Commentary: Building a nation at play

Building a nation at play: using sport as an instrument for social integration in post-apartheid South Africa.
Can Grenadian officials be inspired by the progress and efforts of other nations?

Physical activities, fitness and sports can be considered cultural practices reflecting multiple meanings. “Sport Culture and Society” encompasses issues intersecting sport physical activity and cultural concerns.

The focus is interdisciplinary, ground-breaking work that draws on different disciplines and theoretical approaches, such as sociology, philosophy, cultural anthropology, history, cultural studies.

Dr Keirn describes a future of equality and democracy for all South Africans resurrecting from the hurt of the past its capacity to heal.

She cited that Sports has a meaningful and powerful role to play in the social transformation of South African society. Continuing she states that   care must be taken to provide the necessary conditions for success.

Before informed decisions can be made one must visit an outer world of self. It will open doors to the mind. It would prevent appalling mistakes from being made. These mistakes could adversely affect the future growth of this nation.

Sport event management and marketing is big business and has grown enormously during the last two decades. This is true of small participatory events to the mega trademark events seen by millions. The sport industry has mirrored the explosive growth of media, entertainment and tourism.

Kirani James has arrived on the Grenadian landscape at a critical time in the national development of this growing nation. I am sure that if leaders would not be so myopic in their views, if leaders who are in positions to affect change would look outside the slave plantation mentality of their upbringing and if they do not try to escape this frame work of “let us see how it plays out”, the country would gracefully and assuredly move forward with great success.

The philosophy of “Let it take a natural path” is not relevant or within the realm of best practices today.
The outside world is looking, listening, and ready to act on the opinion you represent. Funding may rest on what you say, but most undeniably on how you think.

Sports programme to building the nation:

Look at the development of South Africa: rugby, soccer, and cricket.
Barbados: The “dream cup” of Tennis, Track and Field, Sir Garfield Sobers complex.
Bahamas and it efforts to boost the economy through tourism and sports:  attracting NBA professional teams, NCAA activities.

Bermuda: World Golf competition

What about Jamaica who leads the Caribbean, using sports as a vehicle in this development? One should look at the dynamic of this venture. There is a need to read outside the Nelsons’ primer and The Royal Reader. The era when the “cow jumped over the moon”. Alice in wonderland “Where wither shall we wander”. Look at management and marketing enthusiasts.

Trial and error produce costly mistakes, so having a blueprint and reference materials are essential. The Romans saw sports as a force in nationalism; the oldest standing building is the coliseum reflecting this belief. Mt. Olympia is reflective of Grecian nation building.

The question is whether to ask yourself questions and provide your own answers for each question, but ask yourself Mr Leader, whether other answers might be more relevant to your own interests.

Also ask yourself where you can find more information to help you better understand the answers to the questions. You need to pay attention to the honourable Patrick Robinson of Jamaica who suggests that the Jamaican system deserves more support, and as good as it is, it would be better with additional support. It is not without internecine struggles.

The word education is derived from a Latin word meaning “to extract”, thus to fulfil its mission of serving as an educational tool for you, your level of accomplishment would be determined directly by your desire to extract information. Only you can open your door for you alone understand your fear about this brave new world.

We challenge each of you to not only dream big dreams but to aim high, because making mistakes at critical times is dangerous. You were elected to serve, to fix the wrongs in the system, but also through your efforts create a new chapter of hope. “Keep hopes alive”. The distance you reach will be determined by the effort you expend.
“We need more heroes!”

Portia Simpson, Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Sports and nation-building

“Invictus,”the new film starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon about the 1995 South African rugby team. “Invictus” isn’t a sports film. it’s a nation-building film. It is about how new political orders can emerge with brave national (internal) leadership, even in the darkest and most oppressive corners of the world.
Mandela free from prison and political persecution Assumed power. South Africa stood paralyzed by white fears and frustrated black aspirations.

South African society was   divided along racial lines, especially sports. Black South Africans played soccer. White South Africans favoured rugby.

Sports and politics are not natural partners. Their aims, objectives, and reasons for existence are different (despite the proliferation of sports analogies in political commentary). Of course, sports do occupy an important role in modern society and are not immune to social and political forces.

However it is prudent for sports to operate outside of formal political interference.

FIFA, the world soccer organization, has strict rules against state interference in national teams.
The IAAF also shares this view. But governments use sports as a showcase for their cause.  Political involvement in sports is stifled at international games.

Despite this, sports can transform the broader society for the better. Mandela’s skilful promotion of the rugby team as a vehicle for racial healing is a remarkable instance of the symbolic power of sports.

