TRINIDAD and Tobago’s female beach volleyball players advanced to the second round of regional qualifying for the Olympic Games in impressive fashion Friday at Ocho Rios Beach, Jamaica. After getting a bye in the first round of the CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) tournament, the No. 2 seeds brushed aside Haiti 2-0 to secure one of the six places in the second of four rounds of qualifying in the NORCECA (North, Central America and the Caribbean) region. Apphia Glasgow and La Teisha Joseph, quarterfinalists in the opening leg of the NORCECA Tour last weekend in Cayman Islands, got the ball rolling with a 21-12, 21-17 triumph over Djoulissa Marthe and Solaida Pierre. And then Elki Philip and Shenelle Gordon completed the job by whipping Caroline Graham and Graziella Chery 21-11, 21-17. Haiti had beaten Bahamas 2-0 in the first round and the other three first-round winners were also beaten in the second when they came up against seeded countries. Curacao cruised past Martinque, but then went under by the same score line against Barbados, while Jamaica were 2-0 winners over Guadeloupe, 2-0 winners over Aruba earlier in the day. And after a 2-0 triumph over the United States Virgin Islands, Suriname were edged by Cayman Islands. Haiti, Guadeloupe, Curacao and Suriname battled yesterday to determine the two countries to move into the second round of regional qualifying alongside Barbados, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and T&T. The top six CAZOVA teams will battle against the top six in the ECVA (Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association) in the second round on a date and at the venue to be determined. Champions will be crowned in this weekend’s tournament this afternoon after semifinals in the morning. T&T were scheduled to face Cayman Islands yesterday for a place in the last four. The opening round of CAZOVA men’s qualifying will take place in Trinidad at Saith Park, Chaguanas, from Friday until Sunday.
Volleyball to honour Nancy Joseph
THE Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation (TTVF) will be paying tribute to Nancy Joseph during the Beach Volleyball Olympic Male Qualifier this weekend at Saith Park, Chaguanas.
The tournament is the opening leg of CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) qualifying for the Games of the XXX1 Olympiad, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August next year.
The 12 participating countries — Aruba, Barbados, Bahamas, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Suriname and T&T — will be represented by two pairs each and the top six countries will move on to the second of four rounds of qualifying in the NORCECA (North, Central America and the Caribbean) region.
Fabian Whitfield and Daneil Williams, winners all ten local tournaments this season without dropping a set, will fly the red, white and black flag, along with Josiah Eccles and Tevin Joseph, who competed alongside Tarandath Deonath in last year’s World Under-23 Beach Volleyball Championships.
Joseph earned the right to play in the opening leg of female qualifying, which concludes today in Jamaica, but decided to take a break from the game because of work commitments.
And the TTVF decided not to wait for the employee of Atlantic to announce her retirement to honour her for her invaluable contribution to the country on the sand for over a decade.
The TTVF has deemed the qualifier “The Road To Rio” and they have planned a female exhibition tournament “in honour of Trinidad’s legendary Nancy Joseph” during the weekend.
Joseph is the most celebrated beach volleyball player to ever emerge from this country and she is still the sport’s only representative for Sportswoman of the Year, eight years after breaking new ground.
The year 2007 is definitely one that she will never forget as Joseph also competed on her biggest stage that season when she and Elki Philip were the female beach representatives in the Pan American Games in Brazil.
Playing alongside Andrea Davis, Joseph participated in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games the year before in Colombia and she returned to this stage in November last year and turned in one of the highlight performances of her career by reaching the quarter-finals with the assistance of Ayana Dyette in Mexico.
Although many in volleyball circles feel that this break spells goodbye, although the 34-year-old is still one of the leading players in the country and has confirmed that she has not retired.
Joseph had faced the nightmare of forced retirement on the heels of two of her best performances of her career four years ago.
It was a dream start to 2011 for the player who hails from central Trinidad as she and Philip won the regional Sizzling Sand Tournament in Barbados in February, defeating compatriots Dyette and Nadiege Honore in a final filmed by the world’s leading sports television, ESPN.
A few weeks later, the duo finished fourth in the Dominican Republic in one of their early outings in the very prestigious NORCECA Tour.
But while she was preparing for CAC Games less than a month later, Joseph suffered a serious knee injury and doubted she would ever set foot on the sand again following surgery.
