SRE does not take place within a safe environment, the potential for unwanted injuries increases. These injuries can cut short the careers of athletes as well as serve as a major disincentive to engaging in SRE especially among children and the adult population.

In recent years the supply and demand of sporting, recreational and exercise facilities- parks, gyms, sporting arenas has been increasing. Engagement in physical activity is being driven by several factors such as keeping fit and remaining healthy, using sports as a vehicle for developing a career and keeping up with the “ideal” western body image.

Females are encouraged to strive for slim image with well-toned abdominals, buttocks and legs while men are encouraged to sport the chiselled muscular look- chest, arms and stomach. At the same time the state and private institutions seek the social and economic benefits of a highly physical active population especially with the threat of so many lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

While some members of the population have a culture of participation in SRE, others may not. The inactive are now striving to establish such a sporting culture. It is this group which requires urgent attention not only in encouraging participation in SRE but also in ensuring the risks of injuries are minimised.

Sports, recreation and exercise injuries can result from several factors. Poor warming up before starting any physical activity is probably the main factor. Warm up exercises are compulsory before engaging in strenuous physical activities such as running. For instance failure to properly stretch one’s calves can result in the muscles becoming pulled or even torn while running.

Sports injuries can also result from the use of poor technique or improper training equipment. Failure to master the basic techniques in one’s chosen sport can result in overuse injuries which pending on one’s age can have long term effects. Tendons, muscles and bones are the likely victims of poor technique. In activities such as cycling and cricket especially among juniors, the use of the protective helmets should be mandatory to prevent the possibility of head injuries from falling or having the ball crash into one’s head in the case of cricket.

Striving to achieve too much without proper preparation—fitness level and technique—can also result in lofty ambitions becoming easily frustrated with injuries from overtraining. Persons have to know their strengths and limitations and work within these boundaries.

It is worthy to note that sport injuries are inevitable however, at the same time the risk of sustaining injury can be reduced by following some basic steps. Warm up exercises are critical and should be performed before engaging any physical activity especially those that are strenuous in nature. Stretching of the muscles is essential activity of warming up.

Working within the strengths and limitations of one capability will go a long way toward reducing the risk of injury. The recommended protective equipment for the sport/s played must be used at all time. For example shin guards for football and protective cup for cricket. Additionally, seeking professional advice from qualified coaches/trainers should always be part of one’s strategy to become better in their chosen sporting activity.

Technique is critical when working out at gyms in order to get the full benefits of the specific exercises while at the same time ensuring that injuries are not sustained.

All sporting buildings/facilities must be accessible persons of all age groups as well as persons with disabilities. No one should be discouraged from engaging in physical activity because he or she safety is not assured.

Coaches and parents have to be aware of the strategies to prevent and deal with the occurrences of injuries. First aid kits and the knowledge of CPR are important especially when dealing with children and the elderly.

Medical check-ups prior to the start of physical activities are mandatory especially for persons who may have never taken part in strenuous physical activity. Additionally, and related to medical check-ups is the provision of medical information as it relates to any medical ailment etc. This information can go a long way in terms of the type and kind of exercise one would be allowed to do in organised sports be it at schools, gyms and clubs. This information will also be useful in the likelihood of an accident or training mishap.

While there is general consensus that the population has to increase its average rate of physical activity, it is equally important that all the necessary safety measures associated with sports and physical activities are also communicated.

The benefits of sports, recreation and exercise will always outweigh the risks of injuries once the basic precautionary measures are taken.

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Sportification
Family adds value to sports
Published: Monday, November 10, 2014
Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)

Socialisation into sports and physical activities should start at an early age as it will not only allow for the development of a positive behavioural trait but will also increase the chances of continuing this behaviour beyond adolescence and into adulthood.

The level and extent of engagement in sports and physical activities will be dependent upon other factors, such as level of education, work, family commitments and other activities that will become an integral part of post-adolescent life.

There are numerous studies that have been conducted in other parts of the world that show that participation in sports and physical activities is socially constructed.

Therefore, in order to increase sports participation rates, there is a need to know the factors that influence engagement in sports and physical activities. These factors can be social, psychological, and or physiological.

One of the social factors that have been shown to influence youth participation in sports and physical activities is the family. Some of the research that has been conducted on family influence on youth participation in sports and physical activities are discussed below.

In a study of parent-child relationship, Hennessy et al 2010 argued that supportive parenting styles were linked to higher levels of child physical activity. The researchers found that the children of accommodating parents had more time of moderate vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than children’s whose parents were uninvolved.

Additionally, the researchers note that parents whose support was beyond average levels, had children who engaged in more time of MVPA. Therefore, the findings of this study indicates that an active and facilitating parenting style and practices has the potential to impact positively on levels of child physical activity.

In another study of 1,200 households from the register of USA swimming, Dukes and Coakley (2002) attempted to establish the statistical correlation of parental commitment to competitive swimming. According to Dukes and Coakley (2002) parental involvement and commitment play a critical role to children’s participation in sports and physical activities.

They argue that the importance of parental involvement increases with organised youth sport. The commitment of parents towards swimming increased when it was believed that swimming improved the chances of child development. These developments emphasised achievements via competitive success. At the same time, the researchers noted that the over commitment to competitive swimming may actually be deleterious to the youth as it may lead to overtraining and burnout.

Kremer-Sadlik and Kim (2007) state that parents’ influence on children’s participation in sports and physical activities extend beyond the formal sporting arena. They claim that other sporting contexts such as an informal setting where backyard activities can take place and passive participation in sport activities such as engaging in conversations during live games play an important role in the overall socialisation of children to important values and norms.

Drawing on a positive perspective, Kremer-Sadlik and Kim (2007) argue that parents must demonstrate positive character building and leadership qualities which children can incorporate in every aspect of daily lives.

Although recognising that social class is an important factor for influencing participation in sports and physical activities, the researchers argued that family culture is critical to having a predisposition to participate in sports and physical activities.

Given the importance family culture to sports engagement, they concluded that once participation in sports and physical activities was not encouraged in childhood all programmes that seek to increase adult participation may be ineffective. Additionally, they further reinforce the importance of early childhood predisposition to sports and physical activities by stating that these would be the persons who are more likely to make use of new sporting facilities.

It is evident from the assessment of the aforementioned studies that family engagement and influence is important for the youth not only getting involved early in sports and physical activities but staying involved in the post-adolescent period.

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Sportification
Sport tourism A powerful tool
Published: Monday, Monday, March 2, 2015
Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)

Mega and small-scale sport tourism has the potential to contribute to the social, cultural, economic and infrastructural development of the host country or city.
 
Sport tourism involves the travel of persons for non-business reasons to participate and or observe sporting activities (Hall, 1992).
 
Mega sporting events include the hosting of World Cups for such sports such as football, cricket, and rugby. Small scale sporting events include triathlons, marathons and a leg of the formula one grand prix.
 
According to Zauhar (2003) sport tourism involves a number of activities. In addition to either participating and observing sporting events, persons who travel for sport tourism may also have a vested interest in visiting state-of-the-art sporting facilities such as stadiums. These may include for example, Lords cricket ground in England, Roland Garros in Paris, Maracana Stadium in Brazil and the Millennium rugby stadium in Wales. In addition to the iconic sporting stadiums appeal, sport tourists may also show an interest in sporting hall of fames and sport museums such as the Legends of Barbados cricket museum.
 
Sport tourists may not always be interested in traditional competitive sports and may find adventurous activities far more inviting and appealing to their leisure taste. Some of these adventurous activities may include bungee jumping stations, zip line canopy tours, hiking trails, water adventures such snorkeling and golf.
 
Sport tourism offers several economic benefits to local communities, the region and or the country. An estimated 680,000 persons from overseas attended the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. These visitors generated enormous economic activity through different forms of expenditure on sporting and non-sporting activities.
 
There was an increase demand for various forms of accommodation-hotels and guest houses. Similarly there was an increase in demand for sporting paraphernalia such replica tee shirts, sneakers etc. Non-sporting products expenditure included food, beverages, phones, cameras, and other electronic accessories that are associated with travelers.
 
According to Hassen (2003) the 2003 Cricket World generated 1.3 billion Rands for the South African economy.
 
Sport tourism provides the host country with high media coverage.
 
This coverage will cover not only the sporting event but also provide important information about the country’s cultural and entertainment locations as well as an overall country profile.
 
Such information would have been provided when the Caribbean played host to two cricket world cups in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Additionally, Trinidad and Tobago would have benefitted from the media coverage when it hosted the 2001 FIFA U17 World Cup for boys and the 2010 FIFA World Cup for girls.
 
According to Morrison (2005) mega sporting events provide a platform to incorporate social and cultural features of the host community/city/country into the overall tourist experience. These events are good occasions to showcase the cultural heritage of the country such as its history, historical sites, food, music, art, architecture, and overall what makes the host unique and interesting to want to return in the immediate future.
 
Sport tourism do not only result from the visiting and expenditure from tourists but also involves the development of local infrastructure such as stadia, hotels, transportation networks, roads, telecommunication, airports and other infrastructure. Such developments will provide long term benefits to communities where they have been established.
 
The potential benefits of sports tourism can only be realised if several challenges are overcome especially in the developing world.
 
In countries where crime and matters of security are a major concern persons considering to travel to these destination maybe discouraged to engage in any form of sport tourism. Additionally, the allegations of corruption and financial scandals may also serve as a discouragement.
 
The overall success of any sporting tourism event is dependent upon management.
 
Poor management due to financial impropriety, poor planning, lack of efficient customer service, and a host of other management’s drawbacks may serve as a major Achilles heel for the success of any sport tourism event.
 
According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2011) sport tourism has the potential to being powerful tool for development and progress. However, for this to be accomplished to reap the benefits of sports tourism proper planning and management of events have to be undertaken.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Tackling obesity with physical activity
Published: Monday, March 23, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

Participation in sport and physical activity has the potential to contribute to a healthy lifestyle and society. However, a worthwhile contribution would only be beneficial if sport and physical activity are approached in a strategic manner and properly integrated with other measures for achieving a health society.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (Carpha) announced at its meeting in Dominica (March 2015) that the region is facing a childhood obesity epidemic notwithstanding improvements in the overall health status of children and young people over recent decades. 

Very alarmingly, Carpha states “that least 1 in every 5 of our children carry unhealthy weights and risk developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, later in life.”  The Report also states that such reality would result in “higher lifetime health costs for the individual and the state.” http://carpha.org/articles/ ID/53/Promoting-Healthy-Weights-in-the-Caribbean-Safeguarding-our-future-development.

