Dancing Brave: Sport—our salvation

[Socapro]

Dancing Brave
Sport—our salvation
By Andre Baptise
Published: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 (T&T Guardian)


There is growing discomfort with the administration of sports in T&T, especially as it relates to transparency and accountability. This is not good and is not only applicable to football, but many others sports.
 
There is a constant belief, that those involved in administration have a template, whether written or verbal that suggests you can do anything once you are not caught, even if it is wrong.
 
If indeed that does prevail, it is a sad indictment on the country.
 
Given this lack of trust from the various sporting organisations to the Ministry of Sports and the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago, it is my belief that we need to ensure that certain watchwords—now become essential and critical in the sporting horizon.
 
With the assistance of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, please read and try to understand.
 
1 Transparency—open to public scrutiny
 
2 Honesty—free of deceit, truthful and sincere
 
3 Accountability—required or expected to justify actions or decisions...explicable and understandable.
 
4 Fair play—respect for the rules or equal treatment of all concerned
 
5 Trust—firm belief in someone or something, acceptance of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation
 
6 Fidelity—continuing loyalty to a person, cause or belief
 
7 Morality—principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour
 
8 Forthright—direct and outspoken
 
9 Fortitude—courage in adversity
 
10 Hermetic—insulated or protected from outside influences
 
11 Logic—reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity
 
12 Morale—the confidence, enthusiasm and discipline of a person or group at a particular time
 
13 Diligence—careful and persistent work or effort
 
14 Independence—free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority.  I would like many of those currently involved in sporting organisations in this country to examine the words above and reflect on how many of them are applicable.
 
I believe that among the existing organisations, there are few that can realistically say they put into practice the majority of the words expressed here.
 
We should not be too surprised because several have told me they are only there on a voluntary basis. They are not being paid so how can we expect full commitment. This is absolute “rubbish” and only an excuse to do wrong.
 
As we examine the landscape that contributes to sporting success, we must never forget the importance of the role of an administrator, which in this country has too often hindered progress in various sporting avenues.
 
In this regard, both the Ministry of Sports and SPORTT have to share the blame because they are either too short staffed to monitor these organisations or do not care one way or another.
 
There is even another school of thought that both governmental organisations need to be reorganised and proper human resource checks performed detailing roles and duties.
 
It appears that in some cases, certain persons have too much power and in other cases, others have no power whatsoever.
 
However with position and power comes responsibility and that is an area that has been neglected.
 
There are several persons with good ideas who seem to want to assist sports. But they are sometimes outweighed and out shouted by others who have different objectives.
 
The good aspect though is that most of the athletes involved in sports, can easily identify those who care, as against those who are there for a “free ride.
 
So by establishing proper standards of operations, we can weed out these unfortunate elements.
 
So if you belong to or associate with a sporting body in this country, I would like you to perform this small exercise, and test your ability on the 14 watchwords above.
 
Assess whether or not you can say that you have lived or are experiencing even half of them in your daily work in sports.
 
This country has the potential to achieve more but only if those in administration understand their roles and functions, and forget about the prestige (in their minds) of having office.
 
This power that most of our administrators adore and yearn for must translate to the benefit of our sporting personnel and this aspect more than any other needs to be emphasised on each and every occasion where the opportunity presents itself .
 
Sport is our salvation. Let no one forget that.

[Socapro]

Dancing Brave
Moments that lift spirits of our nation
By Andre Baptise
Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2015 (T&T Guardian)


As Independence beckons, it is important to identify important and significant dates that should be noted by all of those involved in sports in T&T.

These are dates and months when significant contributions to this country have impacted so much on so many, that maybe some of us, have taken them for granted, or have forgotten their importance.

So what follows are some of these, which need to be brought to the attention of a nation, in need of some positivity.

Saturday June 10 2006—Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors earn a point in their first ever World Cup match, playing with 10 men but holding Sweden to a 0-0 draw.

Tuesday November 15, 2005—Dennis “Tallest “Lawrence climbs above everyone to score the crucial winning goal for Trinidad and Tobago away to Bahrain, from a Dwight Yorke corner in the 49th minute  to ensure T&T qualifies for its first ever World Cup.

