TORONTO—Aggressive half-centuries from Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King helped the West Indies B to a thrilling two-wicket victory over the Montreal Tigers when the Global T20 Canada competition continued.

West Indies’ Andre Fletcher was also in good form, smashing an unbeaten 68 to lead the Edmonton Royals to an easy eight-wicket win over the Toronto Nationals.

Pooran who has played just three T20Is for the West Indies, the last being in 2016, hit a whirlwind 58 from 35 balls, while King blazed 56 from 32 balls to help the Windies B to 187-8 in reply to the Tigers’ 183-9 in their 20 overs.

The pair added 76 runs in eight overs for the third wicket after the Windies had found themselves in early trouble on 39-2.

Earlier, Jeremiah Louis and Obed McCoy bagged three wickets apiece to help restrict a Tigers team which boasts Sunil Narine, Dwayne Smith and Denesh Ramdin.

After Smith and Narine had shared in an opening stand of 51 to give the Tigers a good start, quick wickets by Louis and McCoy helped to restrict their efforts.

In the earlier contest, Fletcher’s 68 from just 39 balls was the mainstay of the Royals’ innings, as they romped home with five overs to spare.

He smashed the bowling attack to all parts of the ground during his knock which contained seven boundaries and four huge sixes.

The result gave the Darren Sammy led Nationals their first defeat of the tournament.

(CMC)

Zarek Wilson and Kael Yorke added to T&T’s gold medal tally when competition in the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Confederation (CCCAN) Championship continued at the Rolly Bisslik Olympic Pool in Oranjestad, Aruba, on Saturday night.

Wilson was first to earn gold when he led team-mate Nikoli Blackman to a one-two finish in the Boys 11-12 age-group 50 metres backstroke event with times of 30.04 seconds and 31.23, respectively. Third was Bahamian Marvin Johnson in 31.47.

In the penultimate event on the night’s programme, Yorke raced home in 55.28 seconds to take top honours in the Boys 15-17 category of the 100m butterfly contest. He produced 55.59 which fell well under the Youth Olympic Games A qualifying standard. Yorke was followed home by Curacao’s Mauricio Payne (56.54) and Jamaican Nicholas Vale (56.67).

It was a very productive night for T&T, the defending champion. The team picked up four other silver medals and six bronze for a two-day total of 16 medals (three gold, seven silver and six bronze).

Zoe Anthony was a double silver medal winner after she ended second in the Girls 11-12 division in the 200m breaststroke swim behind a time of 2:53.23 to trail Panama’s Emily Santos (2:40.25) with Bermuda’s Giada Dudley-Pun, third in 2:53.32.

Anthony was also second in the 100m butterfly event in a time of 1:06.87 behind Cayman Islands’ Jillian Crooks (1:06.87) with another T&T swimmer Caitlyn Look Fong, third in 1:10.68.

Wilson also added to his medal haul with a silver in the Boys 11-12 age-group 100m butterfly event in a time of 1:02.16. He trailed Bahamian Nigel Forbes (1:01.95) to the wall with Guatemala’s Christopher Gossmann, third in 1:02.23 and T&T’s Josiah Changar fifth in 1:06.33.

Jeron Thompson was T&T’s other silver medallist after he touched the wall in 26.99 in the Boys 15-17 category of the 50m butterfly test. Bahamian Davante Corey secured the gold in 26.84 and Colombian Juan Manu Morales bronze in 27.46, all Youth Olympic Games B qualifying times.

T&T bronze medal winners on Saturday were Neishelah Caseman, Ornella Walker, Malik Nelson, Racine Ross and Josiah Morales.

Caseman picked up her first medal in the Girls 11-12 50m backstroke event in 32.57, just ahead of team-mate and relay gold medal winner Gabrielle Vickles (32.81), all behind Crooks (32.11) and Bahamas’ Keianna Moss (32.44).

Walker’s time of 30.43 was good enough to secure the Girls 15-17 50m backstroke bronze medal behind Bermuda’s Madelyn Moore (30.23) and Barbadian Danielle Titus (30.33).

Not to be left out, Ross clocked 1:05.47 in the Girls 15-17 age-group 100m butterfly event with Colombian Barbara Munoz (1:04.17) and Panama’s Ireyra Tamayo (1:05.36) taking gold and silver, respectively.

Morales got home in 56.73 for third in the Boys 18 and Over 100m butterfly swim. Panama’s Franco Reyes won in 55.20 and Steven Aimable of French Guiana was second in 55.56.

Retired school teacher Cynthia Lee Mack escaped injury when a sprawling tree collapsed, knocking down her water tank, fence and damaging part of her roof early Monday.