In 2012, the Panam Steps Report on CNCD indicated an increase in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers and certain respiratory diseases in Trinidad and Tobago. It was reported that non-communicable diseases account for over 60 per cent of premature loss of life (death before 70 years). The Minister of Health as well as other health personnel have also pointed to an alarming increase in the overall level of obesity especially among children. This growing “fat” society syndrome among the adult and young population is related to several socio-economic factors.

The adult population is affected on a daily basis by the demands of work, doing sometimes two or more jobs, traffic congestion, striving for educational advancement, engaging in leisure activities that involve high consumption levels of caloric and cholesterol foods and beverages and little or no physical activity.

On the other hand, the youth is affected by the daily demands of the education curriculum especially those students who are caught in the extra lesson phenomenon,  a fashionable youth culture which is defined by high consumption levels of fast food, sedentary social activities and an overall low level of intense physical activities.

The Carpha Report 2015 and Panam Steps Report 2012 suggest that in addition to maintaining a healthy diet, physical activity is important in establishing an overall healthy lifestyle and society.

The measures for addressing the growing concern of increases in CNCD’s and obesity among the population must be linked to their causes to ensure that they are properly understood. This will therefore allow for informed practical measures as well as effective monitoring and evaluation.  Several points should be considered when developing a sport and physical activity framework for a healthy society.

Firstly, there must be a clear advocate for promoting the benefits of sport and physical activity and increasing participation rates across the population. At the moment the perception is the Ministry of Health is calling for an increase in physical activity among the population in absence of a partnership with the Ministry of Sport. There needs to be a collaborative effort of various ministries such as Health, Sport, Education, Community Development and Gender and Youth to ensure greater effectiveness in advocating the health value of sport and physical activity across every segments of the society. 

Secondly, it is important for administrators not assume that by just indicating that physical activity is beneficial, the population would engage in developing an active lifestyle.  Sport has to be seen as a social construct and any approach to making it effective from a health perspective would require an understanding of the many factors that influence sport involvement.

Thirdly, it is critical that proper monitoring and evaluating mechanisms are utilised to assess measures implemented. Not only will such an approach allow for assessing the effectiveness of the existing measures but will also allow for improvements to achieve the desired goals while at the same time ensuring that all resources are properly optimised. 

Such an approach will require the use of rigid performance benchmarks and standards.  For instance in a study conducted in England, Smith, Green and Roberts (2004), found that both sport participation rates and obesity levels had increased at the same time. 

Further analysis showed that although participation rates had increased, there was not a simultaneous increase in the intensity level of the physical activities. Therefore, it is important not assume that once people become active there will be a related decrease in obesity levels. 

Fourthly, although sport and health camps would be able to yield the best benefits for the participants, the effectiveness of these programmes would be best tested when there is continuity outside of the controlled environment of the camps.

For effective continuity to take place, support has to come from parents, guardians, sport and physical clubs, community groups and the private sector.

Furthermore, the assessment of the measures has to be extended into these areas ensure a proper assessment of the desired goals of the measures.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Political manifestos and sport Part 1
Published: Monday, April 6, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

As the political campaigns of 2015 warm up, sport has been receiving more attention than in the past. The next three columns will assess the government’s 2010 sporting manifesto as well as deliberate over what should form part of the sporting manifestos of all the political parties contesting the 2015 general elections.

To date, much of the talk has been about recreational grounds outfitted with lights and the much-anticipated completion of the aquatic centre, cycling velodrome and national tennis centre.

However, sport is more than the development of sporting facilities and this was clearly articulated in the government’s 2010 manifesto. Sport development was connected to ‘Developing a fit and healthy nation,’ and ‘Sport as an Industry – Making Sport Self-Sufficient.” http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/articles/UNC-manifesto-2010.pdf.

Sport development was placed into three (3) categories: develop our people through sport; sport as an industry; sport facilities

Under the category ‘develop our people through sport’ several sub-points were highlighted:

• Sport is integral to the promotion of healthy lifestyles of our people

• Sport will be an integral part of curriculum from Early Childhood to Secondary

• Implement Policies to develop both recreational and competitive dimensions of Sports for all levels of individual ability

• Create an environment in which citizens of all ages are encouraged to participate in sport, whether recreational or competitive

• Developing linkages with external bodies

• Mandate implementing agencies of the Ministry of Sport to seek and develop linkages with external bodies, including academic institutions, sports academies and sports clubs and teams to provide greater opportunities for our upcoming athletes to hone their skills

• The Ministry of Trade will work with the sporting associations to encourage sportsmen and sportswomen to take advantage of various trade agreements which afford them greater access to foreign markets

For the benefit of readers, the aforementioned points will be dissected to provide a basis upon which a scorecard of achievements can be assessed.

In 2014, the Minister of Health publicly announced that obesity among children was on the rise. This comment was reinforced by a study highlighted in the Daily Telegraph of England where Trinidad and Tobago was ranked the ‘third fattest’ country in the world. The recent report (2015) of CARPHA have indicated that Caribbean is facing an obesity epidemic among young people.

The question that has to be asked is what programmes have been implemented over the past five years to address the issue of promoting a healthy citizenry. In addition to the programmes, the scorecard report sheet should indicate both geographical and demographic information such as age group, gender, religion etc. Additionally, the report sheet should indicate the monitoring and evaluation reports of whatever programmes that were implemented. In other words, a proper assessment can be made of what was situation in 2010 and what has happened five years later.

In terms of schools, what measures were implemented to measure the performance of sport and physical activities from early childhood to secondary school? How many students in the education system are physically active? How many are not physically active? What data is available to assess the performance of students? Are there variations base on geography, gender, social class, religion, ethnicity, illness, disabilities etc?

The investment in recreation grounds

The Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, south Trinidad

There is no denying that there has been more recreational grounds upgraded with pavilions and lighting, however, are these facilities being optimised by the residents in the communities in which they are situated? What have been the policies and implementation strategies to encourage residents in communities to utilise the upgraded facilities? What data has been used to develop these policies and who have been the implementing bodies and agencies? Is it possible to quantify the number of persons across age, gender, religion, class who participate in sport and physical activities at least three times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes? Such data is easily available in countries such as England, Canada, Australia, USA and New Zealand, to name a few.

What have been some of the partnership agreements between the Ministry of Sport and local and foreign academic institutions? In what way is the Ministry of Sport partnering with UTT and UWI to provide opportunities to hone athletes’ sporting and academic skills. How many athletes have benefitted optimally from these programmes?

What are some of connections with sports clubs locally, regionally and internationally? Have these liaisons been beneficial? Can they be developed further to connect to the development of sport tourism and other areas of sport?

What have been some of the benefits provided through the Ministry of Trade in terms of affording sportsmen and sportswomen opportunities from trade agreements and access to foreign markets?

The answers to these questions should provide the population with information to the degree of accomplishment under the category “Develop our people through sport.” Such questions and expected answers will ensure that politicians are kept grounded in the sporting issues of the day and are not allowed to distract the population with unwanted bacchanal and ole-talk.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Will sport factor in election promises?
Published: Monday, April 13, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

Building on the first platform of “developing our people through sport,” the second platform of the People’s Partnership 2010 Manifesto (http://www.UNC-manifesto-2010.pdf p 48-49) focused on developing sport as a self-sustaining industry.

The key points highlighted to be achieved through this platform were as follows:

i. Facilitate research and development in sports science

ii. Develop a National Sport Policy with rewards and incentives based on meritocracy with reference to working documents laid in Parliament

iii. Enhance regional sporting events in such areas such as football, cricket, boxing, golf, swimming, fishing and auto racing to build tourism sport industry

iv. Encourage individuals to pursue sports medicine, including psychology and physiotherapy

v. The development of our growing sports tourism industry will be a priority

The checklist of achievement of these laudable objectives should reflect their current status from when they were identified in 2010. The development of sport as with any other industry must be built upon research. Research does not only provide information about what is happening but also provides a basis upon which rational and logical decisions can be based upon. As such it will be informative to find out:

i. What research was requested and carried out?

ii. Who was the research body/ies?

iii. What were the findings and are they available to the public?

iv. What were decisions that were based on these research projects and findings?

The research that was used to inform the Hoop of Life and Life Sport programmes will definitely be beneficial to the population. Furthermore, it will be very useful to find out from the research findings whether or not these programmes were effective. And if not, how can future social sport programmes be effective especially when state funds are being utilised?

How has the findings from sport research been used to develop the first platform ‘developing our people through sport?’ In other words, how has the data been used to increase participation in sport and physical activities throughout the country based on age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, geography, and social class?

The status of the National Sport Policy on rewards and incentives is of critical importance as another Olympic games looms in 2016.

It is high time that a policy is developed to guide the usage of state funds to reward athletes for stellar performances. Failure to do will allow for unrestricted politicisation of state funds in the rewarding of athletes as happened in the aftermath of the 2012 London Olympics and on previous occasions.

There is a lot of hype for developing sport tourism in T&T. After five years of governance the following information should be provided:

i. What is the status of the National Sport Tourism Policy?

ii. What are the signature sporting events that have been identified to lead the development of Sport Tourism?

iii. What accompanying research has taken place to inform the Sport Tourism Policy and its implementation strategies?

The third platform for developing sport and leisure was to focus on ‘sport facilities.’ A number of significant achievements were to be achieved through these facilities:

i. Establish sporting academies to optimise the training of our sportsmen and women.

ii. Provide first-class training and management skills for our national coaches and sports managers in all disciplines

iii. Channel the best sporting individuals from the schools into the sport academies

iv. Key sporting facilities will be maintained and managed by clubs/associations

v. Design state of the art facilities, such as swimming pools, and other summer sport to attract athletes from North America and Europe to rent our facilities during winter months

The overriding questions that have to be answered to above aims are:

i. What have been the policies developed to achieve the identified goals?

ii. What have been the strategies implemented achieve the goals of the developed policies?

iii. What have been the successes of the policies developed and strategies implemented?

iv. What have been the identified stumbling blocks if any to achieving these goals?

v. Is the sport tourism policy and programme of T&T attractive to overshadow that of other Caribbean countries such as Barbados?

The People’s National Movement 2010 manifesto recognised sport as an important tool for fostering community life, healthy lifestyle, national pride and developing sport businesses (www.caribbeanelections.com/eDocs/manifestos/tt/PNM_manifesto_%202010.pdf).