However like a true champion she returned in the middle of 2012 and ended the year with her second NORCECA fourth-placed finish, alongside Dyette in the home leg in Toco at the end of October.
Joseph represented the country in four NORCECA events the following year and played alongside Dyette in six of the ten events in last year’s circuit.
The duo also enjoyed a perfect season at home last year, winning all nine local tournaments they played.
The National Beach Volleyball Championships have not been staged in four years, but it has been contested on six occasions and Joseph swept all six crowns.
National indoor player Rheeza Grant was her partner the first time around, while Davis was involved on the next two occasions, and Philip in the last three.
The female exhibition tournament will precede T&T’s matches in the Olympic Qualifier on all three nights and Joseph has accepted the invitation to play.
The Qualifier is scheduled to serve off on Friday morning.
Press Release: Ria Ramnarine Graduates with Honours Distinction from the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program
Ria Ramnarine Graduates with Honours Distinction from the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program
The International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program (ICECP) honored its class of 2015 in a ceremony held at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The seventh edition of the ICECP – an intensive coaching education program developed by the United States Olympic Committee, the University of Delaware and the IOC – included 33 coaches representing five continents, 33 countries and 14 sports.
Among the 33 coaches, were former World Champion boxer Ria Ramanrine and founder of the ‘Boxing Beyond the Ring’ programme. The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee congratulates Ria for achieving Honours Distinction from the ICECP programme.
“It was a life changing experience,” said Ria Ramnarine. “The ICECP programme enabled me to grow and develop as a coach and an individual. Working on my project, demanded both time and focus which was a little bit nerve wrecking. However, the experience served as an encouragement to move forward. I would like to thank Mr. Lewis, ICECP and Olympic Solidarity for providing me with this amazing opportunity. Many thanks to the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development; Ramsingh's Sports World, CSF Couriers, Bharrath Ramoutar and all those who contributed to my success in one way or the other."
In her advice to future coaches from Trinidad and Tobago who may be afforded the opportunity, “They need to dedicate 7 months towards the programme. Implementing the project takes a lot of time and requires starting your project as soon as you get back home and building a good team. In closing, she leaves these three words “Go For It!”
In the final module, participants presented the projects they completed over the course of the program – which focused on improving coaching infrastructure in their home countries. Ria’s project was the ‘Beyond the Ring’ programme which was aimed at increasing female participation in boxing. The programme extends beyond the sport of boxing to help empower women and girls through self defense and health and fitness.
The 2014-15 program included coaches from American Samoa, Austria, Antigua and Barbuda, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Grenada, India, Jordan, Latvia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Serbia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, United States and Uganda. For more information on the ICECP, visit http://www.udel.edu/icecp.
ABOUT ICECP A program of the United States Olympic Committee, the University of Delaware and the International Olympic Committee, the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program aims at assisting national-level coaches in developing proficiency in the areas of sport sciences, talent identification, athlete development, safe sport, coaching education, coaching management and grass roots sport development. The intended outcome is for ICECP participants to return to their countries and serve as coaches within their respective sports, while becoming foundation builders for future coaches and athletes, and spreading Olympic spirit.
Press Release: 22 Sport Administrators complete the TTOC Sport Administration Course
22 Sport Administrators complete the TTOC Sport Administration Course
The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee’s Sport Administrators Course concluded the 22nd class with the handing over of certificates to twenty-two participants. Yesterday, the course concluded with a lecture on Pathway Development by Mr. Gabre Mctair.
The modules in the course included: Roles and Structure of the IOC, Ethics in Sport and Fair play, Communication, Governance in Sport, Roles and Responsibilities, Constitution, Strategic Planning, Financial Management and Budgeting, Public Relations, Event Management, Sport Medicine, Marketing, Development Pathway and Sponsorship.
Congratulations to the participants of the 22nd cohort of the Sport Administration Course:
Adaffi Edwards, Chanelle Young, Kern George, Chevon Le Gendre, Rheeza Grant, Abby Blackman, Nolan Tash, Marsha Bhawanie, Johnnie Gonzales, Mujaahid Khan, Timothée Maloney, Cindy Martin Faustin, Keron Maynard, Delana Mitchell, Orlando Pyle, Yasin Siddiq Ramsingh, Clive Ramsingh, Sheldon Sandiford, Collin Changa, Paula Drakes, Abigail, Harewood, and Lisa Yearwood.