Sports can hold and move people together for the common good. Unfortunately, we have no Mandela in Grenada. However, if we are not careful, we could be inhibiting the growth process of our own Mandela because our leaders can’t dream of it.
Remember before you were elected “you used to be much more…”muchier”. You’ve lost your muchness.”

A Lesson plan for Rio

A combination of Madeline Hunter and Bloom’s Taxonomy suggest, that: BEFORE an experience is arranged, the coach should have a clear picture or idea of what the teaching objectives are: what, specifically, should the athletes be able to do, understand, care about, as a result of the instruction.

Bloom’s taxonomy of objectives format, gives an idea of the terms used to achieve an instructional objective. The coach should know what standards of performance are expected and when athletes will be held accountable for what is expected. What procedures are to be followed, and what are the behavioral expectations related to each encounter? What the knowledge and skills applications are to be demonstrated and in what manner?

Objectives: To have athletes construct a timeline or cause and effect chart that connects their event or fact to another.  Let athletes summarize some of the conflicts that have arisen among them.

Standards: What standards of performances are to be expected?  Podium ready standards for their event as instituted by the IAAF. When will athletes be held accountable for what is expected? National championships July 2016.

Anticipatory set: In what way will you trigger their prior knowledge and experience to help them recognize possible outcomes? Video and performance analysis, charts, times, distances, output, and behavior modifications.

Teaching model for understanding: How will you communicate data to the athletes? Stand up lecture, personal demonstrable video analysis, identifying the individual athlete’s strengths and weaknesses delivered so that he/she will understand the objective. Elite track and field athletes will undergo a series of evaluation and assessment as well as media and mental conditioning training At the Michael Johnson performance center USA.

Guided practice:  Monitor individual and team task performance. Check behavior patterns and observe visual answers at the Michael Johnson Training Performance Centre in McKinney, Texas.

Closure: What actions by you would help athletes understand what has just been taught or observed? Conduct an Active mediation session to help form a comprehensible picture, designed to eliminate confusion and frustration, and to reinforce major points learned. This is the act of reviewing and clarifying the key points of the session, tying them together into a coherent whole, and ensuring their utility in application by securing them in the athlete’s conceptual network.

Independent practice: What, specifically, should the athlete be able to do as a result of the sessions? The athlete will practice an activity on their own to demonstrate mastery of skill learned [baton passing]. The aim is to reinforce and extend the learning beyond the lesson and ideally into world settings.  It should provide for DE contextualization enough different contexts so that the skill/concept maybe applied to any relevant situation.

This is what we learned in Beijing 2015. Dean Watkins, USA TODAY Sports EDT September 2, 2015 cities: Speed, peeking, endurance, injuries, the art of war, know thy self-study your opponents, prep for your races, get a good lane assignment, develop good work ethics, mental toughness.

The 2015 IAAF World Championships completed, the medal contenders picture are for next summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Bolt is the man to beat! Notable competitors Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Gatlin but they are all on the wrong side of 30. The path now appears clear for Bolt to claim gold in the 100 and 200 for the third consecutive Olympics. Trayvon Bromell of the USA and Andre De Grasse of Canada, both 20 years old, earned bronze medals in the 100, finishing in a dead heat behind Bolt and Gatlin. Jevon Francis 400 Jamaica are Emerging sprint stars.

On the women’s side, Schippers and Thompson, both 23, showed that they will be contenders in both the 100 and 200 in Rio.

Recommendations: Publicize information to athletes as early as April 2016. Settle and determine the status of the following: travel, housing, maintenance arrangements. Arrange pre-Olympic prep meets away from Trinidad & Tobago. Consult with athletes about their pre-Olympic meet schedule commitments. Do not select “vegetable” coaches. Avoid coach’s conflict, too many coaches. Pay attention to IAAF athlete/personal coach regulations. Each athlete because different coaching and training locations may have a set program to follow .don’t force yours on them! Stop playing the power game or ego tripping. Re-schedule the national championship date. (make it earlier). Be on notice, there will be physical and psychological complications in RIO. Do not select injury suspects without medical clearance.

2015 Hall of Fame - NYU Athletics Vieo

NAAA’s code of secrecy must change

Victim or co-conspirator?

The nation is saddened. Her daughter. Victim or villain, consciously or unconsciously, true or false. Did Kelly-Ann Baptiste test positive for doping by the IAAF, WADA? If the final declaration is guilt beyond a judicious doubt, then there is a need for mercy and compassion, forgiveness and understanding, it’s the way of social progression.

