Dr Cliff Bertrand revised updates 8/13/2016
NAAA’s code of secrecy must change
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 4:22 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
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!
Sport
14-year-olds are our 2020 Olympians
Monday, September 24, 2012 12:58 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, September 24, 2012
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
Sport—an emerging industry in T&T
Monday, September 03, 2012 12:02 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, September 3, 2012
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.
Sport
Minister of Sport Anil Roberts got into the act before the
Olympics by presenting Keshorn Walcott with a set of javelin.
It is time to end the party
Monday, August 27, 2012 1:17 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, August 27, 2012
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.
Sport
The advent of Abilenian Deon Lendore
Monday, August 20, 2012 1:34 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, August 20, 2012
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.”
Sport
Related Articles:
T&T stars in search of diamond titles
Deon Lendore shows off his Olympic medal to mom, Chrispina,
right, and Christine Lendore, grandmother.
The man who came looking for me
Monday, August 06, 2012 12:12 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, August 6, 2012
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.
Sport
Olympian 1960 West Indies Federation Herb McKenley
Of popes, bells & me
Sunday, July 29, 2012 11:16 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, July 30, 2012
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.
Sport
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.
Fog, cold weather and rain greets T&T
Monday, July 23, 2012 12:36 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Sunday, July 22, 2012
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.
Sport
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
Great National Championships
Sunday, July 08, 2012 11:10 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, July 9, 2012
This has been one of the most anticipated Nationals for two
basic reasons. The fact that it is the Olympic trials created its own interest
and excitement. Secondly, this was the first time that Renny Quow and Richard
Thompson were seriously challenged and dethroned. The clash between Thompson
and Bledman brought back the spark in track. In the 400 metres Deon Lendore the
young Abilenian and Lalonde Gordon realised that Quow was vulnerable. They
defeated him. Clearly, track and field, because of the competitive nature of
the sports, won the day. The athletes must be congratulated for bringing some
energy, both physical and emotional back to track and field.
One must admit that there is indeed a Trini culture.
However, some things could be overkill and taken too far.
As a track and field advocate, one sincerely hopes that the
rhythm section and the DJ do not become an integral part of the landscape of
track and field in T&T. When fans want to feel the rhythm they go to
Borough Day in Arima and Point. When they want to prance and carry on they go
to a place where the DJ will be burning up the place.
A track meet is not a fete match and there ought to be no
semblance of one. Having the drums booming and the DJ blasting while the long
jumpers are competing is totally inappropriate and unnecessary. Someone
mentioned that the noise was so loud that some people had to give up their
preferred seat to move as far away from the band instead of their usual
position close to the finish line. Having the DJ playing while the 1,500 metre
race is in progress is unacceptable.
This is not a fete in here; this is madness. Play, play
mister DJ. Is it that track and field cannot stand on its own merit that we
need all the appendages? It is my understanding that serious competitors need
to focus, concentrate, visualise, verbalise, analyse, listen to their inner
self and engage in meditative, mental and psychological processes. It is a fact
that some of these processes could be interrupted and obstructed by music and
sounds of a particular nature, volume, tone and beats per minute. Oh well, It
must not be a Trini thing. How is it possible that at National Championships
and Olympic trials false starts could be permitted? The starter and the
assistant starter have critical roles to play. One of the roles is to ensure
that no athlete is at a disadvantage in any way at the start of the race. On no
less than three occasions the starter allowed the race to proceed when it was
quite obvious that one athlete false started. The events included: the men’s
“A” 200 metres race, the 100 metres women’s “B” race and the women’s “B” 200
metres. The starter and his assistant both did a great and grave injustice to
athletes in those races. Why won’t these races recalled? What occurred at the
start of the 800 metres race with James that created a delay?
Something must be done to increase the number of spectators
at our track meets. The NAAA might be extremely satisfied with the turn out for
the nationals. Did you notice that this year the entrance fee was $50 and not
$40 as in previous years? Come on man; organise a big championship and charge
people $100 or $150. Are we afraid that the stands would be empty? If that’s
the case, then you would know the status of track and field in T&T. An
increase of $10 was not warranted. 20% of the onlookers went in free. Last year
there were only two athletes in the women’s 1,500 metres race. This year the
same thing occurred. The very same two athletes competed. What are the
strategic plans to develop the 800 and 1,500 metres women? What are the plans
to develop the triple jump, high jump and long jump for women and men? The NAAA
should partner with the Ministry of Education to provide buses to schools to
have our children talented or not attend the games at least one day as an
education exercise or field trip?
Would the NAAA want to meet the Ministry of National
Security to bring out all the members of the Police Youth Groups across the
country? How about having a conversation with the Ministry of Community Development
in bringing out the youth groups around the country to the meet? Is there a
place for the Ministry of Sport in assisting in mobilising all those sporting
groups to attend the National Championships? It is worth a try—building our
nation through sports. Our youth and the general population need to be part of
these events for a variety of reasons. Our citizens need to experience these
sporting events in greater numbers. Do you think if the NAAA brings Machel and
Destra to the championships next year they could full the stadium? How about if
the government bring down Shaq and Lebrun? Congratulations to all those
athletes who competed in the true spirit of track and field and were selected
to the team for the Olympic Games in London—wishing “Team TTO” every success.
Remember these words: “Though I compete against you, you are not my enemy, you
are my adversary. Your strength gives me courage, your will ennobles me, your
spirit defines me. Though I aim to defeat you, if I should succeed I shall not
humiliate you, instead, I shall honour you, because, with out you I am a lesser
man.”
