Ayomine Gilbert-Semper and Cherise Stauble won the Sprint Triathlon Elite races at the 2016 Caribbean Cross Training (CCT) Multi-Sport Festival at Store Bay on Saturday last.

Gilbert-Semper took the men's race in 1 hour 28 minutes and 8 seconds (1:28.08) ahead of Hayden Reid (1:34.51) while Stauble copped the ladies crown in 1:39.29 getting the better of Sonia Mohammed 2:01.22. In the Sprint Triathlon the competitors swam 750m before embarking on a 20km bicycle ride along the Store Bay local Road and a 5K run along the same route.

Gilbert was the first to emerge from the waters completing the swim in 12 minutes 51 seconds. Reid was two seconds behind (12.53) while the winner completed the ride in 43.22 and the run in 28:48. Stauble returned times of 18.35, 45.31and 32.41 at each stage.

In the Open Sprint Triathlon top ladies' finisher Riana Harrinauth was first overall beating all the male competitors. Harrinauth got the line in 1:44.35 (17.34/46.16/39.29) to finish almost four minutes ahead of the first man Jabari George 1:48.02. Aliya Drakes (1:50.30) was the second woman to finish while Navindra Ramahar (1:49.16) and Derek Daniel (1:60.29) following George across the line.

In the Beginners Triathlon (Swim-200m/Bike-7.5Km/Run-2.5Km) Esther Amos (25:45) and Ronald Boynes (28:01) were the top Female and Male finishers.

Jelani Mentore took the Try-A Tri event ahead of Thomas Chung. Mentore completed the 375m swim in 12 minutes 45 seconds, the 7.5km ride (13: 23) and 2.5km swim (6.48) in 25:45 while Thomas was behind in 1:13.07 (12:45/39:03/19:58). Thomas is the younger brother of national triathlete Matthew Chung. Eight year old Theo Bickell-Roberts secured the Boys 6-8 Youth Triathlon ahead of another eight year old Jayvorn Horsford. Bickel-Roberts was the quickest over the 50m swim, 3Km ride and 500 run in 12:16 while Horsford clocked 12:50.

Justin Boynes was the winner of the Boys 11-12 Triathlon (Swim-100m/Bike-4.5Km/Run-1.5Km) in 11.26 ahead of Aden Carrington (17:26).

In the 1500m Open Water Swim the Allen family dominated. Dominique Nurse Allen (27:15) finished ahed of her mother Caroline Allen (42:21) in the ladies race while brother Tomi Nurse-Allen took the men's event (49:36) ahead of Navindra Ramadar (53:02). Daniel Bennett (57:29) and Angel Kurban (56:67) were the lone competitors int he 3000m swim.

Later in the afternoon, Carrie Dumas and Hayden Reid ran away with the 5km top awards. Dumas claimed the ladies discipline in 35:40 with Sonia Mohammed (27:07) in second. Dumas' mother Charmaine Chapman (30:32) was third. Reid (20:44) secured the men's prize with Winston Chadband (21:12) and triathlon champion Ayomide Gilbert-Semper (21:38) taking the minor places.

The 2016 Caribbean Cross-Training Multi-Sport Festival was sponsored by Division of Tourism and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly, Damien's Bike Shop, VEMCO, Dasani/Powerade (Caribbean Bottlers Limited) and CCT Multi-sport Store. The organisers of this year's festival will like to thanks the sponsors and contributors (Randal Jackson, Rotarct Tobago, Williams Fitness Group, Hot 93 FM, Amy Castagne and parents of the CCT.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua—A 20-member preliminary squad will undergo training from December 9-20, and will also receive physical assessment along with life skill sessions and mental preparation.

The T&T players are Keagan Simmonds, Kirstan Kallicharan, Cephas Cooper, Navin Bidaisee, Matthew Patrick and Te-Shawn Alleyne.

A management team, led by head coach Graeme West and comprising Dwain Gill, Anthony Gray, Khevyn Williams and Zephyrinus Nicholas, will oversee the camp.

“This initial camp is to prepare a team for the Regional Super50 as was done the last two years and we will also have a pre-tournament camp for the final team (from) January 17-21,” said West Indies Cricket Board project officer, Rawl Lewis.

The Under-19s will do battle in Group A of the Super50 which runs from January 24 to February 18 in Antigua and Barbados.

Title-holders Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Windward Islands Volcanoes and visiting English County, Kent Spitfires, have also been installed in Group A.

Group B, meanwhile, comprises last year losing finalists Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars, Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners, Jamaica Scorpions and ICC Americas.

The tournament will serve as a part of the build-up for the Under-19s as they ready themselves for the defence of their ICC Youth World Cup title captured earlier this year in Bangladesh.

However, Lewis said the Super50 was only a smart part of the intended preparation for the squad.

“A comprehensive programme has been developed for the 2018 World Cup preparation which started with the regional Under-17 and 19 tournaments over the summer,” the former West Indies player said.

“The 23-month programme will include a mini-series with New Zealand (three-match series) in January 2017, just before the World Cup.” (CMC)

The T&T Football Association (TTFA) recently staged a C License Coaching instructors Course which was held recently at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo for 13 local coaches.