Saturday August 11, 2012—Keshorn Walcott sends shockwaves through the London Olympics 2012 when he wins the javelin goal medal with a throw of 84.58 metres. This is only T&T’s second ever gold medal. He becomes the youngest ever Olympic gold medallist in the men’s javelin (19 years and 131 days)

Saturday July 24, 1976—Hasely Crawford wins the Montreal Olympics 100 metres gold medal in a time of 10.06. It is T&T’s   first ever Gold medal in the Olympics.

Monday April 12, 2004—Brian  Lara scores 400 not out against England at the Antigua Recreational Ground to regain the world record for the highest score in Test cricket from Matthew Hayden.

Monday April 18, 1994—Brian  Lara breaks Sir Garry Sobers’ 36-year-old record of 365, scoring 375 at the Antigua Recreational Ground against England.

August 1979—T&T’s netballers, led by Sherrill Peters wins the World Netball title in 1979 (jointly with Australia and New Zealand), becoming the first T&T team to win  a world title.

Tuesday December 2 , 2014—T&T’s female footballers lose 0-1 to Ecuador at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and miss  qualification for a Women’s World Cup.

Thursday August 23, 1973—Bernard Julien scores 121 for the West Indies against England at Lords; it is considered his best innings ever.

Sunday November 19, 1989—T&T’s Strike Squad loses 0-1 to the USA at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and miss World Cup qualification, and the entire country cries in pain

Sunday August 9, 2009—Ato Boldon returns to the track at the World Championships in Athens, after finishing a disappointing 5th in the 100 metres finals, to win the men’s 200 metres giving T&T, its first gold medal at the World Championships.

Wednesday August 14, 2013—Jehue Gordon wins the 400 metres hurdles finals at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

Friday October 23, 2009—Daren Ganga leads T&T to the Champions League T20 Finals, where we lose to New South Wales in a close contest; contracts follow for Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine in the IPL thereafter.

Friday August 20, 2004—George Bovell wins bronze in the men’s 200 metres individual medley at the Athens Olympics, in the process claiming T&T’s first Olympic medal in a swimming contest.

Saturday August 16, 2008—Richard Thompson runs 9.89 to place second in the Olympics 100 metres final in Beijing, China behind Usain Bolt.

Sunday March 27, 2006—Stephen Ames wins his first PGA tournament, the Players Championships at Sawgrass in Florida. He finished 14—under 274 and earned $1.44 million US.

Tuesday December 4, 1973—T&T’s footballers lose a crucial game against Haiti 2-1 after scoring five goals, four of which were denied.

Saturday September 12, 1981—Claude Noel fights Mexican boxer Rodolfo Gonzalez for the WBA Lightweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States and wins a unanimous decision (145-140,145-141, 144-141) and the world title, the first in boxing for this country.

Saturday May 23, 1987—Leslie “Tiger” Stewart defeats Marvin Johnson in Port of Spain; Trinidad to win the WBA World Light Heavyweight title, after his opponent Johnson could not come out for the ninth round.

With the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, schedule in a few days; this would be a great time for our athletes to add to these dates.

It is also important for sporting interest to keep these moments alive through our National Sporting Archives, which is an interesting and informative addition to our sporting landscape but which has been stymied by a lack of funding of late. You can view more about our great moments in sport by logging on to www.sportarchivestt.com. I also hope that those in authority, especially the Ministry of Sport and corporate T&T can align themselves with this very critical project called the National Sporting Archives of T&T.

[Socapro]

Dancing Brave
Sports needs full attention of all
By Andre Baptise
Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 (T&T Guardian)


For too long, sports in this country has been neglected by all of us. For too long, people have trampled on sports, as if it is an afterthought, without due care and consideration.

For too long, we have all stood back and allowed this to happen, because we too, were preoccupied with other matters.

With the national budget due to be read on Monday October 5, there is a lot of expectation that sports could finally get its just reward, and if early indicators can be followed the current Sports Minister Darryl Smith, appears, so far, to be intent on listening first, and speaking after.