​The PNM manifesto focused on the achievements to date of the election without stating exactly how they were to further build upon the operational activities that were in place.  Some of their achievements were quantified:

i. 17 new community recreation grounds, 12 hard courts and 13 lighted jogging tracks over the period 2007-2009

ii. 22 athletes qualified and competed under the Elite Athletes Assistance Programme at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

iii. The development of regional and sub-regional grounds as well as recreational grounds

iv. 71 Schools engaged in the ‘Learn to Swim’ Programme

v. The introduction of the ‘Women and Girls in Sport Festival’ in 2009 where there were 840 participants

vi. The construction of world class cycling, swimming and tennis centres.

A holistic approach to sport seemed very much absent from their 2010 manifesto and it will only be mere speculation as to how their vision to sport would have materialised as they were in opposition over the past five years.

We can now ponder over what we will like to see addressed under the theme ‘sport’ in all the 2015 manifestos.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Sport and Manifestos Part III
Manifesto pillars to advance sport
Published: Monday, April 20, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

Having raised questions and commented on the respective 2010 manifestos of the People’s Partnership (PP) government and the People’s National Movement (PNM) on sport in the two previous columns, it is imperative to look ahead to the 2015 election offerings on sport.

All political parties and independent candidates’ ideas and plans for sport must be fully scrutinised to ensure that sport is provided within the best planning framework.

This will ensure that all the potential benefits are reaped by the population.

In other words, those people who are seeking to solicit the votes of the population must demonstrate in no uncertain manner that sport is beyond nice speeches and handing over of funds to ensure that national teams can attend regional and international events.

To move sport forward political parties and independent candidates should be considering implementing a strategic approach to sport.

This approach should rest upon five (5) main pillars:

i) The development of a strategic framework

ii) Using robust research to inform decision making

iii) Identification of areas of interest based upon the objectives of the sport policy and research undertaken

iv) Vigorous monitoring and evaluation of all programmes

v) Disclosure of information to allow for public scrutiny

With reference to the development of a strategic framework the following should be taken into consideration:

•State in no uncertain terms their strategic vision and mission for sport both in terms of the “development of sport” and ‘sport for development

•There must be a clearly defined and articulated sport policy which will serve as a working document to promote the holistic development of sport

•Coming out of the sport policy, implementation strategies must be identified

•These implementation strategies must be SMART and aligned to specific targets and outcomes

•Ensuring that there is good governance

•There must be continuous monitoring and evaluation of all implementation strategies to ensure that the most effective and efficient means of achieving desired goals are always utilised.

As it seems to have been very commonplace in the past, the lack of robust research may have affected the potential benefits of many sport programmes. The research should be undertaken by independent institutions such as the UWI and UTT sport departments. Such institutions will have the resources to engage in research as it should be done and do justice to the profession of sport research as opposed to having persons not trained in sport research doing so.

In other words robustly conducted research will provide a sound basis for the appropriate programmes and will also inform the implementation and monitoring processes.

Additionally, it can save taxpayers from unnecessary wastage. It is high time the use of statistical data become part of sporting discussions for justifying and or opposing decisions. The days of “feeling” and “know so” should be behind us when it comes to decision making.

A clearly identified strategic direction cum reliable research data will allow for proper identification of areas that require engagement. For instance, it should be expected that all political parties will be seeking to conduct national surveys to determine who are the people who are participating in sport and physical activities in relation to amount of time, frequency, age, gender, social class, geographical location, ethnicity, religion, etc.

It is only through such information can intervention programmes be effectively developed and implemented to achieved stated outcomes. The absence of such an approach may only result in over generalized comments about the benefits of sport and physical activities without anyone demonstrating exactly what have been the benefits.

One of the biggest challenges facing many social programmes in the Caribbean especially when driven by governments is that of monitoring and evaluation. And sport is no exception.

In fact because sport is seen as generally “good,” people may fail to see it as a mechanism for wanton wastage of taxpayers’ monies through programmes that sound nice and are well intentioned.

Effective monitoring and evaluation will allow for the most effective approach to ensure that there is optimization of resources in all programmes.

The disclosure of information to the public will not only allow the public to know what is happening but also allow for them to participate through scrutiny. So for instance despite the good intention of the ‘Hoop of Life’ programme the jury is still out as to whether or not the programme after three years yielded the desired outcomes. And the absence of any public announcement through the use of reliable data has the potential to further fuel speculation that it was not a success! It will be very informative if the Ministry of National Security can speak about successes and failures of the programme.

Over the last decade more monies have been allocated to sport than in previous times. This indicate that sport offers many avenues for members of the population to improve their overall life whether they are elite athletes, or others seeking to build their economic and social capital.   Therefore, it’s obligatory that we constantly scrutinise our politicians through their decision making to ensure that the best decisions are always made on behalf of sport and for the population. It is a worthy nuisance!

[Socapro]

Sportification
Empowering persons with disabilities through sport
Published: Monday, May 11, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

It was very enlightening that Sport formed part of the discussions entitled “Towards Social Integration: Rights, Roles, Recognition of persons with Disabilities” hosted by the Network and Outreach for Disability Education and Sensitization (NODES) and the Disability Studies Unit, UWI April 23rd-24th at the UWI, St. Augustine. 

There were two very thought provoking presentations by Professor Jayne McGuire from Humboldt State University, California and Dr. Roy McCree, UWI, St. Augustine.

McGuire’s presentation “Changing minds through recreation and sport” highlighted the social, psychological and emotional benefits that participation in sport and recreational activities can engender for both able bodied and persons with disabilities. She noted that leisure activities, recreational activities and organized competitive sport all have a role to play in bringing people together by providing an opportunity to engage in activities that will not only yield personal happiness but also help build a greater sense of social integration.

According to McGuire, the process of change through recreation and sport has to be built upon a ‘Universal Design for Recreation’. The ‘Universal Design for Recreation’ comprised of several components:

1) Equitable participation- equal opportunity is not enough to include persons with disabilities. There must be a genuine display of interest by ensuring that all sporting and recreational spaces are designed to cater for persons with disabilities. This will include athletes, officials, administrators and spectators.

2) Simple and Intuitive participation- encourage participation by making complex tasks as simple as possible. For example, registration must be made as simplified as possible so that it does not serve as a disincentive to persons with disabilities.

3) Perceptible information- at all times information must be provided in multiple forms such as verbal and written. Additionally, officials and organisers must always ensure that descriptive language forms part of the information. This will entail ensuring that administrators, volunteers etc are trained with the basic skills required to interact with persons with disabilities.

4) Social opportunities- critical toward developing social integration through sport and recreation is the need to form working partnerships between the abled and persons with disabilities. These working groups can forge stronger social bond between participants and the wider community.

5) Strength/asset based- every effort should be made to highlight the processes targeting increase participation among persons with disabilities. The public must be continuously informed of the programmes. Additionally, all participants and elites athletes must be celebrated equitably. No one should be isolated or marginalised because of disabilities.

McCree’s presentation entitled “Sport and disability in Trinidad and Tobago: An exploratory study,” pointed out several challenges facing the development of disability sport and recreation.

Mc Cree argues that Differently Abled Athletes (DIAA’s) use sport as a means of challenging the dominance of the abled bodied. In other words, sport provides a space for persons with disabilities to express themselves and showcase their abilities and talents just as able bodied persons do. Therefore, DIAA’s require equity in the access to all resources and the manner in which they are treated.

However, persons with disabilities are faced with several major challenges in general let alone in sport and recreation. These include:

1) The absent of facilities that cater thoroughly for the needs of persons with disabilities who may be athletes, administrators, officials and the general spectators. Are the upgrades to recreational grounds incorporating the needs of persons with disabilities? What if a foreign sporting team through a school and or a club were to visit? Will they feel at home and or disadvantaged? Sport Tourism must also cater for persons with disabilities.

2) Funding- there is no clear defining policy as it relates to funding to athletes with disabilities. Furthermore, a question should be raised as to whether or not there is any clearly defined strategy as part of the sport for development policy that includes purposefully persons with disabilities?

3) Public attitudes and stereotypes- Persons with disabilities are faced with many traditional views and stereotypes that not only marginalises but also serves to provide severe emotional and psychological pain. Too often persons are made to feel responsible for their disabilities.

McCree made several recommendations that can go a long way toward integrating the abled with persons with disabilities in sport. These included:

1) A public education campaign to sensitise the general public about persons with disabilities

2) Including a course on DIAA’s as part of the Disability syllabus at the UWI

3) Need to develop a separate sport policy on persons with disabilities.

4) The hosting of a conference on Sport and Disability to bring to the forefront the research that has been conducted elsewhere in the world. Such a conference can assist technocrats and other administrators in the developing of a sport policy that is very much inclusive and not exclusive to the abled.

At the end of the day, the only disappointment of the panel on sport was the absence of the people who make decisions on sport in Trinidad and Tobago at various levels. Hopefully, as we seek to move forward as a people through sport, all our policies, strategies and implementation plans will take into consideration the total lives of persons with disabilities.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Walking the talk for sport
Published: Monday, May 25, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

The key point hammered home by Simon Morton of UK Sport for the hosting of the London 2012 Summer Olympics was a clearly defined and workable strategic plan aimed at returns on investment. Morton was speaking on the opening day of the Shannon Airport Sport Tourism European Summit at Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland May 14-15, 2015. 

His presentation was entitled “Hosting Major Sporting Events for Major Sporting Benefits.” He indicated that UK Sport became operational in the 1997 after miserable performances by Great Britain in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics where they placed 37th on the medals table. Although UK Sport is responsible to government, it is not a department of government. In other words, UK Sport which received a budget of 550 million pounds over a four–year period is free from government interference and therefore operates first and foremost like a business with clear targets and strategic plans.

Strategically UK Sport was charged with the responsibility of developing a 10-year plan and working with national sporting associations. The focus is on High Performance Sport and hosting Major Events.

For UK Sport funding from the government is viewed not as a grant but as an investment that will yield returns in many quarters–medals, infrastructure development, economic improvements of local communities, tourism and marketability of the city and country to the world.

Morton indicated that UK Sport is very strategic when it comes to selecting events to hosts. He indicated that there a number of events from which to choose from:

• Short form Games–3 on 3 basketball, T20 cricket, beach volleyball

• Extreme Sports–extreme biking, free running, skate boarding etc

• Masters Events

• Youth–Youth Olympics

• Women Sports

• Disability games

Selection of any of these events must be based on knowledge and a return on investment. He warned that although an event may be attractive, it is only after careful cost benefit analysis is a decision made as to proposing bids to host events.

The Investment and Scorecard Principles are used to guide the decision making process. In terms of Investment the following were identified as critical:

• How will the International events impact on the host status?