The three-day course was conducted by FIFA technical development officer Anton Corneal. The key factors addressed during the course included – Methodology of presenting information; Values and Ethics in coaching football; Organisation, implementation and monitoring of coaching sessions; and Understanding and speaking a common football language.

The coaches in attendance were Rajesh Latchoo, Hayden Martin, Marlon Charles, Allister Ramdoo, Jason Spence, Anthony Creece, Joanne Daniel, Desiree Sargeant, Howard Spencer, Calvin Toussaint, Caleb De Sousa, Steven Bernard and Russell Latapy.

“This really was an assessors and refreshers course involving instructors from the previous “C’ license course and also possibly new instructors for future courses that the FA will host,” Corneal said.

“We reviewed the work of some of the previous instructors and also reviewed some of the previous courses to get a better idea of ways we can improve. We have coaches who have excelled in the previous C License courses and now we are evaluating and seeing whether they have what it takes to actually go on and present these C license courses” Corneal added.

Corneal, a former National Senior Team assistant coach as well as coach of the Under 17 team which qualified for the 2007 FIFA Under 17 World Cup, indicated that this country was still leading the pack in terms of technical development due to the amount of football being played. He warned that smaller Caribbean countries have invested a fair amount in resources for their development programmes and are catching up to the more developed countries such as T&T and Jamaica.

“I think overall we are still ahead because of the amount of football that is being played at all levels here but they are closing the gap. And in the region, I am more responsible for the design of technical programmes and the implementation and monitoring of these programmes. So I guide the technical directors and also help the associations apply for the various FIFA programmes and ensure these programmes are done in the countries that fall within my territory,” Corneal added.

“It is good to see the FA is going in the direction of preparing instructors and coaches because this where the core work of development has to be emphasised on in the overall scheme of work in relation our football development,” Corneal stated.

Women’s basketball makes a grand return with a two-week long competition hosted by the newly formed Female Basketball Action, starting today at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena in Tacarigua from 6 pm.

The league will see teams including Grande Young Starz, Quarters United, Brian Chase Academy, Police, Maloney Pacers and Straker Nets, competing for the top prize of $6,000. The second placed team gets $3,000 and the third place finisher receives $1,000.

Action in the women’s contest jumps off tomorrow with a double-header, Grande Young Starz faces Quarters from 5 pm and Brian Chase Academy tackles Police two hours later in the feature match of a doubel-header.

Today, however, the league will host its opening ceremony which will see an exhibition match-up between newly crowned bpTT Mayaro Basketball League champion Defence Force and runners-up Detour Shak Attack. This will follow, the formal part of the opening, which will facilitate speeches from the sponsors and a performance by Black Loyalty.

One of the stipulation for the participating squads is that each team must have two to four Under-16 players.

There will be a number of individual awards given out at the end of the league for Most Valuable Players for the League and All Stars, best defensive player, most points, three-point shootout, coach of the league and the best U-16 player.

Competition will also be played at the Maloney Indoor Sports Arena.

Darren Jagpersad will be out to defend his title at the 20th edition of the Defence Force/Trinidad Rifle Association (TRA) Handgun Shooting Championships (Top Gun) which will shoot off at the Tucker Valley Range, Chaguaramas today from 9 am.

Jagpersad took last year’s crown at the Jethro John Shooting Range in Gran Couva with score of 184.79 to finish ahead of Ken Williams (190.21) and Andre Lashley (191.93).

He also copped the High Civilian and Most Accurate Shooter awards. This year Jagpersad will be going for third overall Top Gun trophy after first tasting success in 2010. He will have to beat twenty-four (24) other shooters for the top prize. Former champions Anthony Bailey (2014) and Devanand Bhagwansingh (2003) are among the list of contenders looking to take the title away from Jagpersad. Last year’s runners up Williams and fourth placed Marlon Moses will also vying for gold.

In all seven of the top ten finishers from 2015 are listed to be back in action all aiming for the top spot.

Winner of last weekend’s national Centre Fire and Standard Pistol titles, Olympic shooter Roger Daniel may also be among the starters.

However, his participation is not yet confirmed. Runners-up behind Daniel, Kelston Anderson (Standard Pistol) and Nigel Marchand (Center Five) will be hoping to improve to the top of the podium today.

Tobagonians Brian Armstrong and Walt Reid are also in the field.

The competitors will be representing the TRA, Defence Force, Police Force, South Trinidad Rifle Club, Tobago Rifle Club and the International Defensive Pistol Association of Trinidad. Top shooters were selected from a six competitions held by clubs and associations during a ten-month period.

Usain Bolt again said he doesn’t plan to run the 200 metres in his final season, realising that his world record of 19.19 seconds is now likely beyond him.

Speaking yesterday in Monaco before the IAAF athlete of the year awards, the 30-year-old Bolt said he thought he could dip under the 19-second barrier at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But coming off the bend in the final, he felt his legs didn’t have a record-beating performance in them.

“After last season, I kind of figured out that no matter how hard I work at this point, it probably is going to be hard to get the 200-metre world record,” Bolt said. “And it’s a lot more work and for me, coming to the end of my career, I’m not trying to do too much work.”

He also didn’t sound optimistic about breaking his 100-metre record of 9.58, either.

“If I can go through my season — which I doubt — without any injuries, then anything is possible,” he said.