Recently on Isports, Smith expressed interest in establishing a closer communication with the athletes of this country, and ensuring that they remain the focus, and that those in administration begin to understand their role better. It is a laudable expression and acknowledgement of a starting point for the improvement of sports handling in this country, but alas as I have said before, it is easy to talk in the early days of your postings.

Perhaps it is interesting, that all of the guests on i95.5fm that Saturday night also believe that Sports seems to have a lot of work to do to convince the “elite” in this country of its significance and importance.

Leading investigative journalist of wired868, Lasana Liburd, stated that “Sports always seems to be the outside child.”

Trinidad Guardian Sports Editor Valentino Singh was also emphatic, in his condemnation of the treatment of sports by many in the past, saying: “People do not seem to realise that sports is the greatest unifier in the country.”

Well known and respected T&T media personality, Anthony Harford, was also clear in his belief on the treatment of sports saying, “We always tend to get someone lightweight in this role, lacking experience.”

These are all by themselves powerful words, which express fully the state of mind of each of these three sport oriented individuals but taken collectively, they cast a dark shadow over the running of sports in the past, not only the last five years.

The Minister of Sports listened attentively and most probably took mental notes but going forward, this country will expect more action and results from the Sports Ministry in terms of transparency and honesty.

As was stated on the night, one prime example of the lack of care for sports in this country, is the current state of the Sports Archives of T&T, which was unceremoniously curtailed by a lack of funds and therefore a loss of resources, with researchers not being paid. This is an ongoing project, which is not only of benefit to youngsters but all of T&T, as it seeks to tell by words, video, pictures and many other means, the story of the adventures of our sporting personnel.

As it stands now, it is very difficult to obtain such information from anywhere so easily, because there is a need to gather this information from friends and family of some, who have since departed this earth, so there is a lot of groundwork that has to be done not only in information gathering but also in the process of locating some of the relevant persons.

In this modern age, it is a travesty that this archiving of sports has been sadly neglected for so long by us the people of this country. We need to ensure that the legacy of the life and times of our sporting people is not forgotten or diminished by a lack of proper documentation. There must be a standard operating procedure established among all of the sporting administrations in this country, to ensure that adequate information is maintained on their respective athletes that represent this country. There is too much of a lack of care from some sporting administrations on the roles and impact of sporting persons in their respective sporting organisations, which lead to the current emptiness most probably felt in the heart of our athletes.

As a progressive country, how is it possible not to have the relevant data on all who have represented T&T available for a lifetime, and not on a stop and go basis, this is ongoing and anyone who cares about the history of this country, will understand that.


Sporting icons George Bovell, from left, Dwight Yorke, Peggy Castanada-Phillip, Russel Latapy and Brian Lara.

The world cares about Hasely Crawford, Brian Charles Lara, Dwight Yorke, Ato Boldon, Keshorn Walcott, the 1979 netball World champions team led by Sherril Peters, George Bovell, Richard Thompson, Russell Latapy, 1974 football team that was cheated in Haiti, Everard Gally Cummings, Steve David, Sedley Joseph, Alvin Corneal, Lincoln “Tiger” Phillips, the strike squad, the Soca Warriors, Red Force cricket team, Roger Gibbon, Gene Samuel, Claude Noel, Leslie Tiger Stewart, Larry Gomes, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Shantelle McClean, Carlos Greene, Kelly Ann Baptiste, Cleopatra Borel... .

In T&T, though we have to rise above all of this and not only include the above, but also all who have proudly worn the national colours, I am certain that there are also administrators that can be included.

And who is to say, that if corporate T&T will not follow suit and be impressed by all of this positivity and get behind this project, given its prospering image and overall benefit to the country.

Therefore in going forward, we need to recognise the role that sports play in this country and for the people of this country, it is our moments of happiness, our moments to smile, the times when everyone seems contented with life, despite their situation.

So we await, the first step in the right direction by the new Minister of Sports, and will and should only judge him based on his actions and most importantly, results. The sporting archive situation, may be the bright spark he needs to ignite a Sporting Ministry in need of a facelift.