Sport
Renny Quow
TTOC must abort conspiracy of silence
Monday, June 25, 2012 8:32 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
There are about ten television stations available to the
Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) to air their views in T&T.
The channels include 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14 ,15 (on
cable). There are three daily newspapers that are widely read. There are about
thirty radio stations. Channel 14 is WI Sports, a station dedicated to local
sports. It is available to TTOC President Larry Romany, more so because Brian
Lewis Honorary Secretary of the TTOC is a host on this station. What then is
the conspiracy of silence? It was a pleasant surprise to see a two-page special
in the T&T Guardian—on May 25, 2012, pages A49 and 50—engaging the
Olympics, its history, motto, creed, rings and oath. This was interesting
especially in an Olympic year. One can view a programme on ESPN called Great
Moments of the Olympic Games. It features legendary Olympians. The likes of
Herb Mckenley, Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Arthur Wint, and other great
performers.
What has the TTOC done this year to promote our
participation in the Olympics .How can this generation Google and text our
glorious past at the Olympic Games? It is now time for the TTOC to exercise
damage control! Come on! Give us something about: Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Wendell
Mottley, Edwin Roberts, Hasely Crawford, Ato Boldon, Richard Thompson, George
Bovell III and others. Wet our appetite! Stimulate our enthusiasm! Just give us
something! Better yet, evoke the spirit of “Olympism.” Why can’t we see a
banner? A billboard? The Olympic Rings? Why can’t we hear from the Olympic
Committee? Brian Lewis Honorary secretary and Larry Romany President of the
TTOC should help us understand the reason for their nonchalant attitude. Our
athletes have succeeded where everyone else has failed them. They have brought
home gold, silver and bronze from the Olympic mines across the globe. There are
many miners but few collect minerals. Yet we fail to celebrate, to motivate, to
inform the public about “Team TTO’s” mission. They fail to support our gallant
men and women as they prepare for another mission abroad.
The TTOC is ashamed to do their part. However, they lay in
wait to reap the benefits of “TEAM TTO’s” achievements; they enjoy the trip
providers’ sustained ability to provide opportunity for them to travel. The
TTOC’s incompetence is filled with the venom of arrogance. On the other hand,
The Jamaicans are leaders, masters of their craft, directors of their destiny
with loyalty to country, promoters of their art form in every aspect of
national pride and freedom of speech. Justice Patrick Robinson speaks of his
country saying: “The government sensitive to the lessons of the past and a
wider society from Beijing Olympics organised Celebrations Island wide over a
period of four days.” The TTOC has failed this country. There are members of
this organisation who know of the ills, they speak on it off the records yet
they decide to go along with the flow. They are mute. They have lost the art of
communication . What is communication or to communicate? It can be defined as a
process through which an idea, information, feelings or emotion is passed on,
shared, exchanged or transferred from one point to the other. Without
communication there can never be a proper way. That which is hidden or covered.
Secrets of the TTOC
• Status of the Trinidad and Tobago identifier for
international sports: The new identifier will be TTO. This identifier was
established some years ago by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and will be approved after the 2012 London Olympics. The
process to have the country code change will be resolved shortly. The ISO 3166
has had TTO # 780 as the three letter alpha for T&T for years and no one is
sure why or when TRI became the country code for international sports.Tobago’s
Inclusiveness is questionable!
• Coaching T&T youths: There is a youth programme
focused on developing our youths in sports. It is funded annually by several
private sector organisations. What qualifies the athletes, and who are the
companies involved are unknown. “The
local Olympic body respects the privacy of athletes.” Call the TTOC. # 625-1285
• Quality of coaching: Continuous sports management courses
are held at the TTOC main office in Port-of-Spain at $300 a pop. Yet, sporting
bodies have internal challenges: political infighting, poor professionalism,
poor communication practices, low attendance and production rates.
• IAAF “B” Standard Scholarship project available: It
enables athletes who have the potential but lack the appropriate athletic
environment to develop. The IAAF will provide the necessary support not
available in T&T. Achieve the “B” standard. The IAAF will give scholarship
preference to the under-23 age category.
• “Team TTO” 2012 uniforms will be unveiled in London prior
to to the opening ceremonies.
• The TTOC is not going to have a press officer to interview
the Olympic team while in London: They will rely on the local journalists.
Although The media plays an important role in the lifeline for the nation, The
TTOC’s strategic plan; “ is not something we would make known to the public
because we don’t like the media involved in athletes personal affairs.” TRI or
TTO 2013? Questionable!
• The IOC partners, with rights in our jurisdiction: Coca
Cola, Ethos, Dow, Omega, Samsung mobile phones, Panasonic, Acer, McDonald’s,
Visa, General Electric, Procter and Gamble.
• The TTOC partners are: Guardian Holdings, Lisa
Communications, bpTT, Scotiabank, Caribbean Air, Adidas and Bmobile.
Abort the conspiracy of silence!
Sport
Larry Romany, left, the TTOC president and Brian Lewis the
organization’s secretary general.
‘We do not like the media involved’
Sunday, June 17, 2012 8:55 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, June 18, 2012
With 100 days before the 2012 Olympic Games the IOC launched
a social media proposal. Through it fans could access and engage preferred
athletes and heroes in conversation. Romany’s response: “TTOC has no money to
use media.” Is this because TV6 has
subcontracted from Sports Max to cover the games? What arrangement has the TTOC
made to get local journalists certified for the London 2012? You do not need
the permission of the IAAF/IOC to give out this information. It is not the
practice of T&T media to charge for news coverage, conferences or releases.