For months Lee Mack had been calling on the San Fernando City Corporation to chop down the tree located at the top of Alexander Road, Vistabella. The lot next to her home had become so overgrown with vines that she was worried for her safety. However, Lee Mack said despite numerous complaints nothing was done.

She said during the early hours of the morning, she was asleep when she heard something that sounded like an explosion.

"I thought it was probably thunder. It was raining a lot so I went back to sleep," Lee Mack said.

At daybreak, she said a neighbor began calling out to her.

"She told me that all the water from the tank flowing out. The tree fell on the house, damaging my roof and guttering. It damaged the mango and soursop trees in the yard," Lee Mack said. When the Guardian visited, fire officers were on the scene cutting up the tree. Lee Mack said she was thankful that she was not hurt when the tree collapsed.

Meanwhile, heavy rains subsided yesterday allowing flooding to go down from several parts of south and central Trinidad.

Chairman of the Couva/ Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation Henry Awong said disaster management teams were on the ground assessing whether there were any damages from the floods. He said floods were reported at the Couva/Balmain area while the Guaracara River was engorged.

"I'm the Mc Bean area floods entered one house and we also had floods at Las Lomas, Ragoonanan West Road, and Chase village but waters have subsided," Awong said.

Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy said at Pancham Gardens in Borde Narve, some residents experienced flooding.

"We have an issue with Pancham River which has not been cleaned since UNC times. Back then we did some cleaning. We had to go to the bank of someone's property to clean the river. There is supposed to be on a ten metre reserve minimum from the river but people plant on the river bank, erect fences and then prevent the government from executing its responsibilities," Sammy complained.

He noted that the Oropouche, Gucharon and Papourie rivers were not filled to capacity but disaster teams led by coordinator Videsh Lall were on standby.

The Oropouche River, which acts as a major confluence for the four other major rivers, affects communities in Barrackpore, Debe, and Penal areas and usually during high tide, floods can back up for days when there are unusually heavy rains. The river passes through Godineau swamp—3,171 hectares of tidal marsh and mangrove—before emptying into the Gulf of Paria.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh also said there were rising flood waters and heavy rainfall in some areas but no reports of damages.

Guyanese batsman Shimron Hetmeyer has been recalled to the Windies team for the two-Test series against Bangladesh which starts tomorrow in Antigua.

Hetmeyer advertised his wares with a spanking century against the visiting Bangladesh team on the weekend in Coolidge. He comes into the team at the expense of Jahmar Hamilton who was in the squad against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded 1-1 drawn Test series.

Hetmeyer was in the squad for the Sri Lankan series for the first two Test matches before missing out on the final Test in Barbados because he was ill. He was replaced by fellow Guyanese Keemo Paul for the final Test and Paul although not playing in that game, has been picked in the squad against Bangladesh.

Veteran opener Devon Smith retains his spot on the team despite his under-par series against Sri Lanka. The 36-year-old scored only one half-century on his return.

Also lucky to still be on the team is fast bowler Miguel Cummins who was the least productive among the pace bowlers against Sri Lanka. Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo is again the slow bowling option, despite bowling only one over in the final Test in Bridgetown.

The fast bowling duties will again fall to Shannon Gabriel, together with the experienced Kemar Roach, skipper Jason Holder and Cummins.

Shane Dowrich the man of the series against Sri Lanka is again the preferred choice as wicketkeeper, which means that T&T’s Denesh Ramdin will continue to look on from the sidelines.

The selection panel headed by Courtney Browne in a statement said, “We expect to see a greater effort from the top five batters and see them return to the focus and discipline we know they are capable of in the upcoming series against Bangladesh.

After some very competitive cricket against ICC 6th ranked Sri Lanka that ended in a one-all draw. We congratulate the team on a drawn series but recognized that victory was within our reach.” The selection panel also acknowledges and commend the strong performances of captain Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel and Man of The Series—Shane Dowrich.

13-MAN SQUAD

Holder – Captain, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith.
SERIES FIXTURES
Jul 4 to 8
1st Test – Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua (10 am daily)
Thu, Jul 12 to Mon, Jul 16
2nd Test – Sabina Park, Jamaica (10 am daily)
Thu, Jul 19
Tour Match – UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI vs Bangladesh, Sabina Park (9:30 am)
Sun, Jul 22
1st One-day International – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana (9:30 am)
Wed, Jul 25
2nd One-day International – Guyana National Stadium (2:30 pm)
Sat, Jul 28
3rd One-day International – Warner Park, St. Kitts (9:30 am)
Tue, Jul 31
1st Twenty20 International – Warner Park (8 pm)
Sat, Aug 4
2nd Twenty20 International – Central Broward Regional Park, United States (8 pm)
Sun, Aug 5
3rd Twenty20 International – Central Broward Regional Park (8 pm)

Harvard Sports Club got its campaign for the 2018 rugby season off to a perfect start when it defeated rivals Caribs RFC 17-15 to lift the Robert Farfan Memorial Cup on Saturday at the Harvard Ground, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

Joseph Quashie opened the scoring for Harvard with a try but Aasan Lewis missed the conversion that would have pushed the score to seven. However, the brilliant Lewis, son of T&T Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis, made amends later on by trying and converting from the kick to earn his team 12 points.

