A number of teams from T&T will compete in the annual Sir Gary Sobers cricket tournament from today in Barbados.

The 18-day competition, which is organised by the Ministry of Tourism in Barbados, has attracted a number of great players in the past, including the legendary Brian Lara who represented Fatima College in the 1980s, just to show how long the tournament has been in existence.

Today, T&T will be represented by the Kumar Rampat Cricket Academy (KRCA), Queen’s Park, Presentation College Chaguanas and Fatima College.

KRCA which has produced a number of junior national players in recent times will be coming up against Swiss Junior Academy (SWZ) at Bridgefield from 11 am. Queen’s Park plays America Youth Premier League at Lester Vaughan, Presentation plays Lodge School at the Lodge School ground and Fatima battles Foundation School at Isolation.

The games will be of 40-overs duration and will involve the best youth talent from England, Australia, Switzerland, Canada and America.

Tour manager of the KRCA Reginald King is happy with the preparations of his team and thinks his players will do T&T proud.

He said, “We have the youngest team in the competition with players under 19 years of age, in fact, the average age of our boys is 14. We are happy to take them on what we see as a development tour and we are hoping that their cricket improves at the end of it. Although the guys are young we have some national pedigree in national under-15 players like Rajeev Ramnath who captained T&T, Liam Mamchan, Andrew Rambaran, Nickyle Jalim and Khaleem Mohammed. In addition with the experience of captain Quincy Babel as well as South East players Romario King and Alix Gopaul. All in all, we have the quality to make an impression.”

King explained that the tournament would be used for development of the players on his team.

He said: “While we will be going out there to win every match and to bring back the title, we are cognizant of the fact that this is a development tournament and tour for us, and we are looking the have all our players in action during the tournament. The team has settled in nicely on arriving and we are looking forward to our opening match.”

Three principles of the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport 1994 to which Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory must be addressed in any attempt to level the playing field as it relates to sport and gender.

The first principle deals with the issue of Equity and Equality in Society and Sport. It states that every woman should have equal opportunity to participate in sport regardless of race, colour, language, religion, creed, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, political belief or affiliation, national or social origin. Resources, power and responsibility should be allocated fairly and without discrimination on the basis of sex. Allocations must be used to correct any imbalances of benefits between men and women.

Another important principle relates to access to sporting facilities. The planning, design and management of facilities must meet the particular needs of women such as changing room facilities, childcare provision, and safety.

It notes that girls and boys approach sport differently. Therefore, those who are responsible for organising and implementing sport and recreation must take into account the gender differences in values, attitudes and aspirations of goals.

Sporting organisations such as the TTFA should bear this in mind as they seek to increase female participation.

The principle of leadership, states that “Women are under-represented in the leadership and decision making of all sport and sport-related organisation.” To address this sporting body should have as part of its strategic plans, policies and programmes that will increase “number of women coaches, advisers, decision makers, officials, administrators and sports personnel at all levels.”

The aforementioned principles can be best developed through rigorous research and the dissemination of knowledge. It is only through research can inform policies be developed for implementation.

North Zone’s Trendsetter Hawks captured two of three titles at stake, both at the expense of rivals Queen’s Park Cricket Club when the 2018 Republic Bank National Youth League concluded at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Saturday.

In the Under-12 Division decider, Hawks coached by Anthony ‘Dada’ Wickham opened the scoring through Antonio Sealy in the 16th minute, but QPCC drew level through age-group ‘Most Valuable Player’ awardee Addae Paponette in the 38th minute before Jaden Mc Shine fired in the decisive item for Hawks in the 45th minute.

Last week in the semifinal round at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, defending National Champions QPCC edged East Zone’s San Juan Jabloteh 1-0 with a strike from Papponette while Hawks blanked South Zone’s Pt Fortin Youth FA 3-0 with a double from Ryan Redellant and one from Zion Harley.

The Under-14 championship match proved to be a one-sided contest as East Zone’s Trincity Nationals stormed to a 3-0 triumph over Tobago’s Jaric Titans.

Omari Flanders, the age-group ‘MVP’ led the way with a double for Trinity in the 16th and 37th minutes while Keshawn Lashley added the other from the penalty spot in the 45th minute.

Trincity Nationals slipped past fellow East team, FC Santa Rosa 2-1 with goals from Joshua Batson and Riley Hill to cancel out Joshua Walker’s effort while Titans got the better of Ste Madeleine Striker 5-4 on penalty-kick after a 0-0 deadlock in their respective semifinal.

Just as they started off the day, Hawks ended, with another win over Queen’s Park, this time in the Under-16 final, 1-0 thanks to ‘MVP’ Josiah Edwards’ strike in the 59th minute.

In the final-four, Hawks got a goal each from Malachi Celestine and Jude-Anthony Johnson to beat FC Santa Rosa while Queen’s Park also won 2-0 over Petit Valley/Diego Martin thanks to a Zachary Welch brace despite playing more than 30 minutes with ten men after a red card expulsion.

T&T put up another impressive performance before going under to Puerto Rico, 28-30, 20-25, 25-21, 28-26 and 8-15, in its second Pool B match at the Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, yesterday.

After losing to defending champion and five-time winners, the USA, in its opener on Monday 3-1, the Renele Forde-captained T&T women were eager for another solid outing at the Ricardo Arias Pavilion.

It was almost the perfect start for Calypso Spikers as the recently crowned Senior Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Women’s Championship, looked set to take the opening set just as they did against the USA, leading 24-21.