1. Was this something to be expected? Check the company she kept!
2. Who is to be cross-examined? The one who gave her the drug, the Canadian herbalist or the X-Factor!
3. Who are the turncoats? The coach, the training partners, a Canadian trainer.
4. What were the signs?
The history of her performances 2013.
An April visit to the doctor in Atlanta, Georgia.
A sudden drop in her times from 11 pt. to a pb of 10:83 secs hundred metres 
A lowered 200-metres time to pb of 22:03
There was motive and opportunity which lead to enhanced performances.

Chemical labs manufacture enhance-performance drugs. They also manufacture drugs that have the ability to mask them. Did Kelly-Ann become the victim or a willing conspirator? The NAAA lifted Semoy Hackett’s ban.  Hackett was strong-armed into competing in the World Championships against the advised ruling of the IAAF. She was not allowed to compete. The IAAF overruled the NAAA’s ruling. Our decision makers were embarrassed! They are not without ambition and self-aggrandisement! For this, the nation pays.

1. What is the NAAA’s position? Not yet established. Their code of silence prevails. 
2. What did the sprint coaches know? What did the T&T sprint coaches notice in practice about the behaviour of these two athletes?
3. What did the executives of the NAAA know that was not revealed?  This is still a mystery.
4. Is it too much to expect integrity from the NAAA and its procedures?

Ken Brauman opened a training camp in Claremont, Florida. Tyson Gay left John Drummond and went over to Brauman’s camp. According to the tabloid, Baptiste joined Gay who was her training partner.  During the Gay investigation, he gave the IAAF a list of names of athletes who visited the doctor in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2013. Baptiste was on that list. All names became suspects. The samples re-tested were positive for doping the second time around. The list included all the Jamaican banned athletes. All Jamaicans involved had a hearing with representation. On this issue, Veronica Campbell-Brown, full disclosure was forthcoming within a reasonable time. She indicated what she was using and why. It was also reported that she informed the authorities that she was indeed using the particular product. Also, it must be noted that since then, she has appeared before the JAAA. This is very instructive. If nothing else, it indicates a structural process of handling  issues.

To date, Baptiste has not come forward. Is this good, bad or under advisement? The result of the B sample is still to come in. This is dilatory tactics designed to frustrate people like Baptiste and the athletic fraternity. Adidas immediately pulled their sponsorship of Baptiste on August 11, at US$300,000 per year. Bledman belongs to the squad. He should be nervous but then again, the IAAF is not interested in athletes running ten points. The IAAF is managing their resources responsibly. The longer this hearing is on hold, the less of a chance of her competing in 2016. Leshawn Merrit, Justin Gatlin, Dwayne Chambers, first timers or  minor infraction rulings, came back to compete at top level. Thomas Bach, newly-installed IOC president has been fighting doping, calling for four-year suspensions instead of two years. Do not procrastinate, Trinidad & Tobago! The injury process: to date the dopers were coming off an injury.

The trained chemist can take the “wings” off a drug. This means it is masked and cannot be detected. They take the DNA off, it cannot be traced. The NAAA got information of suspensions on July 8. They went to the national press at that time. The press released the information. The NAAA was not pleased with the outcome. It was not a timely release. They were confused. There is a lack of procedural structure within the organisation. An e-mail from the IAAF confirmed that no test was missed by Aaron Armstrong. The damage was already done and yet questions remains. Why did the NAAA not communicate with Armstrong? Why the NAAA went through the backdoor on Hackett? This move suggests an end of her career.  Was she set-up?

The mission of the NAAA is to provide vision and leadership to our athletes and to promote the pursuit of excellence from youth to masters. From the grassroots to the Olympic Games. The NAAA executive is now faced with the challenge of being transparent in its business. The code of secrecy must change if we as a nation are to move forward and preserve our national dignity.
This historical platform provides further opportunistic evidence for the executive to realise. It is time for them to go. The following organisations have made changes: NACAC, IOC, TTCC, TTCF, TTOC. New and progressive leadership direction is needed. Stem the flow of recycling bodies and faces internally. The NAAA have shown no willingness to address the drug situation of our accused athletes. Jamaican by example is vigorously pursuing the hearing of their involved. They look for closure!

14-year-olds are our 2020 Olympians

Our global economy is fascinating and complex. It presents recurring challenges that even experts find difficult to fully comprehend. But one thing remains clear: money and finance play a deeply fundamental role in outcomes. It changes lifestyles and the way new thinking emerges in the quest for survival. The recently concluded London Olympics demonstrated these tenets of our colonial past. We are still struggling with the reminiscence of colonialism. To honour and serve has to come with training and desire in this period of our history. 1948-2012 has shown that The Olympics is not “just another track meet.” It comes once every four years. Athletes raising the bar and performing Citius, Altius, Fortius levels of their game, to honour and serve their country. They all performed; some did as was expected, and some rewrote the history books.

