The legendary Nelson Mandela once said: “Sport has the power to change the world. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.” Last Wednesday at the T&T Olympic Committee’s Annual Awards Function, Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs gave the keynote address. His message was a profound one as he was open and honest about the role sport had played in his life. Mr Gibbs described himself as academically deficient and noted that he got into fights in the school yard before sport gave him a sense of purpose and positive focus.
He spoke from his heart and it was refreshing to see a Commissioner of Police come across as a human being who had to face his own struggles. It would be interesting to see what impact the depth of his feeling for sport and the role sport can play will have on the Police Sports Club and the Police youth groups. The use of those two arms of the Police Service as a means of community interaction could very well have a positive impact.
President of the Republic of T&T Professor George Maxwell Richards, patron of the TTOC, presented the Alexander B Chapman Award given to the person or organisation that has made significant contribution in the use of sport for social good. Rudolph Jack of Rainbow Sports and Cultural Club was the recipient of the award for his use of sport for good in the community of Train Line, Marabella. All present would have heard of the reality of the huge role that sport plays in teaching important life skills in a community facing daily challenges. It may be considered trivia but of the six awards presented by the TTOC, five went to individuals from South Trinidad. Of these five, three recipients hailed from the same club - St Michael’s Stingray Swimming Club.
Sportswoman of the Year Cleopatra Borrel Brown is from Mayaro, while Jack, Junior Sportsman of the Year Christian Homer, Junior Sportswoman of the Year Cherelle Thompson and Sports Personality of the Year Shanntol Ince are all from the South land. For many years South Trinidad has laboured in the vineyard of sport overshadowed by North Trinidad. It most certainly would not have been a criterion and is coincidental, but it is a fact that ought not to go unmentioned. There is a lot of great work taking place in San Fernando and South Trinidad. However, most of the National Sport Organisations (NSOs) find themselves stretched to the limit to allocate adequate resources to the efforts taking place in the area.
Congratulations to South Trinidad on taking home the lion’s share of the TTOC Awards. The New Year will present significant challenges for NSOs and many will have to make tough decisions.
A number of them are committed to bringing in foreign intellect and experience to build their high performance and national team programmes but the continuation of those initiatives is under threat.
There are a number of views but few sports in T&T have a track record of world class. The perspectives that inform decision making can sometimes be insular and short sighted. One thing that can be said is that those NSOs that are not clear about their vision, mission and purpose will spend the entire year in crisis management. NSOs should spend the first month of the New Year doing some urgent strategic rethinking. Times have changed and money is a scarce resource, as is the out of the box thinking that is required to navigate these treacherous waters.
Brian Lewis is the Honorary Secretary General of the T&T Olympic Committee-www.ttoc.org. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the TTOC.