This is not a money issue. It is a deeply rooted, psychological, sociological
and colonial mentality. The media’s attempt to get information from the TTOC is
extremely frustrating. The layers of social stratification are thick.
Contacting TTOC President Larry Romany
Telephone #625-1285.
In order to contact Romany you have to:
(1) E-mail him first
(2) State your business
(3) Identify yourself and organisation
(4) Then await a reply from him.
He does not usually take calls.
An unhealthy element of secrecy dominates this organisation
of thinkers. What are the members of the committee doing? Or is the information
given to them as a secret. One would think that executive and ordinary members
owe their respective Organisations information. When are the Olympic Committee
meetings held? By extension, the public should also be made aware. Silence is
not the method to be adopted by the TTOC. It’s scary these days, with reports
about kidnappings. One should proceed with caution. Despite this, the spirit of
“Olympism” should prevail. If the media present a problem then the TTOC should
print its own newsletter, project there views, operations and understandings of
sports under the Olympic private policy code disclosures. There is no
obligation to do this. It is simply not the public’s business. However, it is
mandated by the IOC. The TTOC should liaise with the British embassy in T&T
and seek help. T&T first competed in London under British rule in 1948.
T&T returns 64 years later as an independent nation to compete in the
London 2012 Olympic Games. An historic occasion.
The TTOC should praise and thank the news media for keeping
the public informed, for promoting the Olympic ideals without costs to the
organisation. The media are doing the job of the organisation. The thinking
here is “if the media choose to cover the Olympics, it is their problem.” The
TTOC officials have already been selected for the games. It is common practice.
Despite this practice, the public would like to be informed of ticket arrangements,
days and times of the events, travel documents, lodgings, local transportation,
safety information. The international body mandates that the TTOC educate about
the Olympic preparation in T&T. Romany: “TTOC has no money to use media.” However, the Olympic Solidarity’s aim is to
organise assistance for National Olympic Committees with needs. To help NOCs
the Olympic Solidarity offers an efficient consulting service to assist them in
gaining access to financial, technical and administrative assistance.
The Olympic Solidarity Commission has increased the
financial assistance to the NOCs. The TTOC is a recipient of these funds.
“We don’t like the media involved. “What is the NOC’s role.”
The NOC’s mission outlined in the Olympic Charter (Rule 31,
art. 2.1):
• Develop and protect the Olympic Movement in their
respective countries;
• Propagate the fundamental principles of Olympism;
• Diffusion through educational programs in schools.
The precise definition of Olympism is not found in
international dictionaries. It is not contained in the Olympic Charter.
Coubertin himself refrained from giving a definition. The term was coined and
appeared from 1909 as a set of values. These values are not clearly defined.
They are the basic values of ancient Greek philosophers. They believed that
young people should exercise in order to have a healthy body. Cultivate ethical
and spiritual values to attain perfection. It is, therefore, obvious that today
the philosophy of Olympism pursues pedagogical and educational objectives and
does not influence only those who participate in the Olympic Games, but also
millions of people who watch them on
television. There are over half dozen TV stations operating in T&T.
The TTOC should use these media forms to solve many of their problems. Their
avoidance of the media suggests, something to hide, mistrust, a code of
silence, cultivating a culture of ignorance, to assume total control.
The TTOC may invite the importance of intellectual property
to the Olympic movement into the conversation:
“Under the Olympic Charter, most elements of the Olympic IPR
(including the Olympic symbol, flag, motto and anthem) belong exclusively to
the IOC. While the NOCs and OCOGs have limited rights with respect to emblems
that they develop and use for a particular Games, after those Games are
finished the rights for those emblems must be assigned to the IOC.”
You do not need the permission of the IAAF/IOC to give out
Olympic information.
Sport
Related Articles:
Romany: TTOC has no money to use media
Larry Romany—President of the TTOC at a recent
intermnational sports conference.
Rise of the hunting pack
Monday, June 04, 2012 12:32 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, June 4, 2012
The road to the London Olympics passes through New York at
Icahn Stadium, on Saturday. Each athlete’s pathway is dissimilar. However the
resources to make the journey more developmental are there. This includes this
important pit stop in New York where the Adidas Grand Prix showcases the
journey with world-class athletes as they make their way through the biggest
and brightest city in the world, heading towards the Olympic Games. No matter
what happens from now until the end, the world
will bear witness. This second
decade will see the fastest or even the greatest quarter-milers ever since the
likes of Michael Johnson appeared on the
planet. T&T has a new generation of green quarter-milers which include
Lendore, Hewitt, Forte, Lalonde, Solomon, Mitchell, Richards, Cedenio, Quow.
These rivals hopefully will be assembled to do battle at the T&T
championships at the end of this month. Six will rise and make the hunting
pack. They will all seek to be the Alpha quartermiler of this generation’s
litter to challenge and dethrone the reigning king and claim the crown as new
champion. The Alpha will lead his pack of young cubs against the best in the
world.
To win a medal they must run under three minutes. Currently
the team is ranked 13th on the list. The limit is 16 teams. The former Olympian
and 400 metres record holder, Ian Morris wrote about this earlier in April. The
game is on. They are young, untried, inexperience, nervous, the adrenaline is
flowing. Their blood must travel through ice cold veins to achieve their
purpose. Their assignment is to put the country on the map charted by their
predecessors. A noble bunch of boys grew up to be men in Tokyo 1964.They put together silver and gold to the reality
of a World record in the 4 x 400 relay in Jamaica 1966. There is no pressure on
this young pack. They should just go out there and run to their potential. This
is their freshman year. Their destiny should be fulfilled in 2013. It will be historic. And the world is on
notice of the coming impact of this nation on track & field. The man from
the East, Deon Lendore, will lead the
charge. He is from the club Abilene. Abilene: (land of meadows)—a city situated
on the eastern slope of Antilibanus, in a district fertilized by the river
Barada (Abana). The city was 18 miles from Damascus, and stood in a remarkable
gorge called Suk Wady Barada. Arima is 18 miles from East of Port-of-Spain. It
is in the lowland valley of the Northern Range. It is fertilised by the “ice
factory river”—running north to south to the mighty Caroni.