Perhaps the final word, should reside with Minister Smith, who on the night was quick to reveal, that in this current Prime Minister Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, this country finally has a Prime Minister that cares about sports. In time, we shall tell and see if true or not.

[Socapro]

Dancing Brave
Relay women in search of trust
By Andre Baptise
Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 (T&T Guardian)


T&T bronze medallists in China Semoy Hackett, left, Kelly Ann Baptiste, Michelle Lee Ahye and Reyare Thomas.

There is a lot to question as it relates to the treatment of sportsmen and sportswomen. Moreso the women. since obvious gender bias comes to the front despite the promise that ours is a progressive society.

T&T’s 4x100 metres women’s relay team returned from the World Championships in Beijing with a bronze medal and although it was historical — the first women’s relay medal at a major championship, it has remained unrecognised, almost as if it was insignificant.

 I have been patient since September but it has become rather disheartening with all the excuses.  There can be no reason for this, other than share contempt by those in authority at both the Ministry of Sports and the Sports Company.

  I expect to be told that there was a change in government and with that several changes were made and people were moved from departments and positions, such as permanent secretaries and chief executive officers. But that is not good enough. Efficient processes should apply no matter a change in personnel. It is called — Standard Operating Procedures.  Therefore, it would not surprise me if these young ladies (Kelly Ann Baptiste, Michele Lee-Ahye, Reyare Thomas, Semoy Hackett and Khalifa St Forte) believe that they have been unfairly treated, and if they were men, things would be different.

Let us relive what happened in China. Read some of what was said and understand the pain and doubt about the sincerity of those that control the funding in sports:

“On August 29, T&T’s 4x100 metres team made history, not once (setting a national record 42.24), not twice (eclipsing that record and setting another 42.03), and finally became the first women sprinters to win a relay medal in the World Championships, when they finished third behind Jamaica and the USA.

In a race that was started at quick speed, it was the leader of the team, the wily and experienced captain Kelly Ann Baptiste, that led from the front with a dazzling first leg.

“I definitely trust Michelle. I knew that once I held my own and handed over the stick to Michelle, it was going to be okay once they all got the sticks around the track so I just felt that the trust was there. We are comfortable with each other.

“Nobody doubts anyone’s fitness and foot speed, so we were just happy to put it together because it is tough to run a relay when you have not been practicing so we came here since the 14th and we have been trying to work on our passes and I am just glad that it all worked out in the end,” Baptiste told the Trinidad Guardian with a broad smile on her face.

Next to accept the baton at lightning speed was the energetic Michelle Lee Ahye. “It was a perfect hand off and I passed it off well to Reyare and then Semoy shot out and I was like ohhhhh ohhhhh!!!!,” said Lee Ahye.

Reyare Thomas has a quiet look, but this talented daughter of the soil allowed her feet and brains to do the work on the third leg.  “It feels great to know that we come out here with a medal today. I want to tell everybody who did not doubt us that we come our here with a medal and really happy that happen and we come out here and put on a show , and we were able to make T&T proud.”

Semoy Hackett  ran one of the best anchor legs, motoring down the straightway like an express train, and for a moment, just for a stride some of us thought silver was possible as Hackett soon made bronze inevitable. “I think each person held their own, and gave 100 per cent and our baton passing was good enough to make us come third because everybody trusted each other and gave it their best, and this team is going to Rio.”

  Baptiste added: “Thanks for those supporting us. I hope we are inspiring other females to take part in sport and seek to excel” remarked Baptiste.”

As we talk about bonds and friendship, we must not forget the effort of Khalifa St Fort, who spoke after the semifinal heat. “I feel great, I am so happy that I was able to represent Trinidad and Tobago today.  I had a wonderful time.”

Final words on an historic day should go to Baptiste.  “I was saying as I watched Semoy race to the line ‘Lord just let her complete the job, it was amazing”

Indeed it was amazing and prayers do work, what is next for these young ladies will be up to the Association and their coaches, but there appears to be a bright future for these young ladies and with Independence Awards, just around the corner, who knows what else could be in store.”

Trust is an important ingredient in all spheres of live but particularly in team sport. Without that, the essence of a team can be eroded and lost, so can these ladies now TRUST us in sports.