However, Forde and her team-mates could not close the first set after committing several unforced errors while on the attack and also came up short in the second set.

But led by the Turkey-based trio, veteran Krystle Esdelle, Channon Thompson and Sinead Jack, and Jalicia Ross-Kydd in the attack, the Calypso Spikers came back to win the third and fourth sets, the latter after saving two match points to force a fifth and deciding set.

In the end, Francisco Cruz-coached T&T women ran out of steam and surrendered the contest in a marathon contest that lasted two hours and 18 minutes.

Afterwards, Cruz said, “I am happy with the match against Puerto Rico because they really know how to play the game. My players’ step by step is adjusting and following the instructions. The experience of Puerto Rico was the difference in the tie-breaker.”

For the Puerto Ricans, Noami Santos and Shirley Ferrer had 20 and 15 points, respectively, while Pilar Marie Victoria and Neira Ortiz added 11 and ten respectively as they held a narrow edge on spikes 58-56 and service aces, 7-4 over T&T.

Esdelle, who top-scored in the USA loss, led all the players in the match with 23 points inclusive of 21 spikes while Thompson (19), Jack (14) and Ross (13) also reached double figures for T&T.

Despite the setback, T&T held a 22-10 advantage in the blocking category, seven of which were from Ross-Kydd while Jack had six and veteran Kelly-Anne Billingy, four in her seven points.

An upbeat Billingy was quick to point out that it was first-time T&T had gone to five sets against Puerto Rico.

She said, “This is a confidence builder and now we know that we can go out and play any team in the world.”

However, the Achilles heel for T&T was 42 points gifted to Puerto Rico via unforced errors to 27 by the winner. Commenting after the match, Puerto Rico captain Natalia Valentin noted that T&T had a huge blocking and strong attack but her team was able to get the result.

Qualifiers to the FIVB World Championship in Japan later this year, the Calypso Spikers next play Cuba from 12 noon today in their final round-robin match.

In Sunday’s late matches, Puerto Rico defeated Cuba 25-13, 25-22, 25-23 in Pool B; while in Pool A Canada stopped Peru 25-21, 25-12, 25-17; the Dominican Republic whipped Costa Rica 25-14, 25-10, 25-16; and in Pool C, Brazil overcame Mexico 25-21, 25-19, 25-17, and Colombia battled past Argentina 25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 18-25, 17-15.

And in yesterday’s other early match, Canada blasted Costa Rica 25-10, 25-10, 25-7.

At the end of today’s round-robin phase, the top two ranked teams from the three pools will advance directly to the semifinals while the pool winner with the lowest ranking will compete in the quarterfinals with the top second and third place teams.

TODAY’S MATCHES

Peru vs Costa Rica, 10 am
Cuba vs T&T, 12 noon
Colombia vs Mexico, 2 pm
Brazil vs Argentina, 4 pm
USA vs Puerto Rico, 6 pm

Almost halfway through the first round of the T&T Super League and new club Matura ReUnited has taken a two-point lead on the 14-team standings.

Its stroll to the top was cemented with a 2-1 win over Petit Valley Diego Martin United on Sunday at St Anthony’s College Ground in West Moorings. The team got an own goal which came in the ninth minute, followed by an insurance item in the 23rd minute from Irvin Reyes. The Diego Martin men pulled a goal back in the 84th minute but it did not prevent them from surrendering maximum points that put the Matura men on 13 points in five matches, that includes no losses.

Last year’s impressive Cunupia FC is second on 11 points in-spite of dropping two valuable points at the weekend in a 2-2 tie with defending champions Guaya United at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima.

Kevon Woodley, Cunupia’s leading scorer was again on target in the 55th minute after which Kevon Clarke, the club’s new signing from FC Santa Rosa, got the other in the 70th. The Central giants twice had to come from behind in the match, after Beville Joseph put the Guayaguayare men in front in the 29th minute and again in the 66th.

The University of T&T (UTT) moved to fourth behind QPCC from a 1-1 draw with Metal X Erin FC on Saturday at Its O’Meara Campus in Arima. But they were made to come from behind after Sylvester Teesdale opened the scoring for the Erin outfit in the 62nd minute, and held out until the second minute in time added-on when Janeke Danzelle got the equalised.

RESULTS

Friday
• FC Santa Rosa- 1 (Kishun Seecharan 71st) vs QPCC- 2 (Yohance Marshall 21st, 85th)
Saturday
• UTT- 1 (Janeke Danzelle 92nd) vs Metal X Erin FC- 1 (Sylvester Teesdale 62nd)
• San Fernando Giants- 0 vs RSSR- 0

Sunday

• Bethel United FC- 1 (Tee Jay Cadiz 43rd) vs Police FC- 1 (Jason Boodram 49th)
• Petit Valley Diego Martin Utd- 1 (Abbion Phillip 84th) vs Matura ReUnited- 2 (own goal 9th, Irvin Reyes 23)
• Cunupia FC- 2 (Kevon Woodley 55th, Keron Clarke 70th) vs Guaya United- 2 (Beville Joseph 29th, 66th)
• Prisons FC- 1 (Andre Mohammed) vs Club Sando FC- 1 (Stephon Jack 43rd)
STANDINGS
P W D L F A GD PTS
1. Matura ReUnited 5 4 1 0 11 7 4 13
2. Cunupia FC 5 3 2 0 12 4 8 11
3. QPCC 4 3 1 0 9 3 6 10
4. UTT 5 2 1 2 4 6 -2 7
5. Guaya United 5 1 3 1 8 6 2 6
6. FC Santa Rosa 4 2 0 2 6 4 2 6
7. Police FC 5 1 3 1 3 5 -2 6
8. RSSR 4 1 2 1 4 2 2 5
9. Metal X Erin FC 5 1 2 2 8 8 0 5
10. Prisons FC 4 0 4 0 3 3 0 4
11. Club Sando 5 1 1 3 3 6 -3 4
12. San F’do Giants 5 0 4 1 2 7 -5 4
13. Bethel United 5 0 3 2 4 9 -5 3
14. P.Valley/ 5 0 1 4 1 8 -7 1
D’go Martin Utd