What a season it will be for Lendore if it turns out that my
optimism is converted into results. While the nation waits, sprint sensations
Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Carmelita Jeter, and Yohan Blake
will run in the Grand Prix in New York, one of the premier track-and-field
events in the world. It is the sixth stop on the international Samsung Diamond
League circuit, and the third stop on the Visa Championship Series. Randall’s Island in New York City—that’s
where the action will be. The London Olympic Stadium will be officially opened
this weekend in the presence of IAAF President Lamine Diack and 40,000
spectators, one of whom will be plucked from the crowd on Saturday evening to
perform the formal opening rites.
The ceremony – including 'top secret’ celebrity
entertainme—will be held in the midst of the London Games’ athletics test event
which takes place from Friday to Monday
marking the first competitive action on the track where Bolt, Blake, and
others. will strut their stuff just 12 weeks—or 2012 hours—later. Those with
some prospect of making the T&T team include: Ahye, Alexander, Selvon,
Lucas, Hackett, Wilson, Jehue, Burns, Brown and Callendar, Thompson, Sorillo and Murrain. For them, this
test event is a chance to sample the particular geography, feel and atmosphere
of an arena where they hope to live their Olympic dreams in the near future, an
opportunity no 'international’ athlete will have before teams arrive in July
for the Games themselves. That lies in the future, however. The London Olympic
Stadium’s first small entry into athletics history will be written this
weekend; the main chapter will follow shortly.
Sport
T&T’s Renny Quow, second right, receives the baton from
Deon Lendore during the men’s 4x800m relay final event at the Central American
and Caribbean Athletics Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, last July. AP
Photo
Is Richard ready to race in London?
Monday, May 28, 2012 2:24 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, May 28, 2012
Is Richard ready to race in London? Where is Richard
Thompson headed? Are his eyes focused? Is his voice echoing the inward hunger
as it was at the Beijing Olympics where he won two silver medals? Does he
possess the same desire as then? To win the NCAA Division One championships
puts you in an enviable state of mind that is positively unbelievable. This is
because you have just beaten the best America has to offer. It is what he did
prior to his outstanding performances in Beijing. Thompson is now four years
older. Is age becoming a factor? Is his mind and body connecting at the same
intensive level with reactive efficiency that it did four years earlier?
Thompson constantly returns to his college alma mater training grounds to
rejuvenate his spirit and his karma. Would this solidify his quest for gold in
London?
John Smith now coaches him in California. Smith also coaches
Walter Dix, America’s hope for gold. Is this a replay of the Ato Boldon/Maurice
Greene scenario? Different times,
different turf, different dynamics and competitors. Different focus. Three
Jamaicans, like the witches in Macbeth, appear upon the heat with a Frenchman.
Past, Present and Future of track. Ever
since he doubled as the 100 and 200-metres NCAA champion in 2008, Thompson has
not committed to that work load intensity. He's never been hungry enough to
challenge for the title of world’s best sprinter since a tall young man named
Usain Bolt emerged to stunt his growth. Last season was marred by the Hasely
Crawford Stadium fiasco. Blatant administrative blunders and false timing,
caused him to shut down 2011 in July after he posted a personal best of 9.86
for the 100 metres event on this track. He went on to compete in Korea. Was he
really there? This was answered by his performance.
In June, he is headed for a showdown against Keston Bledman
who hungers for him. He ran 10.14 in Jamaica and 10.24 in Doha and has put on
weight. What does that mean? It means that he has to learn how to run with that
weight /bulk and to control and effectively use the weight to his
advantage. This new physique would
suggest he must forgo any attempt at the 200 metres. How is this going to
affect his sprinting ability?
The preparation for something new may have included:
[1] Speed endurance training mixing aerobic and anaerobic
training
[2] Weight training: flexibility power and resistance
training
[3] Mental and psychological preparation
[4] Avoidance of negative people and environmental stimuli
[5] Sprinting, starting. Reaction and acceleration drills.
Video tape reviews.
It may be a combination of all five categories. The world is
going to crown the Olympic champion in less than three months and he is lifting
weights and training. This is a strange learning experience under John Smith.
Nevertheless, Thompson has reason to be optimistic. Smith has been there
before. He knows his game and has a résumé to be envied? Can he train Thompson
for the big one? He coached champions before. He himself was a champion.
Thompson must be well ahead of schedule if he is training seriously. His times
this year are neither impressive nor reflective of his ability. He must be
working on a peaking plan. The only thing that should matter to him this year
is the Olympic Games. Is his preparations solid enough to beat the likes of
Usain Bolt, Yohane Blake, and Tyson Gay. These three runners have all run under
10 seconds for the 100 metres, under 20 seconds for the 200 metres and under 46
seconds for the 400 metres. They are all world champions at a sub-lunar
existence.