Garvin Thomas later rounded off the scoring for the Harvard men with a try, which Lewis again failed to convert.

For Caribs RFC there were tries from Sefanaia Waqa and Jamal Clark that pushed the score to 10. Waqa, the Fiji stand-out, converted from Clark’s try before he himself made no mistake from the penalty spot that pushed the score to 15. The result ensured that Harvard which won the opening ruggerama festival last weekend, stayed perfect on the weekend.

In another game in the Senior Division on Sunday Rainbow crushed UWI Tobago 62-29 and Rydeus thrashed Caribs 48- 0. In another match Defence Force went down to Exiles 22-44.

And in a Championship division encounter Northerns held off Royalians 24-18.

Results

Saturday
Robert Farfan Memorial Cup: Harvard (17) vs
Caribs (15)
Championship Division League: Northern
(24) vs Royalians (18)
Sunday
Senior Division League:
Caribs (0) vs Rydeus (48)
UWI / Tobago (29) vs Rainbow (62)
Defence Force (22) vs Exiles (44)

Director of Football at the T&T Football Association (TTFA) Muhammad Isa has died.

He was 69 years old.

The man charged with the responsibility of assisting in the technical development of the sport, died from a heart attack at about 3 am yesterday morning at the San Fernando General Hospital, his daughter Althea Reefer said. He had been recovering from an emergency surgery last week to treat with a number of complications including kidney failure.

According to Reefer: “I don’t know what went wrong overnight, as he appeared to have been doing fine after the surgery last Thursday.

“He spoke to us for the first time, ate and played with his grandchild on Sunday when we visited him.”

Isa’s untimely passing brought an end to many years of involvement with TT football at all levels as coach and administrator for both club and country.

He assumed the position of technical director, as a replacement for Kendall Walkes who was appointed under the Raymond Tim Kee-led football association in 2014 but was fired when new president David John-Williams took over leadership of the TTFA.

Isa’s position was later altered to director of football, following the appointment of Anton Corneal as technical director, a position that allowed both men to work together in the interest of overall development of local football.

In addition, Isa, who was christened Anthony Christopher before his religious beliefs saw him change his name to Muhammad Isa soon after entering manhood, has coached at all levels for T&T, from youth to senior including the 1991 T&T senior team.

He was also the coach of the famous San Fernando Technical Institute team that won the National Championship (“Big Seven”) and National Intercol double in 1985 that featured Russell Latapy. He coached and played at his Alma mater St Benedict’s College.

Isa was the head coach at Presentation College (San Fernando), Point Fortin Civic, Trintoc, Joe Public Football Club and Police which he guided to the CONCACAF Club title.

He was also president of the Dock of the Bay Sports Club in Point Fortin, a position he led with pride with the assistance of his close friend John Springle.

He was also a member of the T&T Police Service where he played and coached for many years.

Upon leaving police, Isa worked for the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, where he embraced the opportunity to sharpen his coaching skills, by travelling to Brazil on a coaching course and coached at different teams in T&T.

Up until his death, Isa was the technical director of Club Sando which campaigns in the both T&T Pro League and the T&T Super League. Reefer said her father lived for football.

“His entire life was about football, but he was also a very quiet, cool and jovial family man who loved his three children and two grandchildren.”

Angus Eve, the current Club Sando coach who played under Isa on the national team, described Isa as a tremendous servant to the sport, as you could have gone to him at any time and ask for advice on anything.

WALTER ALIBEY
 

Zarek Wilson won two more gold medals, Kael Yorke got one and the Boys 11-12 400 metres freestyle relay quartet also captured another, as T&T won 12 medals on Sunday at Central American and Caribbean Swimming Confederation (CCCAN) Championship. The meet is taking place at the Rolly Bisslik Olympic Pool in Oranjestad, Aruba.

Just as he did on Saturday night, Wilson in two minutes and 5.38 seconds (2:05.38) led a one-two finish for T&T with Nikoli Blackman (2:09.24), this time in the Boys 11-12 200m freestyle event with Bahamian Marvin Johnson, third in 2:11.91.