WALTER ALIBEY
 

Promising sprinters Timothy Frederick and Tyrell Edwards along with quarter-miler Rae-Ann Serville and javelin thrower Talena Murray will open their medal quest today at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

The quartet will look to shake off any jitters they may have before challenging some of the leading junior athletes in the world at the biennial event being held at the Ratina Stadium.

Frederick and Edwards will line-up in the men’s 100 metres dash this afternoon attempting to advance to the semifinals (10.50 am TT Time) and final (1.05 pm), both are carded for tomorrow.

Fredericks will run out of lane four in the opening heat while Edwards will face the starter in heat-six and will line-up in lane six.

“All is well with Timothy and Tyrell,” said Sprints coach Kelvin Nancoo, who at that time was with the sprinters while they were being massaged, yesterday.

He said, “They are in good spirits and are ready to race tomorrow.”

Frederick enters the competition with a season’s best (sb) 10.41 seconds which he clocked in taking gold at last month’s National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) National Junior Championships.

Then Edwards was fourth in 10.70 seconds but improved on his time at the Senior Championships in clocking 10.46 seconds in placing eighth. Frederick was seventh with a slower time of 10.45 seconds.

The T&T duo will go for glory against the favourites of American Anthony Schwartz, South African duo Thando Dlodlo and Thembo Monareng after some impressive performances this season leading up to today’s event.

Schwartz won the USA’s U-20 title in 10.23 seconds last month and is the world U-20 leader courtesy of his 10.09 seconds clocking in Albuquerque.

Dlodlo is the second fastest U-20 youth runner in the world this year, thanks to his time of 10.11 seconds in Pretoria earlier this year.

Monareng was African U-20 champion last year and he clocked 10.18 seconds also in Pretoria.

Both Frederick and Edwards are part of the 4x100m team, which Nancoo, already looking ahead to the relays, was enthused by the prospects of T&T medalling in the relays.

“The guys had relay practice this morning (yesterday) and I am very impressed. The baton passing was excellent. I expect a big showing from them,” he said. The heats for relay event is scheduled for Friday with the final taking place on Saturday.

Also on the track, today for T&T is national senior 400m silver-medallist Rae-Ann Serville, who will race in the women’s 400m event. The heats for the one-lap event is set to begin at 9.50 am with Serville racing from lane two in heat three of five. She ran a PB and sb of 54.46 to place second at the Senior Championships.

Nancoo added that Serville will be very competitive in the 400m saying: “Rae-Ann will run well tomorrow (today).”

Earlier though from 3.24 am (TT time), Talena Murray will be over on the field competing in group B in the qualification round of the women’s javelin throw.

Her aim will be to meet the qualifying standard of 53.50 or at least be among the 12 best performers, who will move on to the final tomorrow, starting at 11.50 am.

The Carifta, national senior and junior champion has a PB and sb of 50.60 achieved at a track and field series hosted by the NAAA in January.

Serville challengers include Italian Carolina Visca, who enters with a PB and sb 56.79 and Hui-Jun Li of Chinese Taipei (TPE), whose PB and sb is 56.60.

T&T boys’ (Daynte Stewart and Marley Davidson) and girls’ (Tysan Selvon and Britney Choon) teams both came up short in their efforts to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games to be staged in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 6 to 18.

This after the locals, unbeaten at the end of their Saturday’s preliminary roundrobin group stages, could only secure silver (boys) and bronze (girls) medals when the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Olympic Beach Volleyball Boys Qualifier ended, at Eagle Beach Oranjestad, Aruba on Sunday afternoon.

With only the winning pairs assured of a Youth Olympic Games ticket, the hosts’ pair of Brian Howell Brokken and Raibiently Mercalina played a perfect final, with no unforced errors.

And despite being unable to stop the T&T attack, they scored just as effectively and capitalised on the few errors made by their Caribbean Neighbours to take the title 21- 19, 21-18.

Earlier on when play resumed with quarterfinal matches, US Virgin Islands’ Williams Clements and Joseph Sibilly Jr, who placed second in Group A defeated the third-place team from Group B Suriname’s Dean Kasdi and Brasley Soetowikromo 21-9, 21-16 while Jamaicans Clifton Clarke and N’Gozi Thompson of Group B silenced Haiti’s Phillippe Jean and Brednev Docteur, 21-13, 21-11.

Then in the semifinals, the undefeated group winners T&T and Aruba advance easily.

T&T dismissed the US Virgin Islands 21-10, 21-12 and Aruba made easy work of Jamaica 21- 16, 21-13.

Jamaica defeated Us the Virgin Islands to take the bronze medals 21-12, 21-19.