The other parts of the puzzle are Asafa Powell, Walter Dix,
Le Maitre, and Gatlin. It may not be a bad idea if Thompson can associate
himself with major prep races on the road to London which passes through the
continents: America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Times spent in T&T before
the Olympics Games should be minimal. If not, it will present an unhealthy “oil
down—pelau” of problems. Thompson is
certainly capable of medalling in London, but he needs to assess his present
position in relation to where he wants to be.
He must do that now, as he does not have the luxury of time.
Sport
Richard Thompson celebrates second place in the men’s 100m
Final and the silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 16, 2008
in Beijing, China. AP PHOTO
Relay parts need to be changed
Monday, May 07, 2012 12:28 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, May 7, 2012
Nobody tripped and fell in front of T&T. Nobody dropped
the baton. Nobody ran out of the exchanged zone. Nobody lost a shoe. For the 4
x 100 metres men’s relay team, it meant a good trip. The temperature was
fluctuating between 60-62 degrees. It was brisk with a spinal chill. With
49,000 bodies functioning at 96.6
degrees body temperature, there was heat in the stands. T&T team with
Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callendar, and Richard Thompson clocked
39.3 seconds for the circuit. This was good enough for fourth. After working in this order for the past
eight years, Bledman who cannot run turns, was on the back of Burns. Burns was
outrunning Callendar. Callendar was at fencing practice with a grabbing hand
motion target supplied by Thompson. To the normal eye this is 20-20 vision.
This team is not running on all available cylinders. It is an eight-year-old vehicle. It will take you from
point A to point B in too long a time. Parts need to be changed for reliable
performance.
The 4 x 100 relay used to showcase this country’s sprinters
as well as the standard of excellence. The spirit of cooperation that defined
T&T at Beijing Olympics has come to symbolize the decline, dysfunction,
distrust and disappointment of the wrong dynamics at work. There is a culture
of mistrust and chaos in the national organization’s relay programme. You have
a man coming in at 25 mph and one leaving at 20 mph. No, No, No! Check time,
distance, velocity. Mix this with individual ability and behaviour, plus rapid
acceleration and leg speed turnover. Burns is a one race man, Bledman a
straight away runner, Sorillo into the turn first. Thompson is good coming off
the turn. The others cannot take or deliver the baton. Think back to Beijing,
Korea, Penn Relays 2011-2012. The relays this year presented T&T with
visually pronounced issues. To the casual observer it was business as usual.
However this is the Olympic year and things must be observed differently. These
issues must be brought to the attention of the administration.
1. Executive and unwarranted liming at the starting point of
the pole vault runway. (1 pm–approx 4.30pm)
2. Why was the masseur encouraging the pole vault lime in
open field?
3. Messaging an athlete in 62 degree weather in open field
in the lime.
4. The baton exchanges between Calendar and Thompson need to
be addressed.
5. The relay team has to be changed to a more productive
effort
6. There is a need for more assertive chemistry
7. Why did Ayanna Alexander compete unattached?
Madeline Hunter’s lesson plan framework reflects general
rules for developing skills used in solving problems. In this process, the
teacher develops problems, carefully accesses skills needed to solve problems.
Create conditions and /or parameters that act as guidelines for productive
solutions. These same conditions and parameters also serve as evaluation
criteria. Who will be on the 4x400 and the 4x100 metres teams? We have to start
fixing the problem at the primary and secondary school levels. This cannot be
fixed elsewhere!
Primary/Secondary school Level:
T&T future Olympic Elite Athletes
Aim: Athletes will understand a multiplicity of T&F
relay racing skills.
Related goal: Athletes will be able to identify the
different skills in track and field relay racing preparation.
Many athletes fail to realize that any scripted dialogue
must be accompanied by activities. Prior to the main activity, students will be
watching video clips of major international games. The teacher must make sure
the lesson includes an activity that gets the students ready for the body of
the lesson. That is the intent of the “anticipatory set, to get the students to
anticipate the lesson.”
Anticipatory Set:
a) The teacher will start the session by watching video on
the proper way to prepare for major games in foreign arenas.
b) There will be an instructional video and clips from this
past year’s Penn Relays and 2011 World Championship
Objectives:
a)Students will identify three important components of relay
racing.
b) Students will respect each other's baton racing and
handling abilities.
c) Students will practise baton exchanges at least 20 - 30
free exchanges during the session time.
Modeled Practice:
a) The teacher will explain the proper components and
mechanics of baton exchanges.
b)The teacher will also demonstrate the proper components
and mechanics of baton exchanges in T&F.
Guided Practice
a) The teacher will then have the athlete's practice baton
exchanges freely at the six stations around the field.
b) The teacher will be walking round the field helping the
athletes with their mechanics and make sure they are exchanging the baton with
the correct form.
c) The teacher will correct the athletes if and when she /he
find mistakes in the way they are exchanging the baton.
Independent Practice
a) The students will practice exchanges freely on their own
at the stations around the field.
b) Students must remember to exchange the baton with the
proper mechanics.
c) The teacher will be walking around the field reminding
the students of the proper mechanics involved in baton racing.
Closure:
a) The teacher will gather the students together and review
the important components and mechanics that are involved in baton exchanges.
b) The teacher will begin by asking the students to name the
components and if they can't remember them or say something that isn't correct,
the teacher will tell them the correct components and mechanics.
Sport
Olympic 4x100 silver medalists, left to right, Keston
Bledman, Emmanuel Callender, Marc Burns, Richard Thompson
Olympic Committee it’s TnT not Tri
Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:34 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, April 30, 2012
The London 2012 Olympic Games starts in July. T&T will
hopefully gain medal success. The question is would the twin island state be
wearing the emblem ‘TRI’ rather than ‘TnT’? There must be an emblem that
includes the island state of Tobago.