Wilson then won the 100m backstroke in 1:06.78 with Blackman again second in 1:08.23 followed by Lucas Diaz in 1:09.43.

Yorke picked up his second individual gold when he raced home in 25.17 to top the field in the Boys 15-17 age-group 50m butterfly event ahead of Curacao’s Mauricio Payne second in 25.50 and Jamaica’s Nicholas Vale, third in 25.59.

The Boys 11-12 400m freestyle relay quartet of Josiah Changar, Wilson, Stachys Harley and Blackman added the other gold behind a time of 4:01.48, well clear of Aruba (4:11.56) and Jamaica (4:11.59).

Zoe Anthony continued her impressive outing with two silver medals on the night.

First, Anthony touched the wall in 2:14.77 in the Girls 11-12 200m freestyle test behind Jamaican Morgan Cogle (2:14.16) while Cayman Islands’ Jillian Crooks was third in 2:16.95.

Crooks then reversed fortunes on the field by winning the 50m butterfly in 30.08 with Anthony (30.38) and St Lucian Naekeisha Louis (30.42), second and third respectively.

Malik Nelson also picked up silver when he got home in 26.49 in the Boys 13-14 50m butterfly event, well adrift of Bahamian winner Lamar Taylor (26.18) with his countryman Rommel Ferguson, third in 26.78.

Anthony was also part of the Girls 11-12 400m freestyle quartet along with Neishelah Caseman, Savannah Chee-Wah and Gabrielle Vickles to get silver in 4:17.32. Jamaica took gold in 4:13.74 and Barbados, bronze in 4:25.20.

Securing his second bronze medal in as many nights for T&T was Josiah Morales in the Boys 18 and Over Boys 50m butterfly contest in 24.92. Panama’s Franco Reyes won gold in 24.77 and Suriname’s Renzo Tjon A Joe, silver in 24.90.

The other bronze for T&T came via the Boys 15-17 400m freestyle team of Aqeel Joseph, Graham Chatoor, Yorke and Jeron Thompson in 3:35.59. Curacoa won gold in 3:35.31 and Colombia, silver in 3:35.37.

After three nights of swimming, T&T swimmers have tallied 28 medals (seven gold, 13 silver and eight bronze).

As host last year, T&T claimed a historic first ever overall title at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva, holding off the challenge of Puerto Rico.

The win by T&T marked the first time an English-speaking country had ever topped the overall points table and it came via the all-around effort of the 64-member swimming team as well as the Open Water members, four water polo teams, the two divers and the synchronised swimmers.

Overall, T&T swimmers without the injured USA-based Dylan Carter, who missed the final two nights of competition, tallied 65 medals (21 gold, 26 silver and 18 bronze) for 938.5 swimming points and 1,595 combined from the five disciplines and top spot overall

Puerto Rico topped the swimming points table with 987 and also won the most medals in the swimming competition, 74 (32 gold, 19 silver and 23 bronze), but was second overall with 1,217 points.

The headline in one of the daily newspapers read “Hit for Six”, another headline in another daily read “TT rugby dreams dashed by RAN (Rugby Americas North)”. Then there are various disputes and accusations and counter-accusations.

Recently SportTT (Sports Company of T&T) was in the headlines too, the result of a changing of the chairperson.

All I have been hearing from those who can be described as neutrals - they have no known affiliation to any sport or sports association - is World Cup going on and sport on the front page in a negative way.

In the absence of a totality of all the facts, it’s not wise to make specific and detailed public pronouncement, save and except to say, it reflects negatively on the image of T&T sport.

It certainly doesn’t paint sports administrators in a positive light.

Regardless of how uncomfortable it may be, sports administrators should welcome the intense scrutiny they are facing. It is absolutely necessary. Sports administrators must not be given the liberty to hide behind their titles or position.

Being in the spotlight not only shines a light on dark corners but forces transparency and accountability. If it was any other way, many sports organisations and sports administrators will remain comfortable and resist the reality that change must come.

Sport in T&T is ready to shine and shine brighter than ever. To release the light it requires sports administrators and sports organisations to open their arms, hearts and minds and embrace modernisation and transformation.

Sports administrators must help sport thrive.

Most of the negative headlines are unnecessary and avoidable. Habits that harm and hurt can’t be allowed to continue. Change must come.

On a sad note, I extend sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Lawrence Rondon, Muhammad Isa and Ayanna Dyette. Dyette, a former national indoor and beach volleyball player, died on Sunday at the age of 32.

T&T sport has lost three outstanding human beings who gave their all in service of the country through sport.

These are times when it is important for all of us involved in T&T sport to be more authentic and truthful. The joy of sport is at the core of why we do what we do in the sport. Let’s respect the joy and not take that joy or each other for granted.