• Prioritise where the return on investments will be the highest

• Identify the long-term investment to host major events

• Ensure that there is a robust business plan and budget

The Scorecard Principles in terms of benefits for hosting were based on:

• Legacy 20 per cent

• Performance 35 per cent

• Engagement 35 per cent

• Economic 10 per cent 

The sporting benefits in terms of Performance Investment was built upon:

• Medal returns (65 in 2012 which was above the target of 48 set by UK Sport)

• Talent outline–identification of the country’s talent

In terms of sport engagement, research on direct participation, spectator engagement and television viewers revealed that 60 per cent said the Summer Olympics was inspiring. There was a 28 per cent  per cent increase in participation especially in events where the Great Britain were domineering such as in cycling through the performances of Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins.

In recognising that inspiration in itself does not automatically lead to increase and sustained participation in sport, UK Sport has been working with Sport England through a Sport Engagement Fund of 2M pounds to stimulate participation across the country.

The aforementioned points provide a broad framework for all stakeholders who are responsible for identifying and managing international sporting events in T&T.  A clear vision has to be identified and it must be incorporated in the overall development plan for sport. We have to start walking the talk in a strategic manner to reap desired rewards!

[Socapro]

Sportification
Vast potential for sport tourism
Published: Monday, June 1, 2015 (T&T Guardian)
Sir Gary Sobers, right, leads the way. The Sir Gary Sobers golf tournament in Barbados attracts quite a number of foreigners to the Caribbean.

Mega and small scale sport tourism has the potential to contribute to the social, cultural, economic and infrastructural development of the host country or city. Sport tourism involves the travel of persons for non-business reasons to participate and or observe sporting activities (Hall, 1992).

Mega sporting events include the hosting of World Cups for such sports such as football, cricket, and rugby. Small scale sporting events include triathlons, marathons and a leg of the formula one grand prix.

According to Zauhar (2003) sport tourism involves a number of activities. In addition to either participating and or observing sporting events, persons who travel for sport tourism may also have a vested interest in visiting state of the art sporting facilities such as stadiums. These may include for example, Lords cricket ground in England, Roland Garros in Paris, Maracana Stadium in Brazil and the Millennium rugby stadium in Wales. In addition to the iconic sporting stadiums appeal, sport tourists may also show an interest in sporting hall of fames and sport museums such as the Legends of Barbados cricket museum.

Sport tourists may not always be interested in traditional competitive sports and may find adventurous activities far more inviting and appealing to their leisure taste. Some of these adventurous activities may include bungee jumping stations, zip line canopy tours, hiking trails, water adventures such snorkeling and golf.

Sport tourism offers several economic benefits to local communities, the region and or the country. An estimated 680 000 persons from overseas attended the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. These visitors generated enormous economic activity through different forms of expenditure on sporting and non-sporting activities. There was an increase demand for various forms of accommodation-hotels and guest houses. Similarly there was an increase in demand for sporting paraphernalia such replica tee shirts, sneakers etc. Non-sporting products expenditure included food, beverages, phones, cameras, and other electronic accessories that are associated with travelers. According to Hassen (2003) the 2003 Cricket World generated 1.3 billion Rands for the South African economy.

Sport tourism provides the host country with high media coverage. This coverage will cover not only the sporting event but also provide important information about the country’s cultural and entertainment locations as well as an overall country profile. Such information would have been provided when the Caribbean played host to two cricket world cups in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Additionally, Trinidad and Tobago would have benefitted from the media coverage when it hosted the 2001 FIFA U17 World Cup for boys and the 2010 FIFA World Cup for girls.

Mega and small sporting events not only offer athletes and officials opportunities to establish strong social bonds but also allow sport tourists the opportunity to forge long lasting social connections with persons from host cities and countries. These bonds have the potential to result in future travels between countries and so deepening the benefits of tourism.

According to Morrison (2005) mega sporting events provide a platform to incorporate social and cultural features of the host community/city/country into the overall tourist experience. These events are good occasions to showcase the cultural heritage of the country such as its history, historical sites, food, music, art, architecture, and overall what makes the host unique and interesting to want to return in the immediate future.

Sport tourism do not only result from the visiting and expenditure from tourists but also involves the development of local infrastructure such as stadia, hotels, transportation networks, roads, telecommunication, airports and other infrastructure. Such developments will provide long term benefits to communities where they have been established.

The potential benefits of sports tourism can only be realized if several challenges are overcome especially in the developing world. In countries where crime and matters of security are a major concern persons considering to travel to these destination maybe discouraged to engage in any form of sport tourism. Additionally, the allegations of corruption and financial scandals may also serve as a discouragement.

The overall success of any sporting tourism event is dependent upon management. Poor management due to financial impropriety, poor planning, lack of efficient customer service, and a host of other management’s drawbacks may serve as a major Achilles heel for the success of any sport tourism event.

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2011) sport tourism has the potential to being powerful tool for development and progress. However, for this to be accomplished to reap the benefits of sports tourism proper planning and management of events have to be undertaken.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Innocence of sport must be secured
Published: Monday, June 8, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

As the Ministry of Sport in collaboration with a sporting agency prepare to host a conference discussing ways sport can be conceptualised and translated into a viable business industry, it is important that the lessons from other sport ventures as a tool for development be identified and discussed openly. 

Mistakes from these ventures must never be repeated as it only amounts to an inefficient use of scarce resources.

Politicians, policy makers, administrators and practitioners to differentiate between the ‘Development of Sports’ and ‘Sports for Development.’ This is required to save the ‘innocence’ of sports from becoming the proverbial verbal football of politicians and the general public for all the wrong reasons. In recent times a lot has been said about sports, however, a great deal has either been oversimplified, overestimated, omitted and or totally ignored. As a corollary sport is being saddled with an unpleasant character and image. Look at what is happening with FIFA who are charged with administering arguably the one’s most popular sport. Instead of talking about the exploits of players, the discussions is focused on alleged questionable administration. Time will eventually provide the ‘truth’.

The ‘Development of Sports’ focusses on athletes excelling in their respective sporting disciplines on the world stage. Therefore, the significant focus is on talent identification and the provision of resources-funding, training facilities, scholarship etc—to athletes representing the country on the world stage such as the Olympics where gold medals and world records are the ultimate return on such investments. The objectives, targets and outcomes of the ‘Development of Sports’ are clearly stated and measurable. Additionally, opportunistic political and economic actors use any sterling performances on any sporting world stage to serve their respective causes.

On the other hand, ‘Sport for Development’ focuses on sports as a means of building the social life of society especially as it relates to health, community integration and addressing social issues facing ‘youth at risk’ such as juvenile delinquency, gang activities and a general breakdown in the social fabric of the society. Although the objectives are clear, the targets and outcomes of ‘Sports for Development’ programmes are problematic to measure.

Two costly programmes (Hoop of Life and LifeSport) were initiated to address some of the social challenges facing youth especially young males in the society. There is no questioning that these programmes were well intended, however the impact of these programmes are unknown and no one seems interested. Was the Hoop of Life a success and is it worth continuing? Why it is that the national basketball federation could not field a team at the Caribbean Championship yet still 36 million dollars over a three year period was assigned to the Hoop of Life programme? Did the intended people and communities benefit from this programme? Or did persons who would not have qualified to play under the rules of the competition benefit? Why the organisers did not consider and implement a programme where the Hoop of Life communities were aligned to established basketball teams from the Basketball Federation. This would have provided a space for more holistic free flowing development and so minimise the negative views of the programme.

Any attempt to effectively use sports as a means of addressing ‘youth at risk’ requires an analytical framework to assess deviance and collect robust and reliable data to constantly evaluate the overall programme. To date, there has been much discussion about the programmes but little information forthcoming on the basis of the respective strategies have been implemented. For instance who is defined as ‘youth at risk’? Is the data collected thus far able to justify the continued use of sports as a social intervention?

If the problems facing ‘youth at risk’ are related to structured economic decline and inequalities in the communities identified, why is there a belief that organised youth sport programmes will solve the many problems? In other words, if at the end of the day the youth has to return to social and economic conditions that do not allow him to use his newly acquired skills, how will the programme be viewed? Since the state is involved in these programmes, is there any guarantee to the participants that the programme will continue if a new government is elected or even if a new minister within the same government takes control of the programme? As much as the intention may be good, it is important that those who want to use sports as a means of quieting social deviance, to remember that sport is only a tool in the development process and as such must not be expected to produce miracles.

The idea of the business model for sport must be developed focusing on policies, processes and implementation. Such an approach would ensure that the sporting industry will only strive if it operates under principles of investing for returns.

These returns will not only redound to the sport industry but wider society. It will also provide a framework to operate ‘sport for development’ or ‘sport for all,” so that all persons can have the same goal. For this to happen, there is urgent need to revisit the Sport Policy where SCOTT was supposed to be established to oversee the operations of sport with no interference from the State.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Getting women in the spo(r)t light
Published: Monday, June 15, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

In a USA study titled Gender in Televised Sports: News and Highlight shows 1989-2014, sport sociologists Cook, Messner and Musto concluded that the “quantity of coverage of Women’s sports in televised sports news and highlights shows was dismally low.”

This poor rating came against a backdrop of tremendous changes in gender relations and issues on American society especially since post 1970’s. More specifically, since Title IX (1972), there have been tremendous improvements in the rates of participation by females in American society. One of the best examples of this growth of females in sports is on football (soccer), which has resulted in the USA being powerhouse in international women’s football.

The objective of the study was to examine changes and continuity over time in media reporting of gendered sports. There were several research questions some of which would be of relevance if the study was to be conducted in T&T and the wider Caribbean:

• In what ways do televised sports news media cover men’s and women’s sports?

• What is the amount of coverage given to men’s and women’s sports events?

• Do the production values of men’s sports differ from that of women’s sports?

• What is the quality of coverage of men’s sports vis-a-vis women’s sports?

• Are women’s sports covered in ways that highlight athletic competence or in ways that trivialise women’s sports?

• Does the coverage focus on competitive aspects of women’s sports, including games/matches, game highlights, scores and statistics, outcomes and significance?

• Does the coverage sexualise, trivialise or portray women as objects of sexual humour?

Some of the findings of the study are:

• There have been some improvements in amount of airtime provided to women’s sports but it has been incomparable to the coverage of men’s sports especially as it relates to the Big 3-baseball, basketball and grid iron football. This was common on ESPN Sports Center.

• There has been a decline in the presentation of women as sexualised humour. Examples in local sports will be when people comment about female cricketers ‘hitting the ball like a man’ or female footballers ‘kicking the ball like a man.’ The comments are made in the context that some female sporting abilities challenge the dominant expected view as to how females are to ‘behave’ especially in sports. As such it is not uncommon to hear murmurs from males and females questioning the sexuality of the female players.