The time is too long overdue for us to be seen as
‘TRI’. Sixty-four years of penance! Is
the TTOC being fair with the non-inclusion of Tobago? Is there a moral
conscience? The change is long over-due. Fifty years of non inclusion of Tobago
constitutes a willful neglect of duty. The TTOC know the rules, the time frame
window for application, the statute of limitations. Ignorance of this fact is
no excuse for negligence. Other smaller states have ensured that the parent
body makes the necessary change within the past few years. On what is the TTOC
waiting? Have they made an effort to make the abbreviation representative of
T&T—one nation under one flag. The
TTOC must make a justifiable effort, not a case, for the change to take place.
The country must feel the pulse of your concerted involvement and commitment to
try.
Trinbagonians are dissatisfied with the performances of the
Olympic Committee. The international community is questioning the significance
of the abbreviation ‘Tri’ which does not include Tobago. At the 1948 London
Olympic Games, under British rule, 64 years ago, T&T was represented by the
abbreviation “TRI”. How is the new Republic to be represented?” If it ain’t
broke don’t fix it”. This is the Modus Vivendi of the TTOC. One wonders if the TTOC is acting
responsibly. There is the mysticism of secrecy fuelled by fear of failure. It
motivates their action or inability to act responsibly by not embracing Tobago
into the equation. The story of the rights of man reflects the power of the
human spirit to change history, despite seemingly insurmountable odds. 64
years! T&T How could such an implausible metamorphosis have occurred? The
questions of values! Of what significance is Tobago athletics to the nation?
What gives something genuine value? Is all value subjective? This is not
consistent with the TTOC’s thinking. This view opens the door to a question of
redefining and fine tuning the ability of the TTOC to see how deep the question
of ethics, morality and value apply to the choices that governs there survival.
It projects and affects our national platform. Will the Republic of T&T
still use the bamboo to pole vault?
As an Olympian, athletics represents the perfect expression
of the Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ (‘Faster, Higher, And Stronger’)—
the competition requires athletes to run faster, throw further, jump higher and
leap longer than their rivals. With 2,000 athletes competing in 47 events,
athletics is the largest single sport at the Games. When London calls, who will
answer the phone?
Staged in the brand new Olympic Stadium, the 24 track events
(12 for men, 12 for women) will be held
over distances ranging from 100m to 10,000m. Some events will also feature
obstacles to negotiate, as in the 400m hurdles and the 3000m steeplechase.
The majority of track events begin with one or more rounds
of heats, with the best athletes eventually qualifying for the final. So will
“TRI”! Sorry Tobago! You have the horses. You will have to wait before you are
part of the equation. By the way do you have anyone on the TTOC executive? The
TTOC is dividing the country’s athleticism. They lost out on a chance of a
lifetime. The ‘inward hunger’ lives on. The poignant question what moves have
the TTOC made to correct the 64-year-old question? How could you be late for 64
years of waiting? How could you not address the situation within 50 years as a
Republic? Must the IOC or the IAAF take action? Fifty years as a Republic
without sensitivity or equal representation.
As a nation. Tobago stands alone.
Dr Cliff Bertrand revised updates
NAAA’s code of secrecy must change
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 4:22 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
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!
Sport
14-year-olds are our 2020 Olympians
Monday, September 24, 2012 12:58 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, September 24, 2012
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
Sport—an emerging industry in T&T
Monday, September 03, 2012 12:02 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, September 3, 2012
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.
Sport
Minister of Sport Anil Roberts got into the act before the
Olympics by presenting Keshorn Walcott with a set of javelin.
It is time to end the party
Monday, August 27, 2012 1:17 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, August 27, 2012
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.
Sport
The advent of Abilenian Deon Lendore
Monday, August 20, 2012 1:34 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, August 20, 2012
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.”
Sport
Related Articles:
T&T stars in search of diamond titles
Deon Lendore shows off his Olympic medal to mom, Chrispina,
right, and Christine Lendore, grandmother.
The man who came looking for me
Monday, August 06, 2012 12:12 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, August 6, 2012
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.
Sport
Olympian 1960 West Indies Federation Herb McKenley
Of popes, bells & me
Sunday, July 29, 2012 11:16 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, July 30, 2012
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.
Sport
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.
Fog, cold weather and rain greets T&T
Monday, July 23, 2012 12:36 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Sunday, July 22, 2012
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.
Sport
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
Great National Championships
Sunday, July 08, 2012 11:10 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, July 9, 2012
This has been one of the most anticipated Nationals for two
basic reasons. The fact that it is the Olympic trials created its own interest
and excitement. Secondly, this was the first time that Renny Quow and Richard
Thompson were seriously challenged and dethroned. The clash between Thompson
and Bledman brought back the spark in track. In the 400 metres Deon Lendore the
young Abilenian and Lalonde Gordon realised that Quow was vulnerable. They
defeated him. Clearly, track and field, because of the competitive nature of
the sports, won the day. The athletes must be congratulated for bringing some
energy, both physical and emotional back to track and field.
One must admit that there is indeed a Trini culture.
However, some things could be overkill and taken too far.
As a track and field advocate, one sincerely hopes that the
rhythm section and the DJ do not become an integral part of the landscape of
track and field in T&T. When fans want to feel the rhythm they go to
Borough Day in Arima and Point. When they want to prance and carry on they go
to a place where the DJ will be burning up the place.