Bolt ruled out a return for the 2020 Tokyo Games. The nine-time Olympic champion said his coach has told him, “’Do not retire and come back to the sport, don’t ever do that.’ ...So you have got to make sure you are sure.”

“Not to brag or anything, but a lot of people at 30 haven’t accomplished what I’ve accomplished, so, for me, I think I’ve done all I wanted to,” Bolt said.

He made it clear that his last season would be more of a farewell tour than a final drive for more records. He’s targeting a few races in his favourite places: he mentioned Ostrava, Lausanne and Paris.

“This season is pretty much mainly for the fans,” Bolt said. “A lot of people always wanted to see me compete and haven’t had the chance.”

MONACO—

The trio of St Francois Nationals, Belmont FC and Queen’s Park Cricket Club all won when the Northern Football Association (NFA) $22,000 Fruta Cup continued with three matches on Thursday night.

At President’s Ground, St Ann’s, visiting club, Queen’s ParK CC got the better of St Ann’s Rangers 2-1 while St Francois Nationals won by a similar margin over Harvard Sports Club, and Belmont FC topped beaten finalist Malta Carib Alcons, 1-0 at Dibe Recreation Ground, Long Circular, St James.

Today, two matches are carded for the Queen’s Park Savannah from 3.30pm with Morvant Elements up against Maple FC at New Ground, and New Millennium versus Cosmos at TSTT Ground.

When the tournament began on Tuesday at Long Circular, Premier Division champions, Maple FC edged First Division winners, Cultural Roots United 2-1, in the 70-minutes match while Football Factory pipped New Millenium 1-0.

For the duration of the competition, an out-right win teams gain three points while a penalty-kicks win is two points to the victor, and one for the loser.

Matches continue tomorrow also from 3.30pm while matches are carded for Tuesday and Thursday with the finals carded for Saturday December 17 under lights at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

At the end of the five round-robin groups, the group winner will advance to the quarterfinals, along with the three best second placed teams.

Last Friday, the NFA created history by hosting it’s knockout final under lights at the QP Savannah, which was won by RSSR, 1-0 over Malta Carib Alcons.

Today’s Match-ups

Morvant Elements vs Maple FC, New Ground, QP Savannah, 3.30pm

New Millennium vs Cosmos, TSTT Ground, QP Savannah, 3.30pm

Tomorrow

CMFA vs Malta Carib Alcons, QRC Ground, St Clair, 3.30pm

St Francois Nationals vs RSSR, TSTT Ground, QP Savannah, 3.30pm

QPCC vs Miscellaneous Laventille United, New Ground, QP Savannah, 3.30pm

Tournament favourites, Presentation College for San Fernando faces Signal Hill Secondary in the lone remaining Secondary Schools Football League National Inter-Col semi-final at Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella from 3.30pm this afternoon.

This after the match originally carded for yesterday at the same venue had to be postponed by 24 hours because of the unavailability of flights from Tobago for the Signal Hill boys and girls team.

At stake is a place in the National final against San Juan North Secondary on Tuesday December 6, after the latter whipped Trinity College of Moka, 4-1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, led by a beaver-trick from Renaldo Boyce in their semifinal.

Presentation College of San Fernando booked its spot in the National semi-final via a pulsating 2-1penalty-kicks win over Premier Division League champions, Shiva Boys Hindu College in the South Zone final back on November 18 after a 2-2 draw, almost two weeks ago.

On the other-hand, Signal Hill battled past Speyside Secondary 7-6 on sudden-death penalties after a 0-0 draw in the Tobago Zone final on November 21 and followed it up with another penalty-kicks win, this time 4-2 over Central Zone’s Carapichaima East Secondary at the end of a 1-1 draw in Wednesday’s lone quarterfinal at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.

Today’s clash with the second meeting of the season between Presentation College of San Fernando and Signal Hill, after the southerners won their Premier Division duel, 2-1 thanks to a late penalty from Jordan Riley in the 87th minute.

Akeem Benjamin had given Signal Hill a 30th minute lead before Nathaniel Dyer equalized in the 61st. By virtue of reaching the National Final, San Juan North has also joined Shiva Boys and Presentation College Of San Fernando in the Shell Cup to be played at the end of the season.

Shiva Boys and Presentation College of San Fernando qualified as the top two teams at the end of the Premier Division competition while San Juan North qualified as Intercol finalist.

A win for Signal Hill today will also secure its spot in the Shell Cup while a loss will set up a playoff with Trinity College of Moka, for the remaining spot.

Prior to today’s National Inter-Col semifinal, title-holder Fyzabad Secondary and Signal Hill Secondary meet a Girls Inter-Col semifinal from 1.30pm for the right to face St Augustine Secondary in the final. St Augustine hammered Bishop’s Anstey Port-of-Spain 7-0 in their semifinal on Sunday last while Signal Hill trashed Carapichaima East Secondary 12-0 in the lone Girls quarterfinal at Bacolet on Wednesday.

Presentation College, San Fernando booked its place in the Coca Cola National Schools InterCol final by beating Signal Hill Secondary School 5-3 on penalties at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, yesterday.

The game went to penalties after the regulation play ended 1-1. The San Fernando boys got the opener when Matthew Joseph fired them in front in the 80th minute. However, the team from the sister-isle equalised from Ronaldo Samuel six minutes later. Presentation them scored all five kicks and watched their goalkeeper save two from Signal Hill to guide them to the victory. 