I for one am not suggesting that it’s easy and convenient. It isn’t but we all must make a stronger effort to do better and be better.

By striving to be better T&T sport will benefit in a positive way.

The Marionettes Chorales’ July 2018 concert series Hearts Beat Together 3 sees the renowned group take a message of love and unity to three churches between July 6 and 8. The concerts will take place at All Saint’s Anglican Church, Marli Street, Newtown on July 6, St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain on July 7 and St Mary’s Anglican Church Parish Hall, Tacarigua on July 8.

Saying the theme of the third Hearts Beat Together series is unity in a time of global disarray, Musical Director Gretta Taylor said: “With ego and materialism being the order of the day, we must unite in love for a common cause and work together to improve the world. The music weaves this theme throughout in a range of styles including classical, musicals, samba, calypso, gospel, spirituals, and pop and in several different languages including Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French, Swahili, Latin, and Trinidadian Creole.”

Taylor said many of the songs speak to the ways people can try to make the world a better place. “The sheer beauty that surrounds us is being destroyed by greed. Through numbers like Life has loveliness to sell and I dream a world, we picture an ideal world and urge people to strive to attain it. Hatred and resentment must be replaced by love and caring.

“Songs like God help the outcasts, Scandalise My Name and Bohemian Rhapsody remind us that we must shield the innocents and the marginalised from resorting to drugs or suicide as a means of escaping the pain of abuse, exploitation and prejudice. We must believe in ourselves, recognise God-given talents and the positives within us, as celebrated in This is Me, Someone in the Crowd, You Gotta Be and This Little Light of Mine.”

Saturday’s concert at St Joseph’s Convent (SJC) also symbolises a return to the roots of the Chorale, which was formed 55 years ago by two SJC teachers, Jocelyn Pierre and June Williams-Thorne, who were looking to start a new choir which was to be the first choir formed in a newly independent T&T. For male choristers, Pierre turned to her counterpart at Fatima College, Father Tim Corcoran, and recruited graduates from his Dominic Savio choir and keen young voices from elsewhere.

In 1995, the Youth Chorale was formed—first as an all-female ensemble, comprising several SJC students who had studied under Gretta Taylor, and then later as a mixed voice choir. Together, the Marionettes Youth Chorale and Children’s Choir, formed in 2012, number nearly 100 singers from over 60 primary, secondary, and tertiary education institutions.

The concerts will feature some of the nation’s top soloists of all ages, including Hermina Charles, SJC alum Jacqueline Johnson, SJC student Dominique Akal, SJC St Joseph student Annalise Emmanuel, and several other first place and Championship winners from the last T&T Music Festival, including Camille Nicholas, Brendon John and Jake Salloum.

Proceeds will go towards the upgrade and restoration works of All Saints Anglican Church and the St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain, Chapel, and the construction of the Maloney Anglican Church.

BP T&T has sponsored the Marionettes since 1972. Joint Head, BP Group’s CEO’s Office, and former regional president, bpTT, Norm Christie, said, “the Marionettes is an example of enduring commitment and longterm impact. They have become an institution in Trinidad and Tobago by using music as a force for positive change. They reinforce the idea that music can bring together cultures and generations.”

Taylor said the choir is using its God-given talent to deliver the message that things can be turned around. “We can effect change with confidence, relying on spiritual support through faith in the Almighty. We praise God through both music and movement in numbers like Samba de las escrituras, Baba Yetu (Swahili for the Lord’s Prayer), and the Brazilian Salguiero.

“We love our country and we know that all can’t be gloom and doom. Festivity is second nature to us, and so we proclaim our messages through our own national music as well, with a sense of fun.”

Tickets for all shows cost $150.

Renaissance Productions Company (RPC) hosted its Nothing But The Classics in Praise & Worship concert, last Friday evening at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, and its turned out to be a successful venture.

Since its inception in the mid 80’s, RPC has been staging gospel theatrical productions annually. Driven by a consuming desire to effect change in the presentation of talents especially within the Christian genre, the company pioneered this level of performance within the Evangelical Church movement.

The evening’s presentation which featured dancing, gospel and instrumentals was enhanced by Trinidad-born, American virtuoso pianist, Llewellyn Peter who played a major role in arranging some of the classical pieces.

Joy mixed with sadness at the San Fernando Central Secondary School graduation and award ceremony yesterday, as a posthumous award was given in memory of Yayu Zhu, ten months after she perished in a blaze.

Zhu's father  Dongcong Zhu and mother JinmeiXu (Mary) were not present to collect the award during the function which took place at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in San Fernando. 