Aruba made full use of its home advantage as the girl’s team of Kayla Arends and Mali Rafini swept past Haitians, Rose Etienne and Carolina Richard 21-14, 21-6 to take the converted prize of a trip to South American later this year.

On Sunday morning, the winless Haitians finished third in Group A and defeated the second place team from Group B, Khrysti Rosa and Tia Highes of US Virgin Island 18-21, 21-11, 15-4 and the Arubans, second Group A, swept passed Group B’s Jamaicans, Selena Mitchell, and Tavia Danielle Watson, 21-4, 21-13.

In the semifinals, the undefeated both group winners capitulated as Haiti avenged a three-set round-robin loss to T&T, with a 21-12, 23-21 victory and Aruba rolled over Suriname’s Ketura Margaret and Xenna Luitjes, 21-9, 21-9 to set up an unexpected final.

The T&T girls, while very sadden by their only loss, was able to defeat Suriname to take the bronze medal 21-13, 21-8.

FINAL GIRLS RANKING

Aruba, Haiti, T&T, Suriname,
Jamaica, US Virgin Islands

FINAL BOYS’ RANKING

Aruba, T&T, Jamaica, US Virgin
Islands, Suriname, Haiti

Canada-based David Mahabir kept hold of his Solo Senior National Table Tennis Championship Men’s Veterans Singles title following a three-set victory at the National Racquet Centre, Orange Grove Road, Tacarigua on Saturday.

In the championship match, Mahabir made light work of Solo Crusaders’ Michael George 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.

Earlier on in the knockout phase, Mahabir dispatched Warrenville’s Dave Ramoutar, 11-6, 11-1, 11-1 and George rallied past Hazaire Gopaul of Petrotrin 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5.

Then in the semifinals, Mahabir humbled Survivors’ Michael Mc Comie 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 and George came-from-behind to beat Himalaya Tough Guys’ Riad Abasali, 2-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-9.

Mc Comie swept past Carenage Blasters’ Nigel Morgan 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 and Abasali defeated Franklyn Seechan of WASA, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-1 in their last-eight encounter.

In the Men and Women Open Singles competition, both defending champions, who are also the reigning national Under-21 title-holders, Aaron Wilson of Blasters and WASA’s Brittany Joseph are still in contention to retain their respective crowns as well.

Joseph set up a semifinal showdown with Carnage Blasters’ Shreya Maharaj while her club-mate Chelsea Fong faces PowerGen’s Catherine Spicer in the other tomorrow night at the same venue.

This after Joseph ousted 12- time national singles champion Aleena Edwards 11-4, 11-6, 12-10 at the quarterfinal hurdle, in a rematch of last year’s final, and Fong beat Derah Ramoutar of Warrenville 11-8, 11-2, 11-2.

In the other quarterfinals, Maharaj overwhelmed Linda Partap-Boodhan of Arima Hawks’ 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 and Spicer silenced WASA’s Ambika Sitram, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5.

Last year, 18-year-old Wilson’s rallied from a 0-3 deficit in the best-of-seven sets final to topple WASA’s Curtis Humphreys’ 4-3 for his first national senior crown.

confident T&T Under-17 cricket team will open its challenge for a third successive West Indies age-group title today, when the team comes up against Barbados from 9.30 am at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, South Trinidad.

The team, which is led by Antonio Gomez, has been in training for quite a while now leading into this tournament. The players are all very confident that T&T can retain its title for a third successive time, having won it in 2016 and 2017.

Coach of the team Gregory Davis speaking to Guardian Sports Media said, “The preparation has been very good. The boys are well prepared, mentally as well and this is always key in my estimation.”

Davis, who represented T&T many years ago, is the son of former West Indies player Bryan Davis and he believes that execution on the day is key despite all the work you put in before. He said, “Execution on the day is what matters now and the boys are aware of that.”

The only downside he saw in the preparation was the lack of practice matches which was due to the inclement weather conditions. “The only thing missing was a couple more practice games which the weather did not allow.”

Manager of the team Surujdath Mahabir is also in good spirits and expressed confidence going into the clash and said, “We have a well-balanced squad which is packed with a lot of talent. I expect us to do well because more than the talent the boys have gelled well.”

In other matches on today’s programme, Guyana will battle the Windward Islands at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Balmain, and the Leewards will play Jamaica at Gilbert Park in California.

All matches get underway at 9.30am.

Teams

T&T: Antonio Gomez (capt), Ryan Bandoo, Leonardo Julien, Rivaldo Ramlogan, Darren Samlal, Anderson Mahase, Nicholas Ali, Leon Basanoo, Sameer Ali, Tariq Mohammed, Isaiah Gomez, Aaron Bankay, Jayden Seales, Vanir Maharaj, Surujdath Mahabir manager, Gregory Davis coach.

BARBADOS: Rashawn Antonio Worrell, Seth Leage Ackeevu Agard, Nicholas Aaron Austin, Rivaldo Aldrian Clarke, Giovonte Tarqe Depeiza, Matthew Walter Forde, Shamar Jabari Forde, Amari Alexandre Goodridge, Jayden Orlando Hoyte, Jaden Jamal R Leacock, Antonio Ricardo D Morris, Ramon Romario Simmonds, D’Angelo Ronaldo Springer, Rondre Amari Yearwood.

Munnie’s Multicultural Musical Masquerade, a children’s short story by heritage educator Dr Kris Rampersad has been adjudged a winner “for its wit and musical undertones” in the international Bubo Short Story Contest, Your World, Our Music.