With the victory ‘Pres’ will now face San Juan North Secondary, which thrashed Trinity College (Moka) 4-0 in the semi-final on Tuesday last at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.    

Fyzabad also turned back Signal Hill

Meanwhile, Deneicia Prince reigned on the field for Fyzabad Secondary, netting a double to guide her team to a 2-1 victory over Signal Hill in the Girls semi-final of the Shell/First Citizens Secondary Schools Girls League in an earlier game at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium. 

The win assured them a place in Tuesday’s final against St Augustine Secondary at the same venue from 1.30pm. The St Augustine girls cruised to the final with a 7-0 drubbing of Bishops Anstey High School, Port of Spain in the other semi-final last week, while Signal Hill progressed from the quarterfinal that same day by hammering Carapichaima Secondary 12-0 at Bacolet, Tobago.

Yesterday however Prince turned the match into her own show by first opening the scoring after just eight minutes. But Asha James put Signal Hill back on level terms when she found the nets in the 56th minute. Eleven minutes later however, Prince got the winner to put her team in line for another major title for the season. 

The long awaited Brian Lara Stadium is expected to wel-come cricket in the new year and plans are afoot to host the opening ceremony of the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at the venue in Tarouba, South Trinidad.

Completion work on the controversial venue was restarted under the present government after the building was left idle for several years needing completion before it could be occupied. 

Work has been ongoing for almost a year now and sources close to the government told the Sunday Guardian that the government of the day plan to bid for the opening ceremony to take place at the venue which should coincide with the of​ficial opening of the ground, which is July, 2017.

According to the source: “The stadium is owned by the government and of course the owners of the CPL will be looking to use it because it would be cheaper than the Oval. The venue is world class for what it offers in terms of ‘live’ broadcast and this will be a great fit for the CPL which is called the greatest party in sport when it comes to the game’s T20 format.”

CPL rents the Queen’s Park Oval for an average of US$40,000 per day (an estimated TT$300,000) and now the government can use the facility to negotiate with the organisers to have more matches played in T&T.

Chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) Noel Garcia revealed a couple months ago that 15 packages out of 17 were awarded to contractors and work is ongoing at the site in Tarouba.

Clean up work at the site has been completed, structural work is ongoing and nearing completion.

General repair and rehabilitation works on the building are going together with work on the field (the grass has been replanted), work on the pavilion is almost over and officials are looking at closing out work on the facility for the latest January, 2017.

The initial cost given in 2006 for the stadium was $500 million TT dollars, when construction started to have it ready for the T&T leg of the 2007 ICC Limited Overs World Cup for which T&T secured the Brown package.

However, with the cost overruns and the increase in prices of materials, this amount has increased significantly.

The Chairman of UDECOTT, as of June 2008, Calder Hart, had placed the approximate completion date at July 2008, some two years after the initial schedule handover. Now it should be ready nine years on.

This stadium will serve as a training facility for cricket players.

It will feature four indoor cricket training pitches with computerised biometric technology to measure an athlete’s performance, including two full-length run-up pitches for fast-bowlers.

Patrons at the stadium will have an unhindered view from every area of the facility, including the concessionaires area.

It also has areas specifically de-signed for the print, radio and television media, respectively.

Local middle-distance runners will hit the road today to compete in the National Association of Athletic Administrations of T&T (NAAATT) and National Gas Company (NGC) Cross Country Championships at the Queen’s Park Savannah (Opposite Queen’s Royal Collage) from 2 pm.

Tonya Nero of Athletics Central and T&T Road Runners Club’s Kelvin Johnson were among the winners at the first leg of the cross country series at the same venue last month.

Nero took the women’s 4 km run in 16 minutes and 35 seconds, while Johnson secured the men’s race in 15.06 seconds.

She finished ahead of the RJR pair of Samantha Shukla (17.08) and Lindsay Mile (17.48). Johnson was first across the line in the men’s race. The Guyanese runner finished ahead of Colin Pereira (Unattached) 15.08 and Shirvan Baboolal (RJR) 15.11.

Veteran Jules La Rode (Zc Athletics), 15.13 and last year’s winner, Qunicy Elliott (TTDF), 15.15 followed behind.

Ninety-six runners completed the two-lap race.

Today the athletes  will run in various categories including the 2km for Kids U-12 at 2 pm, 4km for Boys and Girls 12-15  from 2.15 pm, U-18/U-20 Girls 6km at 2.40 pm, U-18/U-20 Boys/Women 8 km at 3.10 pm and Men 10km  at 3.50 pm.

Registration for children is $10 and all other age groups is $20.

In other track and field news, five coaches left yesterday for Braden-ton, Florida to attend a USATF/IAAF Level Five Jumps and Youth Development programme.

Those attending the course are Robin Brereton, Wendell and Mickey Ruben (Level V Jumps).

Peter Campbell and Michelle Alleyne Pennie (Youth Development).

Continued coaching development scholarships were offered through the Regional Development Centre (RDC) to two (Brereton and Pennie) of the five going to Florida, while SPORTT TT and the NAA/NGC assisted Williams. The other two coaches made personal applications.