• The decline in the sexualisation is a reflection of a greater degree of respect being shown to female athletes.

• However, at the same time, the findings indicate that women were now being viewed for their roles as mothers. There is nothing wrong with this approach if the same was applied to male athletes.

• Men sports are presented with greater excitement and expectations as compared to the dull presentation of Women’s sports.

In terms of recommendations, the researchers had three major suggestions directed toward medial houses:

I. Greater equity in the amount of coverage. It does not mean it has to be matching minute by minute of coverage, but there must be substantial quality of the coverage. This would  allow for women athletes to be seen as no different from their male counterparts in terms of how they are presented.

II. In addition to quantity, there is need for quality. A greater effort has to be demonstrated from production values to the presentation of the sports news and the highlights shows.

III. In order to accomplish both quantity and quality, the onus is on the media houses to hire or retain sports anchor personnel who can lead and maintain the change. The authors argue that sometimes doing the same thing religiously becomes a tremendous challenge to effect change. Furthermore, it will be wise to utilise both male and female personnel who are knowledgeable and objectively passionate about sporting equity across gender et al.

It is important to note that the suggestion of hiring females to cover all aspects of sports will not automatically result in the desired change. It has been shown that female sports media personnel may sometimes use the dominant male sporting framework as their own.

This may take place because they accept this male framework as “normal” and it must be perpetuated in order to survive in the field of sport journalism..

It will be interesting to apply this study research questions to the local context especially as there have been a growth in television and radio sports shows. Also it will be a good research exercise to ascertain over time, whether or not the coverage of women’s sports has reflected the gender changes that have taken place in the society since Independence.

I would not be surprised if some of the findings of this study are manifested in a similar national study. However, such a study would provide a guide as to what has happened in gender sports coverage. Also media houses, reporters, commentators and sponsors can use the opportunity to demonstrate their contribution to gender equity in local sports.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Sport must build on ‘smart’ choices
Published: Monday, June 22, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

Enlightening and thought-provoking information as to how to translate sport into a sustainable economically-viable industry was the central theme of the T&T International Sports Conference 2015 held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, last week.

The conference was hosted by the Caribbean Sport and Development Agency (CSDA) in collaboration with the Ministries of Tourism and Sport and the Shanghai Construction Group Caribbean Ltd.

The cadre of speakers included former athletes, academics, and practitioners in various fields of sport administration, media and tourism. The distinguished speakers included Dr Edwin Moses, Shaka Hislop, pro- vice-chancellor, UWI, Prof Hilary Beckles, Louise Martin, Prof Terry Stevens, Prof John Nauright, Dr Shaun McCarthy, Mark Mungal, Andre Collins, Larry Romany and Michael Zhang.

For sport to become a viable industry in T&T and the wider Caribbean a business model approach has to be adopted.

This model should involve:

• Strategic planning—clearly identifying what are the Smart (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) objectives of the sport business venture which must be tied to desired Smart outcomes. For instance what are the objectives of constructing the national cycling velodrome, aquatic centre and tennis centre? What are the desired outcome of these facilities? How are the objectives to be tied to the outcome?

• Once the Smart objectives and outcomes are clearly identified and the Smart implementation plan has to identified and rolled out. For instance in programmes such as the Hoop of Life, were the objectives and desired outcomes connected to the implementation plan?

• To ensure that all programmes are done in an efficient manner, proper monitoring, evaluation and reporting must be conducted to ensure that the best practices for doing business is always being employed. In other words the adage “don’t sit on one’s laurels” is very appropriate. As such some of the questions that must be constantly asked especially as it relates to tax payers and sponsors monies are:

I. Is there a desired return on investment? How is it to be measured?

II. Is the best business model being implemented to achieve desired goals?

III. Is there robust monitoring, evaluation and reporting of programmes?

IV. Is the necessary human capacity available?

In order to achieve a business approach to sport as mentioned above, several speakers spoke about the importance of good governance and ethics. They insisted that governance and ethics was central to ensuring that the integrity of the sport and the administration of the sport was not damaged.

Any mistrust of any business venture can have deep- seated negative effects not only to the sport but more so to people  who make the sport happen—the athletes. Furthermore, distrust can also affect sponsorship deals and fan loyalty.

Good governance and management is not only related to doing business the correct way but also necessitates being innovative and creative to ensure that the business is competitive. This requires sport administrators keeping abreast with the sporting world and combining existing resources and new ideas to keep afloat in the sport business environment. Terry Stevens and Larry Romany emphasized the importance of innovation and creativity for developing sport tourism and making sporting products attractive to sponsors and winning broadcast rights where sport revenue reside.

How is the success of the conference to be measured? Yes it was very informative for the attendees however, this should not be the sole measure of success. The information derived from the conference has to be translated into tangible activities to yield its greatest output.

There is need for a national independent sport strategic institute- that draws on all the various expertise- academic, practitioners, athletes and regional and international collaborations-to guide sport in T&T in the desired business direction- to be profitable and productive. There is no shortage of knowledgeable people in T&T as was evident at the conference. The sport institute must be free from political influence as much as possible so that it can operate strategically. The days of making haphazard decisions on every aspect of public life including sport should never see the light of day again.

Trinidad and Tobago is too small a country to have work in sport being conducted in silos. One area that a national sport institute can be effective is centralising research resources.

For instance, the information from the UWI and UTT are not known to each other let alone the wider public. What are the benefits if research material is on the shelves of the libraries? I am almost certain not many people are or will be reading them. The potentially biggest impact is if the research is available to the sporting fraternity—athletes, schools, administrators, policy makers, etc.

This column will address some of the presentations in coming weeks, however, more is required from the powers that be to ensure that the intellectual architecture of the sport conference does not bear a similar fate as the great big white elephant/ mammoth eye sore—the Tarouba stadium!

The conference has to be actively built upon.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Sport an automatic answer to social deviance?
Published: Monday, July 13, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

Politicians, policy makers, administrators and practitioners need to differentiate between the ‘development of sports’ and ‘sports for development.’

This is required to save the ‘innocence’ of sports from becoming the proverbial verbal football of politicians and the general public for all the wrong reasons. In recent times a lot has been said about sports, however, a great deal has either been oversimplified, overestimated, omitted and or totally ignored. As a corollary sport can be saddled with an unpleasant character and image.

The ‘development of sports’ focuses on athletes excelling in their respective sporting disciplines on the world stage. Therefore, the significant focus is on talent identification and the provision of resources—funding, training facilities, scholarship etc—to athletes representing the country on the world stage such as the Olympics where gold medals and world records are the ultimate return on such investments. The objectives, targets and outcomes of the ‘development of sports’ are clearly stated and measurable. Additionally, opportunistic political and economic actors use any sterling performances on any sporting world stage to serve their respective causes. On the other hand, ‘sport for development’ focuses on sports as a means of building the social life of society especially as it relates to health, community integration and addressing social issues facing ‘youth at risk’ such as juvenile delinquency, gang activities and a general breakdown in the social fabric of the society. Although the objectives are clear, the targets and outcomes of ‘sports for development’ programmes are problematic to measure.

A number of programmes have been initiated under the umbrella of ‘sport for development.’ The main programmes have been the ‘Hoop of Life’ basketball project and the LifeSport programme. The ‘Hoop of Life’ project is aimed at social control of ‘youth at risk’ in crime ‘hotspot’ areas throughout the country. To date there has not been any report on the successes and effectiveness of this programme.

The LifeSport programme was also directed at young males who are ‘at risk’ of engaging in sociably questionable lifestyles.

Any attempt to effectively use sports as a means of addressing ‘youth at risk’ requires an analytical framework to assess deviance and collect robust and reliable data to constantly evaluate the overall programme. To date, there has been much discussion about the programmes but little information forthcoming on the basis of the respective strategies have been implemented. For instance, who is defined as ‘youth at risk’? Is the data collected thus far able to justify the continued use of sports as a social intervention?

Additionally, why has youth sports been identified as possessing the potential answer to the variety of social issues facing young people today? Can it be said with assurance that sports is the best means to inculcate important life skills?  Is sports the focus? Is sports a sustainable industry for participants of the programmes? Are there other programmes already existing to which the resources could be combined to provide greater opportunity to the participants? Is the technical expertise of psychologists, social workers etc being used in conjunction with sporting personalities? It must not be assumed that playing sports automatically results in a person being an effective coach or mentor especially when dealing with ‘youth at risk’.

 As much as the intention may be good, it is important that those who want to use sports as a means of quieting social deviance, to remember that sport is only a tool in the development process and as such must not be expected to produce miracles.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Sporting manifesto of action required
Published: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

The People’s Partnership (PP) 20 Pledges for 2020 in the area of sport raises many questions about the successes of the promises for 2010-2015.(http://www.votekamla.tt/downloads/peoples-partnership-2015-plan.pdf).

Although the ideas/plans for 2015-2020 are more strategic and encouraging, the absence of a direct link to the performance/outcomes of 2010-15 creates an element of concern about optimization of plans for 2015-2020.

Before delving into the 2015-2020 ideas/plans for sport, it will be worthy to review the ideas/plans of 2010 for a few reasons:

• To find out how many of the ideas/plans were actually implemented and what was the rate of success; and

• To determine how many of these successes will now serve as a platform for the ideas/plans for 2015-2020.

• To identify the role of the state and national sporting organisations in sport

• To clearly differentiate between ‘sport for development and the development of sport’

• To use robust empirical data to inform all policies

In the PP 2010 manifesto, sport development was connected to ‘Developing a fit and healthy nation,’ and ‘Sport as an Industry – Making Sport Self-Sufficient.” http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/articles/UNC-manifesto-2010.pdf.

Sport development was placed into three (3) categories:

• Develop our people through sport

• Sport as an industry

• Sport facilities

Under the category ‘develop our people through sport’ several sub-points were highlighted:

• Sport is integral to the promotion of healthy lifestyles of our people

• Sport will be an integral part of curriculum from Early Childhood to Secondary

• Implement Policies to develop both recreational and competitive dimensions of Sports for all levels of individual ability

• Create an environment in which citizens of all ages are encouraged to participate in sport, whether recreational or competitive

• Mandate implementing agencies of the Ministry of Sport to seek and develop linkages with external bodies, including academic institutions, sports academies and sports clubs and teams to provide greater opportunities for our upcoming athletes to hone their skills

• The Ministry of Trade will work with the sporting associations to encourage sportsmen and sportswomen to take advantage of various trade agreements which afford them greater access to foreign markets

Five years later these an assessment of the 2010 manifesto pledges should provide answers to the following questions:

• What programmes have been implemented over the past five years to address the issue of promoting a healthy citizenry. In addition to the programmes, the scorecard report sheet should indicate both geographical and demographic information such as age group, gender, religion etc. In other words, a proper assessment can be made of what was situation in 2010 and what has happened 5 years later.