The story was written for and is one of the favourite stories of her nephew, ace achiever in the national Secondary School Entrance Assessments (SEA), Saiesh Rampersad since an infant, Dr Rampersad said.

She explained that Saiesh has been an avid story lover and reader from his earliest years and demanded she write stories for him. Saiesh tabled a perfect score of 100 per cent in the SEA which results were announced last week.

Apart from literary and cultural advocacy, Dr Rampersad has been writing stories for Saiesh since he was a toddler, and is engaged in writings and other interactive stimulating actions aimed at enhancing the knowledge sector, revising approaches to formal education including the SEA system, enticing children and youth into reading and creative activity as well as elderly appreciation, understanding culture and heritage.

She received notice of her win in the Bubo Short Story Contest: Your World, Our Music, last month, from Bubo Technologies, a Swiss-based organisation of reading enthusiasts who “believe in the power of music to tell stories, with first-of-its-kind technology to bring e-books and music together to make reading a more immersive and personal experience.”

The congratulatory note to Dr Rampersad stated: “At Bubo Technologies, we are glad to inform you that ‘Munnie’s Multicultural Musical Masquerade’ is one of the winners of our short story contest. We loved the wit and musical undertones of your text and we cannot wait to start working on its publication.

“We received hundreds of entries from all over the world that we needed to analyse from both a literary and musical perspective while working on our technology...and we are happy to have read some amazing stories like yours.”

Said Dr Rampersad: “The Munnie story is part of several substantive fiction and nonfiction works—yet unpublished because of resource limitations— that have been shelved with my many undertakings, including tirelessly trying to expand global access to literary and cultural spaces over the years.

“I am now hoping to release these and am reaching out for partnerships for the volume of material that include solid and insightful research, writings and multimedia videos aimed at engaging interests in culturallysound and relevant material with which both children and adults can identify ranging in global to local interests.

“I saw the Bubo contest and felt, as with LiTTscapes, it would fit my goals to adapt traditional story forms to make them more accessible through new technologies and into modern interactive formats with other creative expressions.

“But we are guarded that the IP and its added values are maximised for the local sector.

“Like, Saiesh on hearing about his SEA perfect scores, I was ‘elated’ to hear of winning the Bubo contest. This also coincides with my vision to make literature more attractive and accessible along with our ongoing interactive activities as LiTTours and LiTTributes that are customised to any occasion or celebration of families, groups and corporations by request.

“I believe this is important to redirect the negative energies of our crime-ridden society to one that reaches for more lofty achievements, like Saiesh’s.”

Saiesh identified Munnie, about a Carnival Butterfly written by “Auntie Krissy Wissy” as one of his favourite stories when he introduced Dr Rampersad at the launch of LiTTscapes—Landscapes of Fiction that took place at White Hall as part of the national jubilee anniversary of Independence. Then only five years old, Saiesh read three pages of rib-tickling anecdotes entitled My Aunty Krissy.

He cheekily told of how his aunty took him for his first library card, and of how he could not find good local story books, teasing the audience about his reading prowess.

“Auntie took me to the library in Port-of-Spain for the first time,” said Saiesh as a younger child in 2012. “I was only three years old and could not read then. Auntie promised to write stories for me that will make sense. Now she writes stories for me about Munnie, a Carnival butterfly. She writes about the birds of Phagwa, and the flags of Hosay. I am now a big boy, five years old, and I could read, ent?

“I told my auntie she should make a book with the stories to share with my friends.

“She is writing some special stories for me about all the places she visits to share with my friends…One day I will write stories too. One day I will write a book, like my auntie, and she will be here telling you all about how she helped me learn to read and write,” Saiesh said at the launch of LiTTscapes.

Fast forward to 2018, Dr Rampersad said on the weekend: “Saiesh is, of course, very happy.

In addition to having a Math brain, he has always been very good in creative writing. He is really an allrounder and wants to be a doctor.

“Saiesh was naturally born with talent. Through the years, I have always tried to develop these gifts. My brother, Ramchand, and his wife Radha always read to him from a very early age.

“At the moment, because he has always been a shy child, he is familiarising himself with being thrust into the spotlight.

“Saiesh also plays the piano and tabla, did karate until he suffered an injury to his shoulder and is spiritually grounded as he is also very active in the temple.

He really is well rounded.”

n For more visit Kris Rampersad and find LiTTscapes on social media or email lolleaves@gmail. com and ask about LiTTours and LiTTRbiutes customised to the needs of your interests, organisations or industry.

—Reporting by PETER RAY BLOOD peter.blood@guardian.co.tt

Two days after he set himself on fire, SRP Gary Alexander has died.

Alexander, 62, of Jebodhsingh Trace, Fyzabad died during the early hours of Tuesday morning having sustained second degree burns to 90 per cent of his body.

During an interview yesterday, his daughter Shanice Alexander, 25, said they were awaiting the arrival of relatives from abroad before organizing Alexander's funeral.

Shanice expressed disappointment over a story in another newspaper (not the Guardian) which claimed that her father was sleeping in a car prior to his death and that he killed himself following a dispute over property.

"This is inaccurate. The report is so false and malicious. The report said that my brother Jacy and I are secondary school students. That is not true. We are 23 and 25 years old. The incident did not stem from a fight over property. He was never sleeping in his car," Shanice said, adding that she planned to initiate legal proceedings once the funeral was over.

Describing her relationship with her father as abusive, Shanice said he had a drinking problem and despite serving for years as a police officer he never received any help.