Kerron Browne was also recommended by the NAAATT and accepted by the RDC to participate in a Level ll IAAF Throws Programme currently being held in El Salvador. 

Ayomine Gilbert-Semper and Cherise Stauble won the Sprint Triathlon Elite races at the 2016 Caribbean Cross-Training (CCT) Multi-Sport Festival at Store Bay last Saturday.

Gilbert-Semper took the men’s race in one hour 28 minutes and 8 seconds ahead of Hayden Reid (1:34.51), while Stauble copped the ladies crown in 1:39.29 getting the better of Sonia Mohammed 2:01.22. In the Sprint Triathlon, the competitors swam 750m before embarking on a 20km bicycle ride along the Store Bay Local Road and a 5K run along the same route.

Gilbert was the first to emerge from the waters, completing the swim in 12 minutes 51 seconds. Reid was two seconds behind (12.53) while the winner completed the ride in 43.22 and the run in 28:48. Stauble returned times of 18.35, 45.31and 32.41 at each stage.

In the Open Sprint Triathlon, top ladies’ finisher Riana Harrinauth was first overall, beating all the male competitors. Harrinauth got the line in 1:44.35 (17.34/46.16/39.29) to finish almost four minutes ahead of the first man Jabari George 1:48.02. Aliya Drakes (1:50.30) was the second woman to finish while Navindra Ramahar (1:49.16) and Derek Daniel (1:60.29) following George across the line.

In the Beginners Triathlon (Swim-200m/Bike-7.5 km/Run-2.5 km), Esther Amos (25:45) and Ronald Boynes (28:01) were the top Female and Male finishers.

Jelani Mentore took the Try-A Tri event ahead of Thomas Chung. Mentore completed the 375m swim in 12 minutes 45 seconds, the 7.5 km ride (13: 23) and 2.5 km swim  (6.48) in 25:45, while Thomas was behind in 1:13.07 (12:45/39:03/19:58). Thomas is the younger brother of national triathlete Matthew Chung. Eight-year-old Theo Bickell-Roberts secured the Boys 6-8 Youth Triathlon ahead of another eight-year-old Jayvorn Horsford. Bickel-Roberts was the quickest over the 50m swim, 3Km ride and 500 run in 12:16, while Horsford clocked 12:50.

Justin Boynes was the winner of the Boys 11-12 Triathlon (Swim-100m/Bike-4.5 km/Run-1.5 km) in 11.26 ahead of Aden Carrington (17:26).

In the 1500m Open Water Swim the Allen family dominated.  Dominique Nurse Allen (27:15) finished ahead of her mother Caroline Allen (42:21) in the ladies race, while brother Tomi Nurse-Allen took the men’s event (49:36) ahead of Navindra Ramadar (53:02).  Daniel Bennett (57:29) and Angel Kurban (56:67) were the lone competitors in the 3000m swim.

Later in the afternoon, Carrie Dumas and Hayden Reid ran away with the 5 km top awards. Dumas claimed the ladies discipline in 35:40 with Sonia Mohammed (27:07) in second. Dumas’ mother Charmaine Chapman (30:32) was third. Reid (20:44) secured the men’s prize with Winston Chadband (21:12) and triathlon champion Ayomine Gilbert-Semper (21:38) taking the minor places.

The 2016 Caribbean Cross-Training Multi-Sport Festival was sponsored by Division of Tourism and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly, Damien’s Bike Shop, VEMCO, Dasani/Powerade (Caribbean Bottlers Ltd) and CCT Multi-Sport Store. The organisers of this year’s festival will like to thanks the sponsors and contributors (Randal Jackson, Rotary Tobago, Williams Fitness Group, Hot 93 FM, Amy Castagne and parents of the CCT.  

Cecelia Isaac is not pleading for food, groceries or handouts.

All the 45-year-old mother wants is for someone in authority to visit where she lives in Sea Lots and clear thousands of plastic bottles and debris which have been posing a health hazard to her and members of her family.

“This is more than filth,” she said.

She said all her pleas have fallen on deaf ears over the years.

Isaac's house is mere metres away from the sea where young children go to play. The water is black and murky and is littered with thousands of plastic bottles that have washed up on the edge from nearby rivers.

She said, “We accustomed spending Christmas in this mess. This is not the first time, it is years now.”

Frustration showed on her face when the T&T Guardian visited her at her Production Drive home. With the appearance of a labyrinth, the narrow pathway to her house paved the way to the sea. Inside of Isaac's house was bare. Her stove was almost rusty and the ply board around the structure was rotted. The watermarks from the high tides were clear. Her refrigerator served as a storage for her paper documents.

A few weeks ago, she was awakened by high waters and debris inside of her house. She and her children ran for safety in a bathroom. There, they slept on a mattress.

“That morning I had nothing, no food, nothing, and I was frustrated,” she said.

She said she visited the Ministry of Social Development to apply for assistance and told the representatives there that it made no sense giving her food (food card) “because I have no place to cook it."

Through the kindness of her neighbours, she would get food on evenings. However, she collected wood to make a fireside and would roast “sapatay” (type of fish) which she got from the nearby jetty.

Isaac said, “By the grace of God we eat, but we need some assistance here."