• In terms of schools, what measures were implemented to measure the performance of sport and physical activities from Early Childhood to Secondary school? How many students in the education system are physically active? How many are not physically active? What data is available to assess the performance of students? Are there variations base on geography, gender, social class, religion, ethnicity, illness, disabilities etc?

• What have been the policies and implementation strategies to encourage residents in communities to utilise facilities? What data have been used to develop these policies and who have been the implementing bodies and agencies? Is it possible to quantify the number of persons across age, gender, religion, class who participate in sport and physical activities at least 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes?

• What has been some of the partnership agreement between the Ministry of Sport and local and foreign academic institutions? In what way is the Ministry of Sport partnering with UTT and UWI to provide opportunities to hone their sporting skills while at the same time their academic advancement. How many athletes have been benefitting from these programmes in the most optimum manner?

• What are some of connections with sports clubs locally, regionally and internationally? Have these liaisons been beneficial? Can they be develop further to connect to the development of sport tourism and other areas of sport?

• What have been some of the benefits provided through the Ministry of Trade in terms of affording sportsmen and sportswomen opportunities from trade agreements and access to foreign markets?

For the period 2015-2020 the focal vision remains “Sport for All” without clearly distinguishing between ‘sport for development’ and the ‘development of sport.’

The priorities are similar to what was stated in 2010 focusing on:

• Skills for a life in sport

• Sporting communities

• Create a national framework; and the exception being

• Establishing a motor sport facility.

The strategies identified for the ‘Sport for All” vision are:

[Socapro]

Sportification
‘Podium Push’ must have proper plan
Published: Monday, August 17, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

As the country prepares to celebrate 53 years of political independence, sportswomen and sportsmen have flown the national colours with stellar performances in many disciplines. Our elite athletes must be given as much support to develop and exhibit their sporting skills against their peers.

The benefits do not only redound to the athletes but also the population even if it is only temporary, to feel a great sense of national belonging and identity regardless of social class, gender, ethnicity, and religious differences.

“Podium Push” launched by the Ministry of Sport (MoS) to support athletes in the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics and the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) drive to win 10 gold medals by 2024 is a welcome initiative.

The ideas articulated by the Director of Sport are not new but coming directly from the top honchos at the Ministry, there may be some committed effort toward converting the ideas into action.

In light of this new initiative by the MoS, there are several observations to be ventilated which should allow for better contextualization of the ‘Podium Push’ initiative.

Does this programme fall within a general Master Plan for Sport over a specific period? This Master Plan should address but not limited to:

• Clearly defined the objectives, goals and strategies for elite athletes

• Clearly defined the objectives, goals and strategies for sport for development (communities, social programmes, youth development, gender and sport, health and sport etc)

• The professional administration of National Sporting Organisations/ National Governing Bodies. The use of graduates from various sporting programmes at UWI and UTT should help strengthen the human resources capacity of many sporting bodies. These personnel must also be offered the right inducements to offer their services.

• A rigid tier register of the country’s top coaches, sport medical personnel, trainers, sport psychologists, nutritionists etc to ensure that they are constantly upgrading their skillsets to meet the changes being brought about in their respective fields especially as it relates to evolving technologies.

• The importance of Talent Identification (TI) especially as the ‘Podium Push’ initiative is focusing on athletes medaling gold, silver or bronze. There has to be a systematic strategy which will include professional scouts, coaches, medical personnel etc identify talent early so that they can be honed into desired world class beaters in their respective disciplines.

• Focusing on all sports and not just the traditional sports such as cricket, football and athletics. Sportswomen and Sportsmen from all sporting disciplines must not only be told but experience equity in the way sport is administered especially as it relates to funding.

• Throughout the world, research in sport is a growing not only in the area of kinesiology but also in sport management and sport psychology. The UWI and UTT sports programmes can contribute through their research to assist in the drafting, implementing, monitoring and evaluating sport policy and programmes. This has been a glaring weaknesses in sport development in the country.

• Financing strategies must be clearly stated. For instance, the Director of Sport stop short of stating the budgeted costs of the ‘Podium Push’ initiative. Although sport is seen as a general good, taxpayers’ monies must be properly accounted for especially in light of falling oil and gas prices. There has to be a sense of value for monies invested in any sporting programme. Amnesia should not lead us to forget the recent wastages of “LifeSport” and the Tarouba Stadium to name a few projects that were supposed to offer immense benefits.

• The role of the government/ ministry or independent entity must be clearly defined in terms of governance. Will there be an independent body that is free of government interference to conduct the operations of sport in the country? There are too many instances where the personalities have soured the relationship between sport administrators and ministers of sport for eg, cricket, and football.

• The private sector especially multinational corporations must be encouraged to invest into a sporting fund that can contribute to meeting the costs of developing both elite athletes and sport for development. The national lottery system as have been done in England should be explored fully toward contributing to the objectives and goals of a Master Plan for Sport.

• The need for an independent sporting body to operate sport will reduce the potential fallout of policy continuity whenever governments are replaced. There is no guarantee that if the current administration is replaced at the next general elections that there will be continuity of the ‘Podium Push’ programme. The same can also be said for the ‘Hoop of Life’ programme.

Every effort should be made to develop our sportswomen and sportsmen. This development should emerge out of an integrated systematic master plan for sport which will allow for proper governance, accountability, sustainability, research, funding and the use of the most qualified human resource personnel.

The key is to provide a foundation for everyone involved in sport to have sufficient capacity to develop fully.

[Socapro]

53 years of sporting excellence
By Anand Rampersad
Published: Monday, August 31, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

Keshorn Walcott...won T&T’s second Olympic gold medal.

As T&T celebrates 53 years of political Independence, we should remind ourselves of the outstanding contributions over this period of our sportswomen and sportsmen in their respective sporting disciplines locally, regionally and internationally.

Athletics:

• Hasley Crawford, gold medal, 100 metres Montreal Olympics 1976

• Keshorn Walcott gold medal javelin London Olympics 2012, Pan American Games, Toronto 2015

• Jehue Gordon, gold medal, 400 metres hurdle IAAF World Championship in Moscow, Russia in 2014

• Cleopatra Borel, gold,shot put Pan American Games Toronto 2015

• Jarrin Solomon, Renny Quow, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon 4x400 gold Pan American Games, Toronto 2015

• Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Reyare Thomas and Semoy Hackett 4x100 bronze, 1AAF World Championship, Beijing, China, 2015

• Renny Quow, Machel Cedenio, Deon Lendore and Lalonde Gordon 4x400 silver 1AAF World Championship, Beijing, China, 2015, new national time 2:58.20

• Khalifa St Fort, silver 100m IAAF World Junior Championship, Cali Colombia, 2015

• Rondell Sorrillo, Keston Bledman, Emmanuel Callender, Dan-Neil Telesford,  Wendell Mottley, Ato Boldon, Richard Thompson Daryl Brown, Marc Burns, Richard Thompson, Mikel Thomas, and Kamria Durant

• Trinidad and Tobago World Masters Athletic team (outdoor) ten medals (4 golds, 3 silver, 3 bronze) World Games, Lyon France, 2015. 18 medals at Masters games Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2013.

Badminton: Debra O’Connor—5 times (1984, 1985, 1990, 1993 and 1995). Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO). Single and doubles champion in 1984, 1985 and 1995. In 1990 and 1993 she was a Triple Crown winner, being crowned singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion.

Body Building:

Dareem Charles, Michael Hercules

Boxing:

• Claude Noel first world champion, Mexican Rodolfo Gonzalez to win the WBA World Lightweight title, 1981

• Leslie Stewart won the WBA World Light Heavyweight title in 1987 defeating Marvin ‘pops’ Johnson

• Ria Ramnarine T&T first female world champion, defeated Ana Fernandez to win the WIBA Mini Flyweight World title, 2005

• Giselle Salandy multiple World champion- WBA, WBC and WIBA middle weight titles

Cricket: Brian Lara world record holder for the highest first class score (501 not out) and highest test score (400 not out). Sir Learie Constantine, Jeffery Stollmeyer, Brian Davis, Charlie Davis, Sonny Ramadhin, Gerry Gomez, Deryck Murray, Bernard Julien, Rangy Nanan, Inshan Ali, Ian Bishop, Dinanath Ramnarine, Ann Browne-John, Anisa Mohammed, Merissa Aguilleira, Joey Carew, Daren Ganga, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Daren Bravo. T&T Blind and Visually Impaired cricket team—WICB T20 and 40 overs champions 2015.

Cycling: Roger Gibbon, Gene Samuel, Maxwell Cheeseman, Michael Phillips, Hylton “Barracuda” Mitchell, Roger Smart, Njisane Phillip and Emile Abraham.

Distance Running: Moses Ranghell, Bernard Mungroo, Michael Alexander, Curtis Cox, Richard Jones, Lynette “Granny” Luces, Richard Jones and Tonya Nero.

Dragon Boat Racing: Aquaholics Dragon Boat 1st 200m Premier Mixed Category at Pan American Club Crew Champions (PACCC), Canada 2015. 2nd and 3rd in two other events over 500m and 200m respectively.

Football: Dwight Yorke won several championships in England and Europe with Manchester United. Alvin Corneal, Bobby Sookram, Sedley Joseph, Lincoln Phillips, Everald “Gally” Cummings, Richard Chinapoo, David Nahkid, Russell Latapy, and Shaka Hislop. The ‘Strike Squad’ 1989, ‘Soca Warriors’ 2006, and ‘Soca Princess’ 2014.

Golf: Stephen Ames, Carlos ‘Sexy’ Baynes,  Maria Nunes Sachin Kumar, Liam Bryden, Zoe Correia, Ryan Peters, Ysabelle Lawrence, Sarah Mackenzie

Hockey: Stacey Sui Butt, Kwandwane Browne and Dwain Quan Chan.

Horse Racing: Emile Ramsammy, Eric ‘Colt’ Duran, Maniram ‘Boboy’ Maharaj

Netball: T&T was crowned joint World Netball Champions with Australia and New Zealand in 1979, 3rd in Singapore 1983, Joint 2nd in Scotland 1987, 9th in Australia 2015. Jean Pierre, Janet Bailey, Sharon Castanada, Joelisa Cooper, Samantha Wallace

Powerboat Racing: Andrew Lewis, Ken Charles

Special Olympics: T&T, 48 medals (15 gold, 9 silver and 24 bronze), Special Olympics World Games, Los Angeles, California 2015.