"Everybody talking now but nobody from the Police Service assisted him. Nobody ever rendered counselling to him and he needed it," she said.

​​​​​​​Alexander's common-law wife Debbie Figaroo made numerous reports of abuse at the police station. On March 18, following a domestic dispute at their Jebodhsingh Avenue, Fyzabad home, Alexander was charged with two counts of assault, malicious damage and throwing a flammable liquid. 

​​​​​​​Shanice said after that incident, promises were made to help Alexander, but this never materialized.

"My father was always abusive. Everyone knew this. When my mom left him he would always promise that he would do better but then things would change and go back to what it was before. His drinking problem was part of it but when the situation happened on Sunday he was not drunk. He did this when he was sober. When he drinks alcohol he used to get on but when he didn't drink he was quiet."

She denied social media reports that Alexander was wallowing in debt. She also denied that he killed their dog in a fit of rage, saying "we never even owned a dog."

Figaroo said the family wanted to grieve in peace.

"It is traumatic and this was how he wanted to go," Figaroo said.

​​​​​​​Neighbour Desmond Alfred, said Alexander's family was terrified of him as he threatened to kill them on many occasions.

"I used to try and talk to him but he never listened," Alfred said.

The neighbour who witnessed the entire ordeal said he could not sleep since the incident. Alfred said Alexander was in his garden and received a call, following which he confronted Figaroo and an argument ensued. He then jumped in his car, returned with a red plastic container filled with petrol and began throwing it on himself and his brown Kia Cerato.

He then locked himself in the car and set himself on fire. Moments later he came out and tried to extinguish the flames by lying in a drain. His son Jacy threw water on him and he was later admitted in a critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital.

A party of police led by Sgt Felix and including PC Ceballo and Roshan of Oropouche Police Station visited the scene and are continuing investigations.

The T&T Table Tennis Association (TTTTA) has missed its deadline for reselecting the four-member men’s team representing this country at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, later this month.

On Monday, the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) Arbitration Panel ruled that the decision of TTTTA’s selection committee to choose Curtis Humphreys, Aaron Wilson, Yuvraaj Dookram and Arun Roopnarine for the Games was flawed and should be set aside.

As part of its decision, the panel ordered that a new selection committee is appointed to reselect the team and that a decision should be made by 4 pm, yesterday.

However, before the deadline arrived, the TTTTA issued a press release in which it claimed that its ability to abide by the order was being hampered by discrepancies with it. The TTTTA claimed that it had attempted to contact the panel to clarify the issues but was unable to do so by 2 pm, yesterday.

As the TTTTA is in breach of the order, TTOC now has to make a determination on it.

Guardian Media Sports understands that veteran national player Dexter St Louis, 50, is consulting with his lawyers Dr Emir Crowne, Matthew Gayle and Sheriza Khan to decide whether to file a parallel lawsuit in the High Court to enforce the order.

The issue has to be resolved this week to ensure that T&T is represented at the Games, which will be held in Barranquilla, Columbia, from July 19 to August 3.

According to the release, the TTTTA is claiming that the order contravenes its national team selection criteria.

It is also questioning whether the panel ruled that the selection criteria used was flawed or if the ruling applied to its decision not to select St Louis, who initiated the arbitration procedure.

“How come it was flawed for the men and not the women which we did the same process, hence that team should be reselected? How are we selecting the committee to select the players and how are they providing their decision to the panel?” the TTTTA asked in the release.

The arbitration panel consisting of sports lawyers Tyrone Marcus (chairman), Stefan Fabien and Christophe Brathwaite.

In his challenge, St Louis, who is based in France, claimed that the committee ignored TTTTA policy and selected players who were able to pay their own travel costs to participate in a qualification event in Cuba between February 28 and March 3.

While the panel has already ruled on the issue, the TTTTA sought to challenge St Louis’ claims in its release.

Although it admitted that several players were self-funded or sponsored due to cuts in Government subvention, the TTTTA claimed that its selections for participation in tournaments are based on merit.

“Within the last year, there were a few occasions where players who had finances were rejected spots on the national team because of not being our top players,” the release said.

It said that only local players attended the qualification event in Cuba and that both local and foreign-based players were then invited for trials. The TTTTA claimed that only the local players responded by the deadline and were selected.

St Louis’ stepdaughter Rheann Chung was eventually put on the women’s team as local player Aleena Edwards was unavailable for the Games.

This is the second time for the year that St Louis has brought legal action against the TTTTA over its selection policy.

Tyrell Edwards was the lone T&T athlete who moved on to the next round of the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, yesterday.

Edwards qualified for the semifinal round in the Men’s 100 metres, clocking 10.57 seconds to place fourth in heat six to advance as one of the fastest losers on day one at the Ratina Stadium.

Timothy Frederick also faced the starter in the dash and he crossed fifth in the opening heat in a time of 10.69, not quick enough to advance.

Edwards, whose personal and season’s best time is 10.46, will line up in lane two in the third heat seeking a spot in the final against the likes of Italian Lorenzo Paissan, Chad Miller of Great Britan, Australian Jake Doran, who set an Oceanian U-20 100m record of 10.15 in Finland recently, Marvin Shulte of Germany, American Eric Harrison, Riku Illukka of the host country and South Africa’s Thembo Monareng, last year’s African U-20 champion with a swift 10.18 seconds.

Also in action on the track was quartermiler Rae-Ann Serville running in the women’s 400m.