Zhu who died on September 25 last year, was fondly called Ami by her classmates and teachers. She was honoured with the Student of the Year award. 

Deputy DPP Joan Honore-Paul who delivered the feature address commended the graduates for excelling despite constraints.

Saying the boundaries which existed during her school life in the 1970's were no longer present for the millennium generation, Honore-Paul urged the students to be wise as they posted and digested information.

She said the confidence of the youths today was admirable, adding that students should play to their strengths and strive to be the best that they can be in their chosen field.

"Back in my day when we did research, we had to go to Carnegie Free Library and the UWI library. The world was not at your fingertips. I wonder if you realize what a gift that is. Today any thought, inquiry or question can be answered immediately on any topic current events, politics, economics. There are no boundaries," she said.

However, she cautioned that with the overload of information, students must never lose the ability to think for themselves.

"Question everything around you. Accessibility to knowledge should not shut down your opinion, it should feed your opinion. Don't be afraid to disagree with what you hear," Honore-Paul said.

She said technology has even knocked down language barriers, adding that long ago people chose to become doctors, lawyers, and teachers whereas nowadays students can do just as well by becoming a successful you-tuber.

Principal Cindy Khan said while her school has achieved 90 per cent full certificates at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination, the infrastructure at her school was in urgent need of upgrades.

She said cracks at the shifting Block F were widening daily and part of the playfield had to be cordoned off with caution tape as it was unsafe. She noted that the pre-fabricated structure at the front of the school was also falling apart and frustrated teachers had difficulties finding classrooms.

"As more CAPE subjects such as digital media and computer science are being introduced, we want to expand our syllabus but we are in need of increased staff, additional classrooms, and equipment," she said. 

Also receiving an award was Uthmaan Thompson was given the Student Extraordinaire award along with the Vice Principal's award for outstanding contribution to school life. The most Outstanding student was Mark Rambaran and Best Overall Academic Performance award went to Meenakshi Saroop.

While thousands of students celebrate their Secondary Entrance Assessment results today, more than 2,500 pupils will face disappointment having scored below 30 per cent in the 2018 exam. 

Statistics obtained by the Guardian show that overall, students scored the lowest this year in Mathematics than they did since 2010. 

In Mathematics 58.8 per cent of pupils scored over 50 per cent for 2018. 

For this decade, the highest Mathematics scores were recorded in 2011 and 2012 - 73.1 per cent in 2011 and 72. 4 per cent in 2012. 

In Grammar,  57.7 per cent of students scored over 50 per cent for 2018, compared to 76.4 in 2017 and 72.8 in 2015.

In an interview, president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association Lynsley Doodhai said the statistics were worrying especially since 2,170 pupils scored less than 30 per cent last year, compared to 2,595 pupils scoring less than 30 per cent this year.

"This represents 13.6 per cent of the 19,185 pupils who sat the exams this year and it is something that we must address," Doodhai added.

He said while the Minister of Education Anthony Garcia and Minister in the Ministry Dr Lovell Francis visits the top students today, some focus must be placed on the ones who are likely to fall through the cracks because of poor performance. 

Defending the nation's teachers Doodhai said while some may be quick to blame teachers for poor performance, citizens should remember that many of the pupils who underperform do so because of learning disabilities, poor parental support, or behavioural challenges. 

"Naturally when you hear figures like this people immediately say that it is the fault of teachers. Maybe to a small extent, some teachers may have contributed to this by not fulfilling their functions as a teacher but this is minuscule when you look at the real issues. In classes where you have students excelling and some students failing, they are taught by the same teachers so you cannot say it is the teachers' fault. 

Don't blame the teachers because some of these students have behavioural issues, learning disabilities and some don't enjoy the level of parental support and involvement that they deserve," Doodhai said.

He called on the government to expend additional resources to the Student Support Services saying there were not enough professionals at the SSS to deal with increasing challenges at schools.

"There are students who are in need of special education programmes but the requisite number of specialized people are not there. This is one of the major reasons why students are falling through the cracks. Most teachers are not trained to deal with students like these and even if the teacher is trained it is difficult to deal with the special needs children when dealing with an overcrowded curriculum and syllabus," Doodhai added.

He said those students who are over 13 years old and who scored below 30 per cent will be placed in a secondary school even though they are unable to read or write. Doodhai called on the government to provide remedial teachers in schools to help these pupils.

Efforts to contact the president of the National Parent Teachers Association President Raffiena Ali-Boodoosingh proved futile yesterday as calls and messages sent to her cellular phone went unanswered. 

The Ministry in a statement said Minister Anthony Garcia will be visiting the schools of the top three students to announce the results.  

The team will be at the first school at 8:30 am.