 

 

Rio 2016 is four years away. What should we be doing? The organisations that controls track and field must change their modus operandi. It is time for a new order, a different way to do things. The TTOC and the NAAAs have been operating as penniless organisations since 1948. For 64 years, they have been totally dependent on the Government, without which, these organisations could file for bankruptcy. Despite their predilection, these organisations are quick to blame the hand that feeds them. Money is a fundamental component in a social contract that affects the decisions and judgments of nations and individuals. These organisations have no money. Financial displacements have been known to drive out political systems and stifle the growth of nations. The NAAA has financial problems. They show an unsatisfactory financial statement but want eight million dollars with no strings attached. It’s the don’t ask, don’t tell principle. 

 

 

 

The TTOC is the parent body of all Olympic participating organisations in T&T. Their function is to uphold the Olympic functions of the nation—to build and guide the relevant affiliates of this nation. They have not done this satisfactorily throughout the years. The NAAAs, while basking in the glory of 2012 Olympic medal achievements, have done little to help these athletes. This organisation has failed to develop a strategical developmental programme—one that promotes mental, emotional, physical, or social well-being of athletic growth. Exiled on the island of Patmos over 1,900 years ago, a prophet named John wrote to Christians. The apocalypse of John, also known as the Book of Revelation, and Christians and non-Christians alike have been debating its message ever since. The meaning of the Greek word for apocalypse is disclosure, and John’s book discloses dimensions of two age old mysteries: Character of Evil and the Nature of Hope.

 

 

The NAAA’s decades of functional evil:

1. Conduct self-fulfilling development meets

2. Conduct questionable National Senior Track & Field Championships.

3. Select no criteria national teams 

4. Conduct no show general and executive organisation meetings on phone.

 

 

The TTOC’s unjustified evils:

1. Conducted unconstitutional executive and general organisation meetings

2. Approve national teams, no questions asked.

3. Attend organisational meetings abroad, no reports

4. Conduct seminars for interested parties, not members

5. Support the Olympism movement Chaguaramas only

 

 

The Government has the constitutional obligation  to guide the future of this nation.  

Success starts with knowledgeable grass-roots coaching. Apply arithmetic principles to a developmental programme: Division, subtraction, addition, multiplication.   For Olympians, you have to start planning: Primary school—five years; secondary school—five years; tertiary education or elite training—four years; total 18 years. If the average age of our Olympians in 2012 was 26 years, then the future 2016 Olympians are currently 22, and the 2020 Olympians are the current 18 and 14 years old!

 

 

Checking 2012: Kirani—19, Santos—18, Walcott—19, Rodeshia—19, Mohamed—17, all teenagers. Our current 14-year-olds are our 2020 Olympians. You can adopt the former Soviet Union model, the Chinese model, the US model, the British model, the Canadian model, the Bahamas model, the Jamaican system. GB hired Charles Van Commene in 2009 to plan and build a team. He predicted eight gold medals. The count was six. It took three years. If he had eight years to build, what then!? Plan, fund, formulate a roadmap. Take it one year at a time.

Sport—an emerging industry in T&T

Recently, the T&T Government used the achievement of sport as a tool for national development. What we witnessed was a thriving but disorganised sports business as an economic activity. There were several sub-activities and linkages from the performers to the managers to the broadcasting of events. However, absent from the equation were merchandising, promoting, licensing and standardisation of products. The media had a ball which gave the event an air of excessive commercialisation, unconsciously showing and demonstrating the impact of sports on the nation. It was the Keshorn Walcott’s miracle in London. The nation stood still....astonished. In unison, the nation exploded with excitement. The jubilation was dumfounded as these events brought the people together. Sports must be perceived as an emerging industry in T&T. UWI and UTT now offer programs in sports management. These programs hold great potential for new career paths. Foster College in Jamaica produces sports professionals. A similar approach in T&T could enhance our national sports management capabilities.

 

 

A new media landscape at all levels of sports promotion and development, could redefine and consolidate its role in the national development program. A major resultant benefit of any economic impact assessment of sports and sports events on the economy, within the context of sports as an emerging industry, will be the determination of the current levels of employment. Looking at Toco; tourists will flock there to see where Walcott lives. Where he trains, where he went to school etc. The tourist must spend money to travel, to eat, to rest, to sleep. These events will stimulate entrepreneur’s efforts in Toco. There would be the possibilities for employment opportunities that would accrue in the name of sports against the national development agenda. What we need to do is to lend ourselves to the rules of the game for the enhancement of sports.