She had the slowest reaction time (0.248) and did not finish the race.

It did not get better for T&T on the field as Talena Murray’s 48.36 metres did meet the qualifying standard (53.50) and her mark was not among the top 12 distances.

Murray’s second throw was the best of three attempts, placing her ninth of the 12 competitors in group B and 17th overall. She opened with a 41.98-toss and closed with a 43.85. Sara Zabarino was the top qualifier with a personal best 53.99.

Today, junior “Sportswoman of the Year” Ianna Roach will get her first taste of competition when she competes in group A in the women’s shot put event. She enters with a personal and season’s best 14.70m and needs to meet the qualifying mark of 15.50m or at least be among the best 12 performers to advance to the final which is scheduled for the evening session of the day’s programme which starts at 9.30 am (T&T time).

Meanwhile, T&T trio of quartermiler Onal Mitchell and sprinters Jenea Spinks and Akilah Lewis will be back on the track.

Mitchell will race in the Men’s 400m in heat five of seven, out of lane two, while Spinks and Lewis will compete in the Women’s 100m dash. Spinks will be in lane six in heat one and Lewis in the third heat in lane seven.

England has already improved its shortfalls which seemed never-ending since it won the 1966 World Cup when it hosted the tournament.

The arrival at the starting block for a place in the final may even have surprised the diehard fans, who are all now poised to shout their hearts out for two consecutive victories.

The quality of the team’s matches varied, not from game to game, but through portions of each match when its share of moderate passing, supported by long aerial “hail Mary” passes with the hope of reaching the feet of Harry Kane and Sterling.

England achieved penetration and goal opportunities as its best options at set plays, especially corners which brought the absolute brilliance of McGuire and to a lesser extent Delli Alli.

I am reluctant to express my observations as far as the general performances of Kane and his team.

It was probably the first time that an England team had struggled to put together a team which seemed not to be structural, but they banked heavily upon individual performances in order to gain goalscoring opportunities.

While I congratulate the team for its resilience in all matches, there were moments when some of the team’s opponents appeared as though they would find gaps in their three-man defence, all of whom were competent individually, but struggled to communicate well enough to give the resemblance of solidity.

The Columbians bemoaned the fact that their downfall may have been caused by infringements coming out of player clashes and was interpreted by the officials (both the refs and the VAR).

While the English had improved its speed levels against Sweden whose stereotypical pattern of play seemed solid, but inconsistent, Sterling and Lingard gave them hope, while the team’s main ball winner Henderson joined into the process of assisting Alli and Young by creating some attacks along the flanks.

Corners and free kicks were responsible for the team’s best efforts at goal which resulted in headers for Mcguire and Alli, both well executed from crossed balls, good enough to take them into the semis.

Croatia will have to dig deep into its endurance levels, plus some astute midfield work by Modric, Rakitic and Rebic, while the flankers Strinic and Perisic will give striker Mandzukic some semblances of a goal or two. It did not happen.

Surely, the thought of yellow cards handed to Lovren, Vida, Pivoric and Strinic, while the host country only received one in Gavinski.

However, after a few days’ rests, the Croatians appeared to be strategically sound and the maximum use of their key contributors may well place enormous pressure on the three back system of Walker, Stones, and McGuire.

Could the English return to the glory of 1966? If it does, it will have to be an amazing improvement from the team’s earlier matches. Let us wish them well.

T&T Under-17 cricketers opened the defence of their Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional U-17 title, with a crushing win over Barbados in the opening round at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba.

Led by brilliant batting from Leonardo Julien and excellent spin bowling from Samir Ali, the T&T boys ran away winners by 154 runs.

Batting first, the two-time defending champions got 83 from Julien to post a competitive 250 for eight off their 50 overs. Barbados had no answers to the T&T slow bowlers and Ali picked up 3/13, as they crashed to 96 all out.

Julien, the Merryboys left-hander, was in fine form from the moment he went to the crease and took charge of proceedings. He and Tariq Mohammed posted 60 runs for the second wicket before Mohammed left for 31.

Julien battled on and posted his half-century. He found an able partner in Rivaldo Ramlogan and they shared 82 runs for the fifth wicket. When Julien departed for 83, he had faced only 115 balls in 158 minutes of batting, striking six fours and three sixes.

Ramlogan scored a quickfire 57 off just 49 balls with two fours and three sixes. Towards the end, Isaiah Gomez made 22 not out from 17 balls. The pick of the bowlers for Barbados was Mathew Forde who took 2/37.

When Barbados batted it failed to forge any meaningful partnerships and this crippled its reply. Opener Rashawn Worrell hit a top score of 19. Apart from Ali, fellow spinner Anderson Mahase took 2/25. Ramlogan, Jaden Seales, Gomez and Nicholas Ali each took one wicket.

In other matches, the Leeward Islands defeated Jamaica by one wicket at Gilbert Park in California. Batting first the Jamaicans made only 137 all out and the Leewards, although losing wickets regularly, made 139/9 in reply.

Across at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva, Windward Islands signed on with a thumping 59-run victory over Guyana. The Windwards made 284/8 and Guyana stumbled to 225 all out.