She labelled herself as “a hustler,” saying she survived by collecting glass bottles and would make up to $500 a week. She also receives a government grant of $1,150.

She has 12 children, four of whom live with her. Isaac called on the relevant officials in Government “to come and see."

'I just need help'

Isaac said, “Real people in office know me but they never come. Seeing is believing.”

Most of her earnings in the past have been used to block off the water and debris from entering the property. Using cement, clay blocks and any material she could find, Isaac worked tirelessly to cordon off the area but with little success. She even fell ill doing so and was hospitalised.

“I am just asking for assistance to clean this,” as she pointed to the sea.

She said while she could not prevent people from dumping rubbish, she did her small part by “toting it outside”.

The empty space in front of her house, she said, was littered with trash but over time, she did what she could “to maintain it”.

Boldly showing her PNM party card, Isaac said she has been a member since 2005 and criticised the Government saying, “We voting because we is a PNM but we not getting the assistance from the PNM. We will get support when they come and drop the jersey. Baby have on jersey, this one have on jersey, but then nobody come to say well you support me and let me see how to help.”

She said although she has been living in such deplorable conditions for years, she continues to support the PNM.

“I don't want to ask for plenty, just for someone to come and clean this place and put some proper drainage.”

Several calls to MP for Port-of-Spain South Marlene McDonald's phone went unanswered. 

Fashion designer Charlene Sheppard-Duncan spends half the year travelling, mostly to Africa and Asia, where her designs are inspired and made. She's seen Kenya, Hungary, Siberia, Ghana, India, Swaziland, Thailand, Belgium, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Togo, Malaysia, Philippines and Morocco, among other places.

She often travels alone. It's a preference that inspired the name of her latest collection, Warriors Walk Alone, unveiled recently at the Big Black Box in Woodbrook. (Editor's note: To see the Culturego Magazine photo gallery of the collection, go to: culturegomag.com)

“If I go with someone they're afraid to take risks,” she said. “They would say, 'Girl, why you're going over there? You're not afraid?' I said, 'Afraid of what?'

“I consider myself a warrior because I have to figure it out alone,” she added in response to a question.

“I have to get gangster with the men in India because women don't do business in India. I can't be afraid. I can't show fear.”

Sheppard-Duncan has been in the business for more than two decades. She's stylist, designer and friend to singer Erykah Badu, who wore one of Sheppard-Duncan's designs in the video for the hit Tyrone and at the 2005 Oscar ceremony.

Sheppard-Duncan, who was born in Trinidad, has lived in New York since she went there as a teen to pursue her dream of being a designer. It's one she had since spotting the bald, ostentatiously dressed fashion icon Yoko Fung in Port-of-Spain, where Sheppard-Duncan lived at the time.

Sheppard-Duncan's designs sold under the label Afrofunkk are for people who share her and Fung's spirit, who aren't afraid to be different, to stand out. Just like it is walking through unfamiliar parts of Africa, walking among notoriously judgmental Trinidadians dressed like Sheppard-Duncan and Fung requires courage.

At the Big Black Box show, Sheppard-Duncan wore a long purple dress with sleeves reaching her elbows. Her forearms and fingers were almost completely covered in gold jewelry. Her thick hair was topped by a bright green and eggplant turban.

Fung, who had pride of place closest to the stage and runway, was dressed in black vest and tights, a netted scarf covering the back of her head and neck and draping across her bosom. She wore glasses with frames that looked like spider webs.

“Sometimes I walk down the street and people have lots of things to say about me. In Trinidad. Nowhere else. 'She crazy or what? She playing mas,'” said Sheppard-Duncan, recalling comments.

“Some days I'm okay with it. And some days I'm going to answer you to suit.”

“I'm trying to change that kind of thinking,” she added. “I'm sure there are fashion students who go to the fashion school here who think like me but they are afraid, so they kind of stifle their art. I want people to know it's okay to be yourself.”

Sheppard-Duncan's life and career are about taking chances and having them pay off. She wanted to go to the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, even though she didn't know what it took to do that.

“When I got to New York I got a rude awakening,” she said. “You had to have a good portfolio to get into FIT. I had to build my portfolio up. I struggled, (ate) ramen noodle soup. I was determined to be a fashion designer.”

After graduating from FIT, Sheppard-Duncan was nanny for the son of designer Regina Kravitz. The arrangement allowed Sheppard-Duncan to observe and learn from Kravitz.

She also sold her clothes and accessories at street fairs in New York. Her mother in Trinidad would paint fabric and send it for her to make dresses. A representative of Essence magazine saw her work and arranged to use some of her jewelry in a photo shoot.

One day Erykah Badu sat at a cafe to watch a sidewalk show of Sheppard-Duncan's de-signs. This was just before the singer's career took off with Tyrone.

“I didn't know who she was,” said Sheppard-Duncan. The Essence rep called and said someone wanted to use her clothes in a photo shoot. The rep “pulled” some pieces, Sheppard-Duncan recalled, “and Erykah started wearing my clothes.”

Sheppard-Duncan and a partner briefly ran a boutique in Woodbrook that they eventually closed because “funky” stuff “was hard to sell in Trinidad,” she said. Now she feels more Trinidadians and Tobagonians have become more adventurous.