A track meet is not a fete match and there ought to be no
semblance of one. Having the drums booming and the DJ blasting while the long
jumpers are competing is totally inappropriate and unnecessary. Someone
mentioned that the noise was so loud that some people had to give up their
preferred seat to move as far away from the band instead of their usual
position close to the finish line. Having the DJ playing while the 1,500 metre
race is in progress is unacceptable.
This is not a fete in here; this is madness. Play, play
mister DJ. Is it that track and field cannot stand on its own merit that we
need all the appendages? It is my understanding that serious competitors need
to focus, concentrate, visualise, verbalise, analyse, listen to their inner
self and engage in meditative, mental and psychological processes. It is a fact
that some of these processes could be interrupted and obstructed by music and
sounds of a particular nature, volume, tone and beats per minute. Oh well, It
must not be a Trini thing. How is it possible that at National Championships
and Olympic trials false starts could be permitted? The starter and the
assistant starter have critical roles to play. One of the roles is to ensure
that no athlete is at a disadvantage in any way at the start of the race. On no
less than three occasions the starter allowed the race to proceed when it was
quite obvious that one athlete false started. The events included: the men’s
“A” 200 metres race, the 100 metres women’s “B” race and the women’s “B” 200
metres. The starter and his assistant both did a great and grave injustice to
athletes in those races. Why won’t these races recalled? What occurred at the
start of the 800 metres race with James that created a delay?
Something must be done to increase the number of spectators
at our track meets. The NAAA might be extremely satisfied with the turn out for
the nationals. Did you notice that this year the entrance fee was $50 and not
$40 as in previous years? Come on man; organise a big championship and charge
people $100 or $150. Are we afraid that the stands would be empty? If that’s
the case, then you would know the status of track and field in T&T. An
increase of $10 was not warranted. 20% of the onlookers went in free. Last year
there were only two athletes in the women’s 1,500 metres race. This year the
same thing occurred. The very same two athletes competed. What are the
strategic plans to develop the 800 and 1,500 metres women? What are the plans
to develop the triple jump, high jump and long jump for women and men? The NAAA
should partner with the Ministry of Education to provide buses to schools to
have our children talented or not attend the games at least one day as an
education exercise or field trip?
Would the NAAA want to meet the Ministry of National
Security to bring out all the members of the Police Youth Groups across the
country? How about having a conversation with the Ministry of Community Development
in bringing out the youth groups around the country to the meet? Is there a
place for the Ministry of Sport in assisting in mobilising all those sporting
groups to attend the National Championships? It is worth a try—building our
nation through sports. Our youth and the general population need to be part of
these events for a variety of reasons. Our citizens need to experience these
sporting events in greater numbers. Do you think if the NAAA brings Machel and
Destra to the championships next year they could full the stadium? How about if
the government bring down Shaq and Lebrun? Congratulations to all those
athletes who competed in the true spirit of track and field and were selected
to the team for the Olympic Games in London—wishing “Team TTO” every success.
Remember these words: “Though I compete against you, you are not my enemy, you
are my adversary. Your strength gives me courage, your will ennobles me, your
spirit defines me. Though I aim to defeat you, if I should succeed I shall not
humiliate you, instead, I shall honour you, because, with out you I am a lesser
man.”
Sport
Renny Quow
TTOC must abort conspiracy of silence
Monday, June 25, 2012 8:32 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
There are about ten television stations available to the
Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) to air their views in T&T.
The channels include 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14 ,15 (on
cable). There are three daily newspapers that are widely read. There are about
thirty radio stations. Channel 14 is WI Sports, a station dedicated to local
sports. It is available to TTOC President Larry Romany, more so because Brian
Lewis Honorary Secretary of the TTOC is a host on this station. What then is
the conspiracy of silence? It was a pleasant surprise to see a two-page special
in the T&T Guardian—on May 25, 2012, pages A49 and 50—engaging the
Olympics, its history, motto, creed, rings and oath. This was interesting
especially in an Olympic year. One can view a programme on ESPN called Great
Moments of the Olympic Games. It features legendary Olympians. The likes of
Herb Mckenley, Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Arthur Wint, and other great
performers.
What has the TTOC done this year to promote our
participation in the Olympics .How can this generation Google and text our
glorious past at the Olympic Games? It is now time for the TTOC to exercise
damage control! Come on! Give us something about: Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Wendell
Mottley, Edwin Roberts, Hasely Crawford, Ato Boldon, Richard Thompson, George
Bovell III and others. Wet our appetite! Stimulate our enthusiasm! Just give us
something! Better yet, evoke the spirit of “Olympism.” Why can’t we see a
banner? A billboard? The Olympic Rings? Why can’t we hear from the Olympic
Committee? Brian Lewis Honorary secretary and Larry Romany President of the
TTOC should help us understand the reason for their nonchalant attitude. Our
athletes have succeeded where everyone else has failed them. They have brought
home gold, silver and bronze from the Olympic mines across the globe. There are
many miners but few collect minerals. Yet we fail to celebrate, to motivate, to
inform the public about “Team TTO’s” mission. They fail to support our gallant
men and women as they prepare for another mission abroad.
The TTOC is ashamed to do their part. However, they lay in
wait to reap the benefits of “TEAM TTO’s” achievements; they enjoy the trip
providers’ sustained ability to provide opportunity for them to travel. The
TTOC’s incompetence is filled with the venom of arrogance. On the other hand,
The Jamaicans are leaders, masters of their craft, directors of their destiny
with loyalty to country, promoters of their art form in every aspect of
national pride and freedom of speech. Justice Patrick Robinson speaks of his
country saying: “The government sensitive to the lessons of the past and a
wider society from Beijing Olympics organised Celebrations Island wide over a
period of four days.” The TTOC has failed this country. There are members of
this organisation who know of the ills, they speak on it off the records yet
they decide to go along with the flow. They are mute. They have lost the art of
communication . What is communication or to communicate? It can be defined as a
process through which an idea, information, feelings or emotion is passed on,
shared, exchanged or transferred from one point to the other. Without
communication there can never be a proper way. That which is hidden or covered.
