The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs has promised to “address staff sensitivity” to Trinidad and Tobago athletes but stopped well short of admitting culpability in its treatment of three-time Olympic Games medallist Richard “Torpedo” Thompson or offering an apology to the sprinter. Thompson, who competed at the 2008, 2012 …
Read More »National athletes are being treated with disdain! Thompson’s email exchange with Sport Ministry official
“For you to address me in the manner of your last email was nothing short of disrespectful; in fact, it was the most disrespectful email I have ever read. What gives you the authority to address me or any athlete in the tone that you just did is beyond me. …
Read More »“I feel cheated!” Stadium contractors wrangle over money woes while Smith mum
Just over a year after Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith opened the training track at the Hasely Crawford Stadium (HCS), both the local contractor and the foreign sub-contractor are still waiting, they say, for payment for the project. The outstanding sum is reported as being in the …
Read More »U-20 Women’s Championship: Expert doubtful Ato Boldon Stadium can withstand 16 games in 11 days
Sixteen games in 11 days. That is what the Ato Boldon Stadium is set to host once the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship kicks off on 18 January. And although—according to a top Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) official—the field at the Couva “Home of Football” currently looks in pristine …
Read More »Sport Ministry hands TTOC TT$3 million for Commonwealth, CAC and Youth Olympic Games
The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) declared that local athletes will participate in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, CAC Games and Youth Olympic Games, after receiving a TT$3 million cash injection from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. The Commonwealth Games will be held in Australia in April while …
Read More »SPORTT employees told to look for jobs; State board in financial dire straits
Just three weeks before Christmas, employees at the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) have been advised by acting CEO Jason Williams to “actively explore alternative employment.” The advice, sent to staff via email, follows weeks of speculation about the financial health of the State body. Williams confirmed that …
Read More »Shocked and disappointed! Yorke condemns Jomo Pitt’s statement on Bacolet national stadium
“It’s disappointing that […] athletes are now refusing to even go to the [Dwight Yorke Stadium] and are now forced to train in foreign countries. “What to me was also very disappointing is that the individual who was put there in a position to represent in the best interest of …
Read More »Dear Editor: SPORTT employees are working under inhumane conditions
“This Company has been spinning top in mud since the investigation into the eight people—who were sent on administrative leave—began… “Since [those suspensions] it is as if the heads currently running the Company do not give a damn about the staff!” The following letter, which was copied to Sport Minister …
Read More »Underwater golf anyone? USSF poke fun at Ato Boldon Stadium before Tuesday’s WCQ
Can someone tell TTFA president David John-Williams they were only joking when they said the Soca Warriors should quit football for underwater golf? With the Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team having no chance of progressing for the Russia 2018 World Cup, the local football body has just two priorities …
Read More »Dear Editor: Only track and field produces local world champions; Govt funding should reflect this
“If you show the talent, commitment and determination to aspire to be the best in the world, then [the Government should ensure] there is a high-performance system in place to nurture your potential to be the best.” Track coach Tony Hatt makes a case for increased State funding for track …
Read More »NAKHID TRUTH: Life in the Fourth World, sport, LifeSport and political ghosts in the Savannah
Like many football enthusiasts, I look forward to the Wired 868 match reports on the youth football tournament being played at many venues around the country, including the “largest roundabout in the world.” Sometimes, though, the pictures have a story of their own to tell. And speaking of pictures, it …
Read More »DALY BREAD: Why we’re right to challenge power—be it a Permanent Secretary, President or Chief Justice
In relation to the huge Marcia mess created by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), there is no need to explain again the critical difference between the powers vested by law to deal with errant public officials and the complementary role of public opinion. Robust public opinion encourages accountability …
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