GOVIA, LArry died on Saturday 30th June, 2018. Father of Santos Govia. Grandfather of Joel Govia. Brother of Sally Lee Heung, Billy Govia and Penelope O’Brien. Companion of Natalie. Funeral service on Friday 6th July, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. from St. Theresa’s R.C. Church, Woodbrook, thence to the Crematorium, St James for 11:30 a.m. No flowers by request. For enquiries; call Clark & Battoo : (868) 625-1170. To send condo-lences please visit our website www.clarkandbattoo.com

Turkey-based duo Krystle Esdelle and Sinead “The Grenade” Jack combined for 33 points which helped T&T overcame Suriname (3-0) for a record seventh straight title when the 17th edition of the Senior Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Women’s Championship in Paramaribo, Suriname on Monday night.

T&T with eight titles overall, won in 1996 under former coach Macsood Ali and under the supervision of Francisco Cruz, the team won in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2017. The win puts T&T ahead of long-time rival Barbados which recorded wins in 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

Earlier, Barbados stunned the Bahamas in five sets to take the bronze medal in the earlier match, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 24-26, 16-14.

On Sunday night, T&T was taken to five sets by the by the host before prevailing 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-11 at the Ismay van Wilgen Sports Hall in the final round-robin encounter of the four-team tournament to end with a 3-0 record to its rival, 2-1.

However, after a somewhat slow start, Suriname took an 8-7 lead at the first Technical Time Out, the Renele Forde-captained T&T women emerged a more focused unit going on to win the first set 25-21.

In the second and third sets, team T&T did not allow themselves to fall behind and made sure and cut out serving errors that occurred the night before which made a big difference as the team took the next two sets, 25-20, 25-22, to seal victory in 79 minutes.

Commenting after the win, Forde said despite her team’s nervous start in the first set they decided not to make the serving and blocking mistakes from the last match against Suriname as they did work on these areas during practice.

“We are happy to be winners once more but this time our team will like to dedicate this victory to our colleague Ayana Dayette who passed away (Sunday) yesterday.

“Ayana! This one is for you!”

A former team captain Esdelle ended with 20, which was punctuated by 17 spikes and two service aces while Jack added 13 points, highlighted by ten spikes.

Another overseas-based player, Channon Thompson (Turkey/Philippines), and Sweden-based Forde chipped in with nine points each for the T&T women while Jalicia Ross-Kydd added three and Darlene Ramdin, who plies her trade in the Philippines, got two.

On the opposite side of the net, Suriname Sandrina Hunsel contributed 17 points out of 47 attempts, which was her lowest score in a game for the tournament to lead Suriname while Janice Valies had nine, Sigourney Kame, six, and Cabriella Bouterse, five in the loss.

Cheryl Burnnings, Suriname captain said, “We started good with high energy level but dropped during the game. We cannot be inconsistent against a good team like TTO as they have great players that can change the game on you any time.

“Finally, I want to express on behalf of our team our deepest condolences to the family of Ayana and also the Volleyball Community of T&T. We’ve lost a great friend and may her soul rest in peace.”

Overall, T&T again showed its class by outscoring its opponent in spikes, 40-28 and service aces, 10-1. However, Suriname surprisingly had the edge on blocks, 9-6 and also committed fewer errors than the eventual champion, 19-25.

Cuban-born T&T coach Cruz said “I am very for this seventh victory while I am with this team.

“It started in 2006 in the Bahamas and we have won every Senior Caribbean title after that.”

Later at the awards ceremony, Thompson was again voted the “Most Valuable Player”(MVP). The 24-year-old Thompson, who also won the award in 2014 and last year, did not score in double-figures in the final but T&T still won comfortably

She left Suriname with three awards after she was also named the “Best Server” and “Best Receiver” while team-mate, Afesha Olton captured the “Best Libero” accolade for the “Calypso Spikers”.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Most Valuable Player: Channon Thompson (T&T)
Best Spiker First: Sigourney Kame (Suriname)
Best Spiker Second: Sandrina Hunsel (Suriname)
Best Blocker First: Brittney De Veaux (Bahamas)
Best Blocker Second: Wesley Webb (Bahamas)
Best Receiver: Channon Thompson (T&T)
Best Server: Channon Thompson (T&T)
Best Digger: Chandra Mackey (Bahamas)
Best Setter: Cheryl Brunnings (Suriname)
Best Opposite: Raechel Knowles (Bahamas)
Best Scorer: Sandrina Hunsel (Suriname)
Best Libero: Afesha Olton (T&T)

Windies fresh off a 1-1 series draw against Sri Lanka last week, will now battle Bangladesh in the first of two Test matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua this morning from 10 am.