Squash: Colin Ramasra, T&T’s first professional player (2007), highest ranking in the world, 148. Joshua Pinard, Kale Wilson and Richard Hart.

Swimming: George Bovell III bronze medal in the 200IM at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Multiple medallists at World Championships, FINA World Cup, Pan American Games, CAC. Paul Newallo, Sebastian Paddington, Sioban Cropper, Shantol Ince and Dylan Carter.

Table Tennis: Mansingh Amarsingh, Derek DeSilva, Steve Ragbir, Seamus Clarke, Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung, Aaron Wilson, Arun Roopnarine and Aleena Edwards.

Tennis: Lystra Lewis, Allan and Lindsay Price, Beverly Corbie, Elizabeth Gibson, Shane Stone, Ivor Grazette,  Olivia Bennett, Anneliese Rose, Shenelle Mohammed, Solange Skeene, Emma Davis, Emma-Rose Trestrail, Emily Lawrence, Nabeel Mohammed, Kobe Andrews, Liam Sheppard, and Aidan Carter.

Shooting: Bert Manhin and Roger Daniel

Triathlon: Jason Gooding and Ancil Greene

Taekwondo: Cheryl Sankar stood tall in Taekwondo.

Weightlifting: Rodney Wilkes was the country’s first medallist at the Olympics winning the silver medal in the featherweight category at the 1948 London Games.

At the 1952 Helsinki Games, he won bronze at the same event.

It is evident that T&T Independence can also be viewed through the excellent performances of its sportswomen and sportsmen.

Their performances have continued to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is viewed as a serious competitor at all levels of competition.

As the society develop, every effort should be made to continue to support the country’s sportswomen and sportsmen in the most efficient, effective and transparently accountable manner so that they can realise their dreams as well continue the rich tradition of sporting success.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Lots of economic benefits can come from sport tourism
By Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)
Published: Monday, September 7, 2015

Lord’s Cricket grounds...one of the most-sought-after sports tourism attractions.

Mega and small scale sport tourism has the potential to contribute to the social, cultural, economic and infrastructural development of the host country or city. Sport tourism involves the travel of persons for non-business reasons to participate and or observe sporting activities (Hall, 1992).

Mega sporting events include the hosting of World Cups for such sports such as football, cricket, and rugby. Small scale sporting events include triathlons, marathons and a leg of the formula one grand prix.

According to Zauhar (2003) sport tourism involves a number of activities. In addition to either participating and or observing sporting events, persons who travel for sport tourism may also have a vested interest in visiting state of the art sporting facilities such as stadiums.

These may include for example, Lords cricket ground in England, Roland Garros in Paris, Maracana Stadium in Brazil and the Millennium rugby stadium in Wales. In addition to the iconic sporting stadiums appeal, sport tourists may also show an interest in sporting hall of fames and sport museums such as the Legends of Barbados cricket museum.

Sport tourists may not always be interested in traditional competitive sports and may find adventurous activities far more inviting and appealing to their leisure taste. Some of these adventurous activities may include bungee jumping stations, zip line canopy tours, hiking trails, water adventures such snorkeling and golf.

Sport tourism offers several economic benefits to local communities, the region and or the country. An estimated 680,000 persons from overseas attended the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. These visitors generated enormous economic activity through different forms of expenditure on sporting and non-sporting activities. There was an increased demand for various forms of accommodation—hotels and guest houses.

Similarly there was an increase in demand for sporting paraphernalia such replica tee shirts, sneakers etc. Non-sporting products expenditure included food, beverages, phones, cameras, and other electronic accessories that are associated with travelers. According to Hassen (2003) the 2003 Cricket World generated 1.3 billion Rands for the South African economy.

Sport tourism provides the host country with high media coverage. This coverage will cover not only the sporting event but also provide important information about the country’s cultural and entertainment locations as well as an overall country profile.

Such information would have been provided when the Caribbean played host to two cricket world cups in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Additionally, Trinidad and Tobago would have benefitted from the media coverage when it hosted the 2001 FIFA U17 World Cup for boys and the 2010 FIFA World Cup for girls.

Mega and small sporting events not only offer athletes and officials opportunities to establish strong social bonds but also allow sport tourists the opportunity to forge long lasting social connections with persons from host cities and countries. These bonds have the potential to result in future travels between countries and so deepening the benefits of tourism.

According to Morrison (2005) mega sporting events provide a platform to incorporate social and cultural features of the host community/city/country into the overall tourist experience. These events are good occasions to showcase the cultural heritage of the country such as its history, historical sites, food, music, art, architecture, and overall what makes the host unique and interesting to want to return in the immediate future.

Sport tourism does not only result from the visiting and expenditure from tourists but also involves the development of local infrastructure such as stadia, hotels, transportation networks, roads, telecommunication, airports and other infrastructure. Such developments will provide long term benefits to communities where they have been established.

The potential benefits of sports tourism can only be realised if several challenges are overcome especially in the developing world. In countries where crime and matters of security are a major concern persons considering to travel to these destination maybe discouraged to engage in any form of sport tourism.

Additionally, the allegations of corruption and financial scandals may also serve as a discouragement.

The overall success of any sporting tourism event is dependent upon management. Poor management due to financial impropriety, poor planning, lack of efficient customer service, and a host of other management’s drawbacks may serve as a major Achilles heel for the success of any sport tourism event.

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2011) sport tourism has the potential to being powerful tool for development and progress. However, for this to be accomplished to reap the benefits of sports tourism proper planning and management of events have to be undertaken.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Sports Minister shows much potential
By Anand Rampersad (T&T Guardian)
Published: Monday, September 14, 2015

Darryl Smith...must guard against “gimme gimme” culture.

Minister Darryl Smith’s early intention to engage in a consultative participatory approach to oversee the development of sport is a promising start to his mandate.

By stressing the importance of the voices of athletes and communities through which sport is manifested, he is accentuating their significant role in effective policy formulation and execution.

Furthermore, the consultative participatory approach can be extended to other key players such as sporting bodies, education authorities, women, and persons with disabilities. The general population can also be part of the consultative participatory process by having access to detailed reports of sporting programmes that were implemented in the past and those that are too implemented. This will allow the public to assess how their monies have and are being utilised.

Minister Smith’s comments are in keeping with the PNM’s manifesto component on sport (http://pnm.org.tt/images/pdf/PNM_Manifesto_2015.pdf p62-64). The theme stresses the importance of promoting the country’s athletes internationally, building a sporting industry while at the same time encouraging a healthy nation. To achieve these objectives some of the points highlighted were:

Data collection once again becomes an important feature of the sport planning cycle to ensure that the entire process is efficient and effective. Efficient monitoring and evaluative practices have to become normative in the overall process. This is also important to taxpayers and private enterprises whose monies are used for funding. Additionally, the availability of data and programme reports for public information should be easily accessible.

Funding is a critical aspect of developing every aspect of sport. The State needs to develop strategic relationship with the private sector especially foreign companies to make a decisive contribution to sport. Furthermore, the State needs to consider using the NLCB to fund a greater percentage of sport as happens in England. This recommendation was made in the Report of the Steering Committee for the Establishment of a National Sporting Authority 1988.

The consultative approach, if it becomes the modus operandi of the Minister and his steering committee, should ensure that any approach to dealing with social problems such delinquency through sport does not repeat the gross costly catastrophes of the LifeSport Programme. An assessment of the successes and failures of the Hoop of Life approach should be conducted and made public. The current administrators as well as the public need to be informed if desired results of the $36M expenditure was justified or whether a more efficient approach could have been implemented.

The continued success of athletes is clearly dependent upon a transparent strategic roadmap even more so in the context of economic difficulties.

Minister Smith has to guard against the “gimme gimme” cultural trait that Prime Minister Dr Rowley has unequivocally, and rightly so, called to end, as it can easily seep into sport. Strong leadership, effective planning and decision making and open communication will go a long way toward realising the sporting goals and objectives of Minister Smith’s mandate.

Highlights

​• Increase the pool of talent from which world champions can emerge for international recognition,

• Promote sports as a way to curb crime and social skills,

• Use sports to foster greater communication and understanding amongst different communities, races, creeds in T&T,

• Increase participation opportunities for underrepresented groups in particular disabled persons, women, girls and the vulnerable youth and improve physical facilities to cater for this targeted group of persons,

• Improve the availability of information of sports involvement by conducting a National Sport and Recreational Census,

• Actively develop and promote Sport Tourism,

• Provide incentives for the growth and development of professions allied to Sport, such as Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, and Sports Media,

• Develop a Domestic Sport Research Database by performing a bi-annual survey which will establish benchmark, improvements to the local sport industry and provide a comprehensive data for sports and recreation,

• Create a Sports Institute of Trinidad and Tobago that will capture and hone the skills of young athletes while growing and modernising the Sports Industry.

The overall development of sport should be assessed on at least four (4) objective and interlocked platforms:

• Research through consultation with all major stakeholders including athletes, communities, sport administrators (present and past), the business community, and the universities. Research offers the benefit of providing information about different aspects of sport such as: i) Issues facing athletes- financial resources, medical, coaching etc. ii) Administrative challenges-funding, organisation human capacity etc. iii) Community challenges- participation rates and demographic characteristics, facilities, coaching, coordination of activities etc.

In other words research helps to minimise speculation and ‘guesstimating’ which sadly has been the norm upon which expensive sporting decisions have been made.

• The research data should become the major ingredient for the formulation relevant policies to guide the development of sport and sport development processes. Questions about the relevancy of the current National Sport Policy (2002) (http://static.sport.gov.tt/images/pdf/programmes/national_sport_policy.pdf) need to be asked. 

• Implementation, monitoring and evaluation should form the basis of evaluating the data driven sport policies. The implementation role of the SporTT Company needs to be assessed to decide whether it will continue as is or if revamping is required for greater efficiency.

[Socapro]

Sportification
‘Sport facilities must add value to society
Published: Monday, September 28, 2015 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

According to the National Sport Policy (2002), “Because of the known health, social and economic benefits which can be derived from participating in sport, it can be deemed as important as any other activity or field of endeavour to the total development of the individual and the society.

Regular involvement in sport and physical activity are fundamental to good health and wellness at all stages of life. Sport provides an important environment for the education and socialization of all citizens as well as valuable opportunities for personal enjoyment, social contacts and integration.” (p 4).