Be assured that if we begin to do the right things, take the rights steps, give up individual parochial interests for the greater good of us all, adopt and keep to the dictates of the industry, be more transparent in all our dealings and begin to think outside the box in all matters, we will not need the same number of years that has taken the developed nation to grow our industry and catch up with global trends. It is difficult to imagine what winning the Fifa World Cup would do to the economy of T&T. The value of this achievements and the premium it will contribute to enhancing the image of T&T can only be left for posterity to determine.

 

 

The legacy of the Soca Warriors’ performance at the Fifa World Cup, Germany 2006, the miraculous performance of Walcott at the 2012 London Olympics are critical elements in the enhancement of the national image. The extent of the short, medium and long-term accrued benefits that would habituate to our advantage as a nation to boost our sports tourism in-flows cannot be fathomed. Economic impact and the chance to promote one’s nation on the world stage are the reasons why nations are often prepared to invest in sports development programs. As a nation, we must continue to invest in sports. It reinforces the T&T image. It re-defines our sporting aspirations and strategies as we continue to explore new frontiers. We must bring job opportunities and economic prosperity to our citizenry in rural and city areas. Sports will continue to influence the national development agenda through the opportunity it offers to deliver long-term benefits and legacies of a national image.

It is time to end the party

T&T’s track and field, in spite of our Olympic performance, is largely “hit and miss” and “luck and chance.” America drops the baton, we pick up a medal. Canada messes up, we pick up a medal. There is no professional approach to organising. There should be a three-tiered structure within a coordinating body. Planning, implementation and accounting. There should be a secretary responsible for each level. Planning should be in advance of proposed games. It should be standardised time-wise. Venues should be identified, booked and properly prepared. Sponsors should be solicited, brochures packed with relevant information:  events, participants, winners/defending champions from previous meets readily available to the public.

 

 

Implementation would depend on skill and experience of personnel employed for the effort: track judges, starters, recorders, timers, announcers and other officials. The 2013 World Championship is in Moscow. It’s time to end the party and get down to serious business. Examine who should have been in London. Who did not make it? Of those who made it, why did they failed to deliver or delivered hardware for our nation. Where was the psychologist when both male and female relay teams lost opportunities to be more effective? There were less than amicable conversations on the 4x100 men and 4x100 women in London. A “red flag” for an independent investigation.  

 

 

Why did Thompson and Callendar lobby to omit Sorillo from the 4x100 relay?  Michael Bascombe, a sports analyst for Grenada TV commented after the Crystal Palace run: “Sorillo did a decent job on first leg at the recent Grand Prix in London with a 0.126 reaction time, very nice run by the guys and clean exchanges.” Richard Thompson’s reaction was “our exchanges can be improved.” It was a loaded statement. Why was Sorillo denied a chance to get an Olympic Medal? “You cannot change team in an Olympic Games!” This was a surprising comment to justify one’s position, when Jamaica and USA each earned six medals. T&T four! Why did coach Hypolite, with a final say, refuse to let  Sorillo run  the 4 x 100m relay? He permitted Callendar to compete. Callendar placed fifth in the nationals. Burns was fourth ! Sorillo finished third,  entitling him a position on the team. Bledman had a hip injury.

 

 

This raises some interesting questions: Can athletes trust officials who do not observe the rules?

The following is not the solution, but recommendations for the NAAA. 

1. Present a strategic plan for development 

2. Liaise with Primary and Secondary schools associations

3. Bring all coaches together in interactive conferences

4. Accept the Cuban coaches as part of the developmental process

5. Incorporate the business community.

6. Recommend playgrounds for development 

7. Meet with the Government in conversations

8. Seek to have already existing fields open for practice. 

If any of these recommendations are already in train, consider those which are not.

The advent of Abilenian Deon Lendore

Deon Lendore shows off his Olympic medal to mom, Chrispina, right, and Christine Lendore, grandmother.