Press Release: TTOC Annual General Meeting 2015
The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee recently held its Annual General Meeting 2015 on April 28th at Olympic House, Port of Spain. TTOC President, Mr. Brian Lewis used the occasion to remind member affiliates to remain passionate about the goals of the Olympic Movement, to use sport to educate and serve young people. These ideals are as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.
Lewis also reiterated the TTOC's focus on helping the nation's athletes achieve 10 Gold Medals by 2024, and highlighted the TTOC’s three strategic pillars of Good Governance, Athlete Centred and Market Driven. The TTOC continues to promote the adoption of good governance and ethics across the country’s Olympic and Commonwealth Sport Movement through Olympic Education which includes the Sport Administrators Course and the Advanced Sport Management Course.
At the meeting members were also able to receive, consider and approve the 2014 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements by the TTOC.
Donations to the Athlete Welfare Fund can be made at Scotia Bank Account #171188
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National Cycling Champs rides off
FOR THE first time in Trinidad and Tobago cycling history, the globally hunted prize of International Cycling Union (UCI) points will be up for grabs at this year’s edition of the National Elite, Junior and Masters Championships which pedals off at the Arima Velodrome from 7 pm today.
All contested events scheduled over the three-day meet have been officially sanctioned and accredited by the UCI and will also serve as trials for forthcoming tournaments such as the Pan American Games (May 10-26) in Toronto, Canada; Elite Pan American Championships (September) and the inaugural Caribbean Track Championships (May 2016).
Local riders have now been presented with a golden opportunity to amass UCI points right here on home soil, as previously compared to travelling to distant countries in an effort to enhance their qualification process. Cyclists will receive valuable UCI points towards their overall UCI ranking and towards their World Cup and Olympic qualification.
And returning once more to defend his coveted Match Sprint title is Olympian Njisane Phillip (Rigtech Sonics), who is already in the country preparing for this weekend’s races. He is again expected to square-off against locally-based sprinters Quincy Alexander, Justin Roberts (both of Team DPS) and club-mate Keron Bramble in the pace-filled sprint events.
Meanwhile, last year’s Junior Caribbean Road and Time Trial champion Akil Campbell (Rigtech Sonics) will be making his senior national debut in multiple endurance events. The youngster has proved to be a reckoning force on the senior circuit since his introduction in January and is deeply motivated to succeed against the division’s big guns such as Varun Maharajh (Rigtech Sonics), Jovian Gomez, Jude Codrington (both of Team DPS) and Gevan Samuel (The Braves). Speaking with the road racer yesterday, Campbell revealed that training at the senior level is indeed a challenge. “The senior and elite level is tough, but for National Championships so far, training has been good and I want to go out there and do my best for my club and myself,” said the budding cyclist. “Training has been difficult especially leading up to this year’s Nationals. I would like to qualify for the Pan Am Games and have set myself some required times that must be achieved in specific events to ensure qualification. I will be competing in the Omnium, Scratch Races, Keirin, Points Race and Pursuit.”
Additionally, Pan American golden girls Kollyn St George (Breakaway) and Keiana Lester (Bike Smith) will square-off against each other after the pair proudly represented the red, white and black at the just concluded Junior Pan Ams in Aguascalientes, Mexico, two weeks ago. Pan Am debutants and eventual medallists Sei Daniel and Tyler Cole will also be in action along the Arima track as they also warm-up for a hectic competitive season ahead.
Speaking with Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation (TTCF) president Robert Farrier yesterday, he also reiterated the importance of the 2015 tourney and explained that the structure of this year’s event has been aligned with those of other world renowned UCI-sanctioned events. “The structure for Nationals this year will be held in sessions,” Farrier noted. “We’ll have one session on Friday night, and a morning and evening session on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We have chosen to design the event in this way because all UCI-rated meets are conducted in this manner. We are also asking all fans of the sport to come out and support our riders because they will be looking to scorching the Arima track in sight of improved times, UCI points and Pan American qualification.”
Admission for the National Cycling Championships at the Arima Velodrome is free on all three nights.