She debuted a clothing collection for the first time in T&T last year and is also selling similarly themed home decor items, baskets and bags under the label Sykadellic Shack.

Her clothing designs, dominated by long dresses, skirts and long loose pants, often pair mid-20th-century elegance with the loud colours and geometric designs of fabric from Africa and Asia. This year's collection featured many dresses with bow-neck or tuxedo blouses, full sleeves and shin-length flared skirts.

“It’s a little bit of Audrey Hepburn in my funk,” said Sheppard-Duncan, referring to the late British actress also celebrated for her elegant style.

This year Sheppard-Duncan added a lot of shorts and crop tops to her collection. The standout looks paired short strapless blouses with playful pom pom fringe, with shorts made of fabric with intricate patterns.

“I'm now getting a younger generation,” Sheppard-Duncan explained.

“I never had 21-, 19-, 18-year-olds really wanting to wear my collection.

“I usually design for a funky adult woman because the younger generation wouldn't understand my kind of funk,” she said.

“But now since they're coming around I said let me have something for them.”

Sheppard-Duncan's style is heavily influenced by the Maasai people in Kenya. They wear brightly coloured togas, layers of jangling jewelry and long braided hair extensions. She lived with them for six months in 2004 and has returned over the years for shorter visits, including one with Erykah Badu in 2012.

Warriors Walk Alone opened with two men dressed similarly to Maasai warriors, performing a version of the traditional Maasai jumping dance, accompanied by tassa drumming.

She first discovered the Maasai while studying at FIT and she was looking for inspiration in the library.

“One day I was looking through this magazine and I saw this dude with the clay on his face, the spear and the wigs. I was mesmerised,” she said.

“They're funky,” she said. “And they don't try to be.” 

The play Anansi and the Poinsettia Tree tells the story of how trickster Anansi provides for his family at Christmas during a recession. Written by Eintou Pearl Springer, it is being put on by the Indigenous Creative Arts Network (Ican) and the students of San Juan South Secondary.

Reheem Bain, the student who plays Anansi, said that while he’s a bit nervous, he’s enjoying the experience and the story. Lashunda Waldron, playing Anansi’s wife, said she finds being in the play really terrific and she likes that the story is “about how to go about doing things the right way instead of trying to cheat your way out of things, so it’s really encouraging and it’s a learning process.”

Kamiylah Alexander, who portrays the Poinsettia Tree, said this is her first time acting with Ican and it’s really enjoyable. “I’m looking forward to when we perform in front of everyone to let them see what we worked really hard to produce together.”

Dara Healey, co-founder of Ican, said the group wanted to do something for Christmas that “would feature the young people and Anansi and the Poinsettia Tree seemed to be the perfect play because it is such a heart-warming story about values and sharing and community. We thought it would achieve a lot in terms of teaching the children theatre but also using our local traditions to teach values as well.”

She said Ican has had a relationship with the school for the last few years, as they worked with them to produce the Camboulay for the Junior Carnival. “We realised the students are very talented and very interested in theatre as a means of expressing themselves and showing off their talents, so we thought it would be good to continue the work we’re doing with them outside of Carnival as well.”

Healey said one of the main difficulties is finding a time and place for everyone to rehearse, as the school is currently on a shift system and classroom space is also limited.

Healey is doing movement and choreography, while former Copyright Organisation (Cott) president Ryan Romany is co-ordinating the parang element. A parang CD produced by the school will be on sale, along with books and refreshments, as the event is a joint fund-raiser for Ican and the students of the school.

Healey said the play is the second fundraiser for Ican for the year and the group plans to continue such fundraising.

The play will run from December 9- 11 at the St George’s College auditorium, Barataria.  

MORE INFO

​Find the Indigenous Creative Arts Network, Ican, on Facebook, email icancreativearts@gmail.com, or call San Juan South Secondary School at 638-2271 or 638-0233.

It’s that time of the year again. The annual jointpop concert, Noise and Toys, will he held on December 8, at Shakers on the Avenue.

For the past 12 years, local rock’n’roll band jointpop has hosted and performed at this toy collection concert.

The show also doubles as the jointpop Christmas office party and it’s always well attended and a fun-filled night, the band said in a press release.

This will be the last jointpop gig of 2016. In August this year the band did its fourth successful UK tour. It included gigs at the Belladrum Festival and the Mugstock Festival in Scotland.

They also attended and performed at the XpoNorth Music conference and showcase festival in Inverness, Scotland in April.

In March, London-based indie label Flicknife Records released a four-song EP by jointpop, This is Radio TNT.

The Noise and Toys concert costs $60 entry, plus a gift-wrapped toy with a label or note with the information of gender and the age group of the child. All the toys are collected on the night and then distributed to various unprivileged children’s homes across the country. No toy guns please.

Doors at the venue open at 8 pm and the live concert starts at 10 pm.

More info: Visit the various jointpop social media pages. 

The play Anansi and the Poinsettia Tree tells the story of how trickster Anansi provides for his family at Christmas during a recession. Written by Eintou Pearl Springer, it is being put on by the Indigenous Creative Arts Network (Ican) and the students of San Juan South Secondary.

Reheem Bain, the student who plays Anansi, said that while he’s a bit nervous, he’s enjoying the experience and the story. Lashunda Waldron, playing Anansi’s wife, said she finds being in the play really terrific and she likes that the story is “about how to go about doing things the right way instead of trying to cheat your way out of things, so it’s really encouraging and it’s a learning process.”