Therefore, the availability of quality sporting facilities is critical for sport to contribute to the well-being of individuals, communities and the sporting community.

In recent years there has been the construction of football and athletics stadia, multi-sport indoor facilities, upgrades of recreational grounds, the renovation of pavilions, the installation of floodlights, the provision of recreational items such as swings, slides etc and the creation of paved walking and jogging pathways. The national cycling velodrome, aquatic centre and tennis centre are to be added to the list of available facilities.

At the same time there are facilities that are incomplete and/or abandoned into a state of derelict. The Tarouba Stadium is rather late to its projected opening and Walker Park has become ramshackle after being refurbished for use. It is hope that these facilities along with others will be completed/refurbished so that the country’s athletes and general public can maximise their usage.

It is also common to see many people-less sporting and recreational facilities and those who make use are the ‘regular users.’ The challenge is getting the general public to use the facilities frequently and in great numbers. How can this be achieved? There may not be a single answer as communities differ in leisure and sporting activities. For instance, urban/rural differences. Therefore, different creative approaches may have to be used although maintaining the same objectives.

It may require looking at models elsewhere to get an understanding as to how programmes are developed and implemented to increase usage of public sporting facilities. This does not connote the wholesale adoption of these models as the technical skills are available to adapt foreign knowledge into the local context.

Sport New Zealand has established a national Sporting Facilities Framework to get the best value from its sporting facilities. In England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have partnered with Sport England identifying five (5) areas toward creating a sporting habit for life as part of its youth sport strategy. These include: competitive sport in schools; improving links between schools and community sports clubs; working with the sport’s governing bodies focusing on youth; investing in facilities and working with communities and the voluntary sector.

Lessons can be learnt from the approaches undertaken in England and New Zealand. Firstly, there must be a strategic plan with an efficiently functioning management system. Such a system would include all the major stakeholders’ such as the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, SPORTT, THA, Education and Health Ministry’s; National Sporting Associations, UWI/UTT, private sector and community representatives.  This integrative framework should provide critical information about various communities based on age, gender, religion, persons with physical disabilities, number of schools and usage of facilities and type of existing sporting activities.

Secondly, it has to be sociologically understood that the provision of sporting facilities will not automatically result in their use. And in some instances if the facilities are used it may not be for the intended purpose. This was the case during the NAR regime (1986-91) when basketball courts were laid in several communities. In many communities the courts were used primarily for windball cricket or small goal. In other words, it is important to have discussions with communities. Not only is it important to listen to the voice of the people but it also empowers them in making decisions that will benefit them.

Thirdly, the information would allow for effective planning and implementation. For instance, differentiating between new and existing users of sporting facilities is important. The key is to expand the amount of new users. Furthermore, the various factors (religious, gender, age, disabilities etc) that influence directly or indirectly participation in physical activities will have to be determined.  Such an understanding will allow for developing new strategies from time to time to keep people actively involved. As such fun and enjoyment has to be an integral part of the marketing strategy of the various measures.

Fourthly, from a monitoring perspective it is important that baseline data is updated with new data over time so as to measure trends such as dropout rates and when these take place. Furthermore, the data collected will help in assessing desired outcomes as well as determining the steps to be taken to improve all programmes.

Every effort should be made to ensure that the sporting facilities that are available are put to effective use to justify the economic and social expenditure especially in the face of looming economic challenges. A strategic approach offers better possibilities of measured success than the hope that people will naturally use the sporting facilities if they are made available.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Sport, physical activity = healthier society
Published: Monday, February 29, 2016 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

Participation in sport and physical activity (PA) has the potential to contribute to a healthy lifestyle and society. However, a worthwhile contribution would only be beneficial if sport and physical activity is approached in a strategic manner and properly integrated with other measures for achieving a health society.

This was identified by CARICOM at its POS Regional Summit on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in September 2007. The 14 points declaration included two points on sport and physical activity:

• “That we will mandate the re-introduction of physical education in our schools where necessary, provide incentives and resources to effect this policy and ensure that our education sectors promote programmes aimed at providing healthy school meals and promote healthy eating;

• “That we will promote policies and actions aimed at increasing physical activity in the entire population, e.g. at work sites, through sport, especially mass activities, as vehicles for improving the health of the population and conflict resolution and in this context we commit to increasing adequate public facilities such as parks and other recreational spaces to encourage physical activity by the widest cross-section of our citizens.”

A NCD Progress Indicator Status/Capacity by Country in Implementing the NCD summit Declaration was drawn up. Physical Activity was to be measured by three indicators:

• Mandatory Physical PA in all grades in schools to which T&T indicated was ‘in place’;

• Mandatory provision for PA in new housing developments to which T&T indicated ‘not in place’; and

• Ongoing, mass Physical Activity or New Public PA spaces to which T&T indicated ‘in place’.

However by 2015, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) announced at its meeting in Dominica (March 2015) that the region is facing a childhood obesity epidemic notwithstanding improvements in the overall health status of children and young people over recent decades. 

Very alarmingly, CARPHA states “that least 1 in every 5 of our children carry unhealthy weights and risk developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, later in life.”  The Report also states that such reality would result in “higher lifetime health costs for the individual and the state.” bit.ly/24vLOA1

In 2016, Minister Deyalsingh in a very alarming pronouncement stated that obesity among children had increased by 100 per cent in the last 15 years and that “Sugar is not the only culprit. The other culprit is inactivity…,” bit.ly/1KVuHkX

This observation reinforces the view of former Minister of Health Dr Faud Khan who stated there was a growing “fat” society syndrome among the adult and young population which was related to several socio-economic factors.

The CARPHA Report 2015 and PANAM STEPS Report 2012 reiterated the points of the CARICOM Report on NCDs 2007 suggesting that in addition to maintaining a healthy diet, physical activity is important in establishing an overall healthy lifestyle and society.

As PA is only one component to addressing the growing obesity among the population, baseline data can be derived from the indicators for PA stated in the CARICOM NCDs Report 2007. This baseline data can serve as the basis upon which strategic measures can be taken as well as allow for effective monitoring and evaluation. 

For these indicators to be effective several points should be considered when developing a sport and physical activity framework for a healthy society.

Firstly, there must be a clear advocate for promoting the benefits of sport and physical activity and increasing participation rates across the population. There must be a collaborative effort by various ministries such as Health, Sport and Youth Affairs, Education, Community Development, the THA, private sporting associations and the private sector.

Secondly, it is critical that proper monitoring and evaluating mechanisms are utilised to assess measures implemented.  Such an approach will require the use of rigid performance benchmarks and standards.  It is important not assume that once people become active there will be a related decrease in obesity levels. 

Thirdly, the provision of parks and recreational grounds as have been done will not automatically result in usage by communities.  For effective usage, there will need to be some form of strategic intervention to encourage participation and promote voluntary community usage thereafter. Involvement has to come from parents, guardians, sport and physical clubs, community groups and the private sector. Furthermore, the assessment of the measures has to be extended into these areas to ensure desired goals are achieved. 

The recommendations of the CARPHA Report 2015, PANAM STEPS Report 2012 and CARICOM NCDs Report 2007 must form part of the discussion to develop a healthier society. In addition to a healthier society, the costs of health may also take a nosedive which will be welcome in light of growing economic challenges.

[Socapro]

Sportification
Injuries inevitable, but can be minimised
Published: Monday, March 21, 2016 (T&T Guardian)

By Anand Rampersad

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) sporting injuries maybe either acute or overuse. Acute injuries consist of sudden trauma such as strains, bruises and fractures while injuries resulting from overuse consist of a series of repeated small injuries.

In a study conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide, August 2014 in the US, 1000 young athletes, 1005 coaches and 1000 parents were surveyed. The study highlighted some alarming findings:

• One in four coaches indicated that they did not take any preventative actions to prevent injuries to their players during training or games

• Nine out of ten athletes indicated that they were injured while playing a sport

• 54 per cent of the athletes indicated that they played with an injury such as a sprain or a broken bone.

• 13 per cent athletes say they had concussion or head injury

• 28 per cent of athletes indicated that it was normal to commit hard fouls and play rough to ‘send a message’ during the game.

• 50 per cent of the coaches indicated that parents and or players pressured them into putting an injured player back into play

• Less than 50 per cent of the coaches indicated that they were certified in detecting and preventing sporting injuries (www.safekids.org)

As much as sporting injuries may be inevitable at times, every effort should be made to prevent and or minimize their potential negative impact. A number of preventative measures once implemented can assist in reducing the occurrence of injuries.

The use of protective equipment such as helmets, face masks, eye protection, genital cups, dental protection and padding (for examples chest, shin) is critical to preventing injuries or minimising the impact of forceful contacts.

Prior to Australian Graham Yallop wearing a helmet in 1978 against the West Indies, batsmen did not wear any form of injury preventing headgear.

Many batsmen took the blow directly on their heads and the ability to do this somehow reflected their strong masculinity! However, since the 1980’s cricket has seen tremendous improvements in protective gears for batsmen and fieldsmen. Hopefully, with the use of science, the current helmets will absorb a greater amount of force of the ball as well as ensure that the ball does not find its way through the grill and the peak of the helmet.

While the onus is on athletes to wear protective equipment at all times regardless of what level of the sport is being played, manufacturers also take a responsibility to find ways to improve their products so as to help prevent and or minimise injuries.

Sports medicine professionals are obligated to treat each athletes in the most professionally ethical manner. They are not expected to buckle under the pressures of coaches, management, sponsors, parents and even the athletes. This also includes the non-administering of performance enhancing drugs.

Coaches also have a responsibility to ensure that his/her charges are taught all their playing skills within internationally approved means of coaching. ‘Winning at all costs’ or ‘no pain, no gain’ are very risky strategies as well disrespects the safety of athletes.

Coaches are also obligated to point out to athletes all potential injuries especially those related to neck and head. In the absence of sport medicine professionals, coaches and club managements must ensure that personnel within the club are trained in CPR and first aid. This is very important in amateur clubs and other organisations such as schools who may not be able to afford sports medicine professionals.

In addition to aforementioned ways to prevent sporting injuries, there are some universal safety precautions that must always be adhered by persons involved in coaching, treating and managing athletes. As already happens in football, the flow of blood should bring to a stop the injured player/s involvement in the sport activity. All sterilisation procedures must be adhered while attending to the injured person. These procedures should include wearing of latex gloves and using germicide soap.

As much as medical attention is to be directed to the injured athletes, every effort should be taken to inform coaches, athletes and other members of the supporting staff about the risks of contracting and spreading contagious diseases especially those related to exposure to blood.