CWI REGIONAL U-17 SCORES

At Lara Academy: T&T vs Barbados
T&T 250/8 (50) (Leonardo Julien 83, Rivaldo Ramlogan 57, Isaiah Gomez 22 no, Mathew Forde 2/37, Alexandre Goodridge 2/45) vs Barbados 96 all out (29.4) (Samir Ali 3/13, Anderson Mahase 2/25) - T&T won by 154 runs.
At Gilbert Park: Jamaica vs Leeward Islands
Jamaica 137 (43.1 overs) vs Leewards 139/9 (49.5 overs). Leewards won by one wicket.
At the NCC: Windward Islands vs Guyana
Windwards 284/8 (50 overs) vs Guyana 225 (47.5 overs). Windwards won by 59 runs

T&T “Calypso Spikers” suffered a straight-sets loss, 15-25, 28-30, 19-25, to former champion Cuba to end with a 0-3 Pool B round-robin record at the Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, yesterday.

Having taken a first ever set in a 3-1 loss to defending champion USA on Sunday, followed by a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Puerto Rico on Monday, the Renele Forde-captained T&T team was aiming at another steady showing.

However, it was not to be as the Cubans, coming off a stunning five-set win over the USA on Monday night, proved a formidable opponent and took the win to stay in contention for top spot in the pool with a 2-1 record.

For Cuba, Regla Gracia tallied 15 points while Sulian Matienzo added 12 and Diaris Perez, ten, as they held the edge over T&T on spikes, 36-28; blocks 9-7 and service aces, 7-6 while committing fewer errors as well, 21 to 28.

On the other hand, T&T which recently captured the Senior Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Women’s Championship for a record seventh straight time and eighth overall, got a team-high 15 from the Turkey-based duo, former captain Krystle Esdelle and Sinead Jack, 12.

Another former “Calypso Spikers” captain, veteran Kelly-Anne Billingy added five and Philippines-based Darlene Ramdin, four in the loss.

Qualifiers to the FIVB World Championship in Japan later this year, the “Calypso Spikers” will have a day off today ahead of their ninth to 12th place semifinal playoff tomorrow.

At the end of yesterday’s round-robin phase, the top two ranked teams from the three pools will advance directly to the semifinals while the pool winner with the lowest ranking will compete in the quarterfinals with the top second and third place teams.

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

T&T is aiming to improve on its best ever ninth-placed finish from last year in Peru after beating two South American teams. Firstly, in the round-robin phase, T&T beat Chile 26-24, 25-22, 25-15 and then battled past Venezuela 25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18 in their ninth-place playoff.

In 2016, the “Calypso Spikers” ended in the tenth spot, which equalled their finishes from 2009-2013 while they ended 12th on debut in 2007 as well as 2008 and 11th in 2014.

The new board of management at the Arima Race Club (ARC) has been installed and the need for action by it could not be greater.

As most readers should be aware, I was a member of the prior board until opting to resign to give an incoming committee a clear mandate. Since I subscribe to the principle of collective responsibility, my tenure on that board opened my eyes to many of the issues confronting the industry and the entrenched obstacles to overcoming same.

I have remained silent on some of the obstacles until now and while I do not intend to list them at this moment, there are a few that the new board should ensure it tackles very early.

Corporate governance. The closing days of the prior board were characterised by public infighting because of the failure to establish and adhere to agreed board positions. The issue that hit the headline was a decision to grant a waiver to one stakeholder. A decision that was agreed at a board meeting but subsequently attempted to be queried.

The sequence of events then spiralled. The new board should establish a clear guideline regarding the decision-making process and the expectations of each director once a decision has been reached.

The board could seek for unanimity but this is sometimes impossible, majority decisions mean that there will be a minority opposing view. The conduct of the minority members should be clearly articulated.

Guiding principles. The guiding principles for the conduct of the club need to be clearly defined. For example, is the objective to maximise the betting turnover? To increase the well-being of all stakeholders? To ensure maximum fields in each race? To look after the interest of members? Are decisions to be focused on the short, medium or long-term interests of the sport? Is there a definition for each term?

The board needs to agree in advance to its guiding principles. This is important because it will allow each decision to be framed within the context of its impact on these principles.

Handicapping system. One of the main challenges confronting the industry is the handicapping system and by extension, the framing of local races. The local handicappers remain a law unto themselves, seemingly unanswerable to anyone—not the ARC, the TTRA or the BLB. There is no working appeal process.

In spite of numerous requests to reverse the position re the non-awarding of a rating to horses with less than three starts, the position remains unchanged because the handicappers do not believe it should be done. Policies such as this need to be directed by a governing body.

At the same time, we have framers of races who continue to believe that removal of the lower eligibility rating for each race will be to the disadvantage of someone. That makes little sense. How can owners having an option to enter their horse for any race be a bad thing?

The often heard argument relate to horses having to carry overweight and be at a disadvantage or races being “padded” by lower-rated horses. The first argument is really a choice by the connections of each horse. The second could be handled by policy. Most territories do not have a lower rating band. Having more horses compete must be better than the alternative.

Revenue options. A major issue for the new board will be what happens with the surplus land owned by the club. The options of a sale or enter into a joint venture partnership. The decision as to the correct route should depend on the guiding principle agree as per above.

Making that decision before the guiding principle has been agreed upon could result in an incorrect decision and of course, will lead to several issues surrounding transparency.

Already there are those that believe the “Land” sharks have circled the wagon looking for gains and prosperity, in buying the land at one price and under one assumption of usage, and waiting a short while before selling it for much higher value based on a change of use form.

This would certainly leave an unhealthy taste in anyone’s mouth and one is certain that both the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert and Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee Scoon, may rightfully raise questions with the newly formed Betting Levy Board.

Good luck to all. We need the board to be successful.