Kamiylah Alexander, who portrays the Poinsettia Tree, said this is her first time acting with Ican and it’s really enjoyable. “I’m looking forward to when we perform in front of everyone to let them see what we worked really hard to produce together.”

Dara Healey, co-founder of Ican, said the group wanted to do something for Christmas that “would feature the young people and Anansi and the Poinsettia Tree seemed to be the perfect play because it is such a heart-warming story about values and sharing and community. We thought it would achieve a lot in terms of teaching the children theatre but also using our local traditions to teach values as well.”

She said Ican has had a relationship with the school for the last few years, as they worked with them to produce the Camboulay for the Junior Carnival. “We realised the students are very talented and very interested in theatre as a means of expressing themselves and showing off their talents, so we thought it would be good to continue the work we’re doing with them outside of Carnival as well.”

Healey said one of the main difficulties is finding a time and place for everyone to rehearse, as the school is currently on a shift system and classroom space is also limited.

Healey is doing movement and choreography, while former Copyright Organisation (Cott) president Ryan Romany is co-ordinating the parang element. A parang CD produced by the school will be on sale, along with books and refreshments, as the event is a joint fund-raiser for Ican and the students of the school.

Healey said the play is the second fundraiser for Ican for the year and the group plans to continue such fundraising.

The play will run from December 9- 11 at the St George’s College auditorium, Barataria.  

MORE INFO

​Find the Indigenous Creative Arts Network, Ican, on Facebook, email icancreativearts@gmail.com, or call San Juan South Secondary School at 638-2271 or 638-0233.

The pollsters and political gurus were wrong! Neither did the People’s National Movement nor the United National Congress won the Local Government Election 2016. The voice of the powerful and resilient ‘no vote’ emerged the real winners—sending a clear and concise message to both political parties and both leaders that the real power lies in the right index finger of the electorate.

The preliminary figures from the Elections and Boundaries Commission indicate that approximately 34.34 per cent of persons eligible to vote actually casted their ballots last Monday.

Compare this figure to the 43.60 per cent voter turnout in the LGE 2013. The resulting difference of a decrease of approximately 10 percent is alarming! This difference should be a cause of concern for both the Kamla-led UNC and the Rowley-led PNM.

All other parties—The ILP, The COP and The MSJ—whose accumulated votes amounted to under 500, failed to capture the interest of the population along their respective campaign trails in the run-up to the elections.

It doesn’t take a renowned political scientist to analyse the outcome of LGE 2016 and give a final verdict—the people of T&T are fed up of the ‘rum and roti’ politics!

The ‘no vote’ or low voter turnout can be seen not only as form of disinterest in the political affairs of the country but also as a cry for help, a cry for good governance and a cry for strong leadership to take our beloved Trinidad and Tobago into developed world status.

Could this be the dawn of a new era in the political landscape of T&T? Are those 66 per cent of people who did not cast their vote willing to sever their political ties in the upcoming General Elections 2020? Or, will this bold statement grow fragile within the duration of time? Only time will tell.

It’s up to both leaders of the major political parties, the UNC and the PNM, to capitalise on the message sent in the Local Government Elections 2016. Serve the people, Serve the people, Serve the people!

Varsha Sankar

PhD Student

Yes I voted in the last elections but who I voted for is my business. I followed the PNM campaign closely and liked some of what I heard. Change, getting things right, implementing the laws, improving the lives of citizens.

So when I woke up and heard PNM was in power I said now we are going to see some changes. The many issues that citizens complained about are going to be addressed. I understood that everything could not be done at once, especially with the economic reality but there are things that can be rectified with or without money.

The PNM will look for the low hanging fruit and deal with them. Like the trauma of fireworks that thousands of citizens experience each year, particularly on Old Years night. Citizens unable to sleep, our senior citizens and sick afraid, dogs dieing, properties damaged.

Surely this is something that is not too small for even the Prime Minister to address and correct, especially as there are laws in place to deal with fireworks. So I waited and waited. How wrong I was, same old same old it seems our Prime Minister and the PNM do not really care.

Its business as usual and in a few weeks our citizens will suffer again. But I live in hope. All it will take is a phone call or meeting between the Prime Minister and the Police Commissioner.

I know our Prime Minister wants to make the wrongs right so I will wait and see what happens.

Martin Laughlin

The attitude of many of the groups campaigning for the rights of the disadvantaged in the society is that men are by nature abusers. The male of the species is coming under fire from so many quarters that he is becoming endangered.

It appears that all that is required is for an allegation to be made and the man is automatically considered suspect, whether there is evidence or not.

The consequence of such an orchestrated attack, as it appears to the interested observer, must be a retreat to a defensive posture, which militates against respectful dialogue.

This is not to suggest that many men are not guilty of such allegations, or that they have not contributed to the perception, but all men cannot be painted with the same brush and it a disservice to the development of gender equity to approach the matter with a bias. Dialogue must commence from a point of mutual respect for it to have any chance of success.

Reading the comments of so many of the persons who have embarked on this new aggression makes one fear for the position of men in the society.

Karan Mahabirsingh

Carapichaima