History is made and defined by landmark events. Because of these events, our world never would be the same. Such is the advent of the Abilenian, Deon Lendore. Born October, 28, 1992, to Chrispina Isaac of Mt Pleasant, Arima, Deon is the last of three children. He has a brother Jevon and a sister, Leah. He is the eyeball of his grandparents, Christine Lendore and Carmen Isaac. His schooling embraced St Theresa’s pre-school, run by Teacher Paula, Arima Boys Government and QRC. He is currently a business major at Texas A&M, University in USA. He started his running at Mt Pleasant Neighbourhood Block Party. He was discovered by Mike Perry, party organiser, who claimed that Deon was too good to compete against his peers on the block, and that he should join a club to take him to the next level of his game. His mother, Chrispina, a former athlete competing for Abilene Wildcats in the 70s, introduced her son to her former club. His world was never going to be the same. These events in his young life changed the direction of his focus. As destiny would have it, he was on the path to be Arima’s and Abilene Wildcats’ first Olympic Medalist.

 

 

Arima has produced more than 16 Olympians, but none like Deon Lendore. I called him on the night of his selection to the Olympic team and said to him, “Go get it, you are the chosen one.” He is developing. A college degree and not “The Pros” should be his priority. Financial incentive will be tempting, but short-lived. This is an important step in the decision-making process for him.

There’s no mystery. If you are in college, graduate! If you are not, ride the “elite” train! T&T took bronze in the 4x400m relay, contributing to another successful night for the Caribbean at the 30th Olympiad in London. It’s history. No T&T team has ever accomplished this feat. Gordon,  Solomon, Alleyne-Forte and Lendore combined for 2:59.40, NR (T&F News). Gordon said: “Everybody brought their best game.” Lendore added: “We had to run our best to medal.” Their splits in the final: Gordon—44.6; Solomon—44.6; Allyene–Forte—45.51; Lendore—44.73.  

 

 

“The world may be surprised, but as a team, watching our own performances throughout the year, we knew we would have given strong competition and take a medal.” The team broke into the elite ranks of Olympians when they finished third. Lendore, the young man from Abilene Wildcats Arima, with the “Wolf pack,” instantly scribed their names into Olympic history, and in T&T’s track mythologies. Today, his relatives are still beaming in the quiet hilly Mt Pleasant community of Arima at  their home. Seventy-seven-year-old Christine Lendore, grandmother, in a telephone conversation said: “I just could not believe that I was watching my grandson on TV running.”  His mother, Chrispina, said: “Cliff, all I could do was cry, as I never could believe what I just saw. My son anchoring the team to a medal?” Sister Leah said: “I was praying all the time, Thank you, Jesus! My little brother, an Olympic medalist?” Abilene Wildcats’ coach, Charlie Joseph said: “He was super. I can’t say it any better. He did extremely well, we are proud of him. Now, we need the velodrome to train.”

The man who came looking for me

Time flies! The year is 1958; the place is the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. The occasion is the Second West Indies Federation Track & Field Championships. It was Day Two of the Championships. The first day I won the 200m in record time. I was the 200 metres champion. The final day I travelled 18 miles on the bus from Arima to challenge for the 400 metres crown. I wanted it. It was my fifth attempt at running the distance. I entered the Oval one hour before the start of the event since I did not want to interact with anyone before the race. I sat under a distant salmon tree in George V Park. I was waiting for the time call. My friend Mel was my watch. I got the call. I appeared cool, calm and filled with adrenaline. I was in lane five. My plan, catch the man in lane seven before the back stretch. Stay with him into the final turn. Kick in the middle of the turn to the tape. I executed. I won in record time. Within one hour, I anchored the T&T 4x400 relay team to victory over Jamaica. This brought the house down.  Later, a lean, slender, statuesque, unanticipated stranger came looking for me. “You ran a hell of a race,” he said. “Give me your address; Do you have Senior Cambridge Certificate?” 

 

 

“Yes I have a Senior Cambridge certificate and London University GCE full pass certificate.” “My name is Herb McKenley, You will hear from me. I want you to go to school in America.” He shook my hand. I did not wash them for two days. In less than one month, I had offers from Villanova, UCLA, Michigan, and North Carolina at Durham, Nebraska, San Jose State, and Illinois Universities.  Through Herb’s influence, they took an interest in me. I had the talent, academic qualifications, and a burning desire to move to the next level. Herb was my fairy godfather. He opened the doors for me. A new life loomed. Dreams took a different direction. Through the late George Lewis former T&T sprint champion, I discovered the stranger was the legendary Herb McKenley of Jamaica. The man who came looking for me. I was flabbergasted. After hearing of his exploits,  I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I had no way of knowing whether we would ever meet again. Herb saw something in me I did not see in myself. New aspirations surfaced. Track had now become a vehicle where I could transform my life. My applications were sent to these universities. New York University sent me a plane ticket, letter of acceptance, an I-20 form. I was in New York two days later. Herb kept a tab on me through Track & Field News. The summer of 1959, Herb sent me a ticket to join the West Indies team to the Pan American Games in Chicago. I got a bronze in the 4x100 relay.

