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TTCB wants $31m from Govt
« on: July 08, 2015, 02:18:57 AM »
TTCB wants $31m from Govt
By Jelani Beckles (Guardian).


The T&T Cricket Board (TTCB), meeting in an executive retreat over the weekend in Couva, has approved and submitted a budget of $31,351,275 to the Sport Company of T&T to cover their developmental programme for the current fiscal year.

Of this amount, the board will put forward approximately $1,593,000, with external funding through grants and sponsorship totalling $31,351,275.

The funds requested represent proposals for the upgrade of their sprawling 17-acre training and administrative facility at Balmain, Couva, and the undertaking of several important projects to enhance the preparedness of its national teams, increase their assistance to clubs, and provide specialist training for curators, umpires and scorers.

The TTCB also has set key timelines to achieve several other major objectives including competitive tours for boys and girls teams (primary and secondary schools), the constitution of an elite umpires’ panel, and the establishment of minimum coaching requirements for the BGTT age-group competition.

And in a fulfillment of a pledge to alleviate the burgeoning costs associated with club administration and community development which are intrinsically linked, the TTCB is allocating approximately $9,000,000 in grants.

In addition, the clubs are being asked to twin with educational institutions and urged to develop their own grant and scholarship programmes which will add impetus to the board’s vision to expand the potential of their sport-education model to ensure success in the future.

One of the biggest chunks of the budget targets the National Cricket Centre (NCC), which is wholly owned by the TTCB, with proposals to outfit it with a state-of-the art electronic scoreboard costing in the region of $2,000,000.

There is also a proposal for the laying of a sand-based outfield at the NCC which is expected to bring it on par with internationally accepted standards and is estimated to set the board back approximately $3,000,000.

The board also hopes to erect bleachers to accommodate cricket fans at the NCC which should be in place by October 31, and will enhance the facility’s capability to host mega-events in a safe and comfortable environment.

Stressing that coaching and youth development are two of its major strengths, the board also intends to continue to improve its development model to meet the changing requirements of the game and has placed additional emphasis in this regard.

For preparation of the national teams under its purview, the TTCB has budgeted $2,371,250 for their Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and senior Red Force teams to be supported by island-wide coaching programmes costing $750,000. These initiatives involve 3,000 children instructed by 120 coaches.

Specialist coaching programmes to boost the TTCB’s successful initiatives are also listed for batting, bowling and fielding ($300,000) while the board’s unique Cricket Academy, the incubator of latent talent on the threshold of national senior selection, has also been allocated $300,000 for the training of 20 elite cricketers.

The annual Easter Bunny Programme casts a net for 5,000 children supervised by 200 trained coaches while the Primary Schools Cricket League attracts the participation of 386 schools throughout T&T for boys and girls who will benefit from development tours costing $100,000 each. That figure is $50,000 less than that budgeted for their Secondary Schools Cricket League colleagues.

At the U-11 level, the board aims to double its intake of schools in the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme, a holistic programme combining athletic skills with scholastic performance with a target of 104 schools.

The national executive places great importance on improving the cricket standards on and off the field and has catered for the training of umpires ($100,000), curators ($120,000) and National League scorers ($50,000).   

The board also recognises the valued contribution made by its 188 affiliated clubs, described as the lifeblood of the organisation and as such have pledged $864,000 for an ambitious sports foundation; assistance for the provision of pitch covers ($408,000) and for acquiring equipment ($240,000).

In addition to $120,000 for development seminars, the total budget for club development is $1,892,000 of which the TTCB will cough up $180,000 to be supplemented by $1,712,000 which will be raised from external sources. 

The progress the TTCB hopes to achieve in the coming months will be measured by key timelines for other important initiatives including draft fixtures for the 2016 National League; a review of competition regulations; establishment of an elite umpires’ panel (Premier I and II) in conjunction with the Cricket Umpires and Scorers’ Council.

The timeline for the training of National League officials in electronic scoring, and an exercise to assess the performance of umpires using video footage of selected matches has also been set. This is all expected to be completed by October 31 when the financial year ends.

Also discussed at the executive retreat at the Metro Hotel was an umpire recruitment programme, a course for curators, and the setting of minimum coaching certification for the BGTT Youth Series: Under-13, Under-15 (Level 1); Under-17 and Under-19 (Level II)

It was also decided that the BGTT Under-13 series will be played immediately after the 2016 Secondary Entrance Assessment for primary schools, to facilitate minimum disruption for the students and their teachers.

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