The local team although ranked one below eight-placed Bangladesh will start as favourites given the fact that they are playing at home and their bowling unit is at top form as was displayed in the previous Test series.

The Windies bowlers almost gave the Caribbean side series victory over Sri Lanka, but the visitors battled well to win by four wickets at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Bangladesh will have Shannon Gabriel to contend with and this will not be easy. He creamed off 20 batsmen at an average just 14. 95 against Sri Lanka and was consistently bowling in the 90 km range.

Also in top form is skipper Jason Holder who scored a half-century and took nine wickets in the final Test. The Windies are likely to go into the match with an unchanged team from the last match against Sri Lanka, however, their batsmen will be looking to display improve performances.

Shane Dowrich was the pick of the home team batsmen in the last series and won the man of the series award. He will need support and that should come in the form of Shai Hope and Keiran Powell.

Devon Smith and Roston Chase performed under-par in the last series and they will be fighting to keep out the exuberant Guyana Shimron Hetmeyer who scored a century against Bangladesh in the lone warm up game.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, will depend heavily on skipper Shakib Al Hasan to lead from the front. Al Hasan has experience playing in the Caribbean having played Tests here previously, as well as a being a regular campaigner in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The visitors will be hoping that opener Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah gave them big scores as most of the others are inexperienced in Caribbean conditions. The Bangladeshis shortcomings against genuinely fast bowling may well be exposed in this series and they will hope that Liton Das, who is well equipped to face the faster stuff come to the party.

The pitch at the Sir Viv ground is not as quick as the three that were used in the Sri Lankan series and this venue has been known like the man it’s named after, for churning out runs in large numbers. In the last five Test matches at this venue, teams batting first have averaged 450 runs and this tells a tale.

The Windies have shown a liking for batting first so the toss will be crucial in this match. They will not want to bat last on the strip with the likes of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam turning the ball.

Teams

Windies: Kraigg Brathwaite, Devon Smith, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmeyer, Keemo Paul.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Litton Das (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed.

T&T senior women’s volleyball team and powerhouse USA will serve off the 12-team 17th Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup starting from 10 am at Ricardo Arias Pavilion in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. They will be followed by a contest between Mexico and Brazil at noon.

Canada and Peru will open the afternoon session of day one at 2 pm followed by a South American duel between Argentina and Colombia.

Puerto Rico and Cuba are to battle at 6 pm with host Dominican Republic welcome Costa Rica, the representative of Central America in the annual event.

The top five ranked teams at the conclusion of the tournament will earn tickets to next year’s Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

The teams have been divided into three pools with defending champion USA playing in Pool B alongside T&T, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Pool A consists of Canada, Peru, Costa Rica and host Dominican Republic while Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia are in Pool C.

The top two ranked teams at the end of the preliminary round will advance directly to the semifinals with the pool winner with the lowest ranking will compete in the quarterfinals with the top second and third place teams.

Since 2013, USA and Dominican Republic have won the event every other year.

The USA leads the historic standings at the Pan American Cup with five gold medals, Cuba and the Dominican Republic each have won the competition four times while Brazil has three titles.

The Dominican Republic has the most medals in the history of the competition with 15—including four golds, eight silvers and three bronzes. The USA is second with 10—five golds, two silvers and three bronzes.

Matura ReUnited got a single strike from Isaiah Lee in the 38th minute to stop the University of T&T (UTT) 1-0 at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima when competition in the T&T Super League continued on Sunday.

ReUnited, which has returned to the super league after a few years hiatus, is unbeaten so far this season and is on top the 13-team standings.

Its match was one of just two that were completed at the weekend due to heavy rains which made conditions unplayable at various venues.

In the other completed match Metal X Erin FC was held 1-1 by lowly Bethel United FC at the Erin Recreation Ground.

Three abandoned matches are to be replayed on August 30 from the point they were stopped, a release from the TTSL said yesterday. According to the release it stated that after careful consideration, the abandoned matches are to comprise the exact same teams that were on the pitch on Sunday: the previous and remaining substitutions will stand/allowed: the disciplinary measures issued during the game (cautions) will stand: and the scores of the matches at the time of abandonment, will also remain the same.

At the Police Barracks Ground in St James, the score was goalless at the half-time interval between Police and Cunupia FC when the referee brought the match to a premature end because of heavy rain. At St Mary’s College Ground in St Clair, officials also called off the match between QPCC and Prisons Service FC which was goalless, while Sunday’s mouth-watering contest between FC Santa Rosa and RSSR at St Anthony’s College was well into the 55th minute when it was called off.

Santa Rosa, known as the Big Cannons, was leading 1-0 when the referee brought an end to the game.