 

 

As destiny would have it; I was to meet my hero again. It all started one morning of July 1960. This time in Kingston, Jamaica. I was not selected to represent T&T at the Olympic trials. Herb questioned their decision. Track & Field News Magazine had just reported my clocking of 29.9 secs for the 300 yards and 20.5 for the 220 yards that month in Michigan and Rye, New York respectively.  Herb was not pleased. He sent me a ticket to Kingston, Jamaica.  Herb met me at the airport. I felt honored. I could see in his eyes a sense of pride in my accomplishment. I just had to make that team. If not for me but for Herb.  I could never have known that meeting was going to change my life from a mere runner  into a global competitor, and that my hero was going to make my dream a reality. He single handedly brought me to Jamaica to take part in the Olympic trials. Being part of my hero was such an amazing honor. It really showed me that one person can make a difference in the world.  There are so many role models out there for children to look up to, Herb was mine. Not only did Herb help me grow as a person, but it also gave me the ability to see the potential the world has to offer. I was a member  the first and only West Indies Federation Track & Field Team to the 1960 Olympic Games. This was done because Herb McKenley believed in me. He supported me and inspired me to do more. His vision and dedication meant a great deal. The impact he had on my career was inspiring.  Today people like Herb McKenley are called role models. In my day as a youngster, they were either Godmother or Godfather.

Of popes, bells & me

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, centre, is flanked by Britain’s Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and IOC President Jacques Rogge, left, as she attends the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Summer Games at the Olympic Stadium in London, on Friday.

1960 Rome; the Olympic Games that changed my world;  the singular essence of the Olympic Games where the world is a stage and all the players take the same stage at the same time, performing a passionate display of nations, races, ideologies, talents, styles, and aspirations that no single venues, not even the United Nations, can match. 1960 Rome offered me times of deep psychological reflections. I made uninformed, inexperienced, emotional and terminal decisions that changed the course of my destiny. It mirrored me deep insight into the flaws of my character. I succumbed to a silent dramatisation of my behavior. The forces of change were everywhere. Interwoven in so many complex ways one can see an older order changing and a new one emerging or being born. The world as I know it today was coming into view. Darkness fell slowly as the one depicted in Derek Walcott’s Omeras. I had just lost my “MEL” because of my inability to muzzle my elusive dreams. It was a period blessed with divine interventions for the greater good. This was an experience I lived not to regret, but to treasure.

 

 

The world was changing, I had to learn how to adapt. The cold war was apparent, there was one Germany, one Soviet Union, and The River Tiber no longer was the waterway of Caesars’ galleons. The Seven Hills of Rome were there to fathom my thirst for a new day. Then, there was the Vatican. The consoling factor. It questioned my spirituality. The city gave inviolability and refuge to my consumed passion. I was invited to the Vatican. The Journey from Arima through San Raphael, Las Lomas No 3 was very visual, very real; it gave support to my existence and meaning to my travel to Via della Sagrestia, into the “anticamera Pontificia.”

It reads:“Permesso personale per prender parte all’Udienza concessa da Sua Santitia Giovanni XXIII PP, ai partecipanti alla XVII Olimpiade di Roma, mercoledi 24 corr.,alle ore 17,30 precise, in Piazza S Pietro. Vaticano,18 agosto 1960” signed Mario Nasalli Rocca Di Cornelianoo (Maestro Di Camera Di Sua Santita)

 

 

 

The Pope asked for a world of peace. Today 52 years later, a new Pope again asks for peace in his message to a changing world. There was tension in the sixties; a cold war, a unified Soviet Union, one Germany, racial tensions in the USA, revolutions in South America, and tension in South Africa. There was a Cassius Clay, the drama continues, the first doping scandal, the first commercially televised games. The advent of rival brothers Adidias and Puma, the crumbling of amateurism, defections from oppressions, claims of Independence movements in the West Indies, sub-Saharan Africa. The Pope’s Olympic message credits the power of sports holding nations and different ideologies together in fierce rivalry but friendly competition. The 85-year-old Pope better known for his scholarly pursuits rather than sporting endeavors passed on the message that: “The Olympics are the greatest sporting event in the world, where athletes from many countries participate, giving it a strong symbolic value.”

 

 

What is more symbolic than the bells? I was very moved by the bells of the Vatican in 1960, Rome Olympics. London has chosen Big Ben to continue the symbolic gestures for the 2012 Olympic Games Edgar Allan Poe’s poem stated: 

“What a world of merriment their melody foretells.

While the stars that over sprinkle

All the heavens seem to twinkle

With a crystalline delight;

Keeping time, time, time,

In a sort of Runic rhyme,

To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells

From the bells, bells, bells Hear the mellow wedding bells - Golden bells!”

 

 

I remember quite vividly the bells of Santa Rosa de Lima of Arima in August 1960. It has sustained significance to my very existence this day. What a world of happiness their harmony foretells. To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells. I was consumed in the future. It foretold of the rapture that impels. Now the people—ah, the people listening to the bells in London.

 

 

UK’s Big Ben clock made an historic Olympic ring—Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic  rhyme. To the throbbing of the bells, Big Ben, the famed bell belonging to Britain’s parliament, chimed non-stop for three minutes on Friday as part of a national event to mark the start of the London Olympics. Other bells in unison rang out around the country. Lawmakers voted in June to rename the Bell Elizabeth’s Tower, in honour of the queen’s diamond jubilee marking her 60th year on the throne. At Friday’s opening ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II was among the 60,000 spectators present at the Olympic Stadium. As British head of state, she officially opened the Games. The young pride of T&T, this generation’s finest have never heard the bells of independence. The River Tiber no longer floods its banks but the River Thames is still commercial. However, they should know that the power of sports can bring T&T as one nation in “TTO” 2013.

Fog, cold weather and rain greets T&T

T&T sprinter Semoy Hackett, works on her start at the Cardiff Athletics Stadium on Saturday. The majority of T&T’s 31-member Olympic contingent is in Cardiff at a pre-Olympic training camp.   PHOTO: ROGER SANT

Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) is in Wales, the selected venue by the TTOC for the members of our team to finalise preparation for the Olympic Games. The training is in poor weather conditions. The British team is in Portugal. The American team is in Spain. Heavy sweat suits are required for team TTO. The weather has been very cool. The sun is afraid to shine. It comes out for short periods, only to be greeted by passing clouds. Look at the Northern Range from Port-of-Spain when it is raining, that is what London fog looks like. A stroll through Hyde Park will help to support this claim. In Portugal, it is sunny and warm. In fact the weather is one of the reasons the country is so popular. For fans of sport and adventure, it often means being able to indulge in their passion all year around. So if it’s grey and miserable at home, check out Portugal. The reason why the Americans go to Spain is because of the weather. Northern Europeans flock to Spain to lie on Spain’s famous beaches with supposedly guaranteed sun all day, every day, especially in the south. It’s also worth noting that July and August are hot.

 

 

But Trinidad and Tobago is in Wales. No one goes to Wales looking for a tan, but it’s not all rain clouds and gloomy days. It is enough to dampen your competitive edge. Summers are generally mild and fresh with average temperatures just below 20 degrees. The Wales weather is unpredictable, and conditions can change within a matter of hours, so if you’re out and about Trinbagonian, be prepared! Check what you wear. You are not in the tropics. July and August are also high season for Wales, coinciding with the major school holiday period across Britain. Hence attractions, accommodation and roads can get choked with visitors. Prices are often inflated and even the kindest of locals can get annoyed with the crush. The shopping is good. However, this is not prime time for a long, lingering night at one of Wales’ countless festivals or a concerted assault on its highest mountains. This is time to focus on your mission.

 

 

 

The average temperature in London, is 10.4 °C (51 °F). The warmest average max/high temperature is 22 °C (72 °F) in July. Although July and August are the warmest months, there can still be plenty of rain. Average daily sunshine: seven hours. If the choice of Wales as a training venue comes with the argument of acclimatisation, then the TTOC and the NAAA must employ their strategic plan of preparation. If there is no plan, the team is in trouble. Acclimatisation is an athletic training system whereby the body is forced to compensate for the stresses of a new or different climatic condition. Through compensation, the body is able to tolerate such physical stresses in a more efficient fashion, and the athlete will usually achieve better physical performance. The tolerance developed to the particular training condition will generally result in better competitive results in competitions where the training climatic conditions exist, as well as in the athlete’s accustomed environment.

 

 

This produces stress caused by elements of a different training environment that impacts an athlete without special effort. The human body is very adaptable to heat, and to corresponding humidity. The major physiological adjustments will be made by a trained athlete within ten to 14 days of the commencement of training; most athletes will reach an acclimatisation of approximately 75 per cent within five days of their exposure to the climate.” Both volume and intensity of workouts will increased as the athlete begins to adapt. The body mass, hydration rates, and other physical indicators must be monitored through this training process. One would like to believe that our medical and coaching staff are aware of these factors and principles of climatic effects on our athletes.