Secrets of the TTOC
• Status of the Trinidad and Tobago identifier for
international sports: The new identifier will be TTO. This identifier was
established some years ago by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and will be approved after the 2012 London Olympics. The
process to have the country code change will be resolved shortly. The ISO 3166
has had TTO # 780 as the three letter alpha for T&T for years and no one is
sure why or when TRI became the country code for international sports.Tobago’s
Inclusiveness is questionable!
• Coaching T&T youths: There is a youth programme
focused on developing our youths in sports. It is funded annually by several
private sector organisations. What qualifies the athletes, and who are the
companies involved are unknown. “The
local Olympic body respects the privacy of athletes.” Call the TTOC. # 625-1285
• Quality of coaching: Continuous sports management courses
are held at the TTOC main office in Port-of-Spain at $300 a pop. Yet, sporting
bodies have internal challenges: political infighting, poor professionalism,
poor communication practices, low attendance and production rates.
• IAAF “B” Standard Scholarship project available: It
enables athletes who have the potential but lack the appropriate athletic
environment to develop. The IAAF will provide the necessary support not
available in T&T. Achieve the “B” standard. The IAAF will give scholarship
preference to the under-23 age category.
• “Team TTO” 2012 uniforms will be unveiled in London prior
to to the opening ceremonies.
• The TTOC is not going to have a press officer to interview
the Olympic team while in London: They will rely on the local journalists.
Although The media plays an important role in the lifeline for the nation, The
TTOC’s strategic plan; “ is not something we would make known to the public
because we don’t like the media involved in athletes personal affairs.” TRI or
TTO 2013? Questionable!
• The IOC partners, with rights in our jurisdiction: Coca
Cola, Ethos, Dow, Omega, Samsung mobile phones, Panasonic, Acer, McDonald’s,
Visa, General Electric, Procter and Gamble.
• The TTOC partners are: Guardian Holdings, Lisa
Communications, bpTT, Scotiabank, Caribbean Air, Adidas and Bmobile.
Abort the conspiracy of silence!
Sport
Larry Romany, left, the TTOC president and Brian Lewis the
organization’s secretary general.
‘We do not like the media involved’
Sunday, June 17, 2012 8:55 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, June 18, 2012
With 100 days before the 2012 Olympic Games the IOC launched
a social media proposal. Through it fans could access and engage preferred
athletes and heroes in conversation. Romany’s response: “TTOC has no money to
use media.” Is this because TV6 has
subcontracted from Sports Max to cover the games? What arrangement has the TTOC
made to get local journalists certified for the London 2012? You do not need
the permission of the IAAF/IOC to give out this information. It is not the
practice of T&T media to charge for news coverage, conferences or releases.
This is not a money issue. It is a deeply rooted, psychological, sociological
and colonial mentality. The media’s attempt to get information from the TTOC is
extremely frustrating. The layers of social stratification are thick.
Contacting TTOC President Larry Romany
Telephone #625-1285.
In order to contact Romany you have to:
(1) E-mail him first
(2) State your business
(3) Identify yourself and organisation
(4) Then await a reply from him.
He does not usually take calls.
An unhealthy element of secrecy dominates this organisation
of thinkers. What are the members of the committee doing? Or is the information
given to them as a secret. One would think that executive and ordinary members
owe their respective Organisations information. When are the Olympic Committee
meetings held? By extension, the public should also be made aware. Silence is
not the method to be adopted by the TTOC. It’s scary these days, with reports
about kidnappings. One should proceed with caution. Despite this, the spirit of
“Olympism” should prevail. If the media present a problem then the TTOC should
print its own newsletter, project there views, operations and understandings of
sports under the Olympic private policy code disclosures. There is no
obligation to do this. It is simply not the public’s business. However, it is
mandated by the IOC. The TTOC should liaise with the British embassy in T&T
and seek help. T&T first competed in London under British rule in 1948.
T&T returns 64 years later as an independent nation to compete in the
London 2012 Olympic Games. An historic occasion.
The TTOC should praise and thank the news media for keeping
the public informed, for promoting the Olympic ideals without costs to the
organisation. The media are doing the job of the organisation. The thinking
here is “if the media choose to cover the Olympics, it is their problem.” The
TTOC officials have already been selected for the games. It is common practice.
Despite this practice, the public would like to be informed of ticket arrangements,
days and times of the events, travel documents, lodgings, local transportation,
safety information. The international body mandates that the TTOC educate about
the Olympic preparation in T&T. Romany: “TTOC has no money to use media.” However, the Olympic Solidarity’s aim is to
organise assistance for National Olympic Committees with needs. To help NOCs
the Olympic Solidarity offers an efficient consulting service to assist them in
gaining access to financial, technical and administrative assistance.
The Olympic Solidarity Commission has increased the
financial assistance to the NOCs. The TTOC is a recipient of these funds.
“We don’t like the media involved. “What is the NOC’s role.”
The NOC’s mission outlined in the Olympic Charter (Rule 31,
art. 2.1):
• Develop and protect the Olympic Movement in their
respective countries;
• Propagate the fundamental principles of Olympism;
• Diffusion through educational programs in schools.
The precise definition of Olympism is not found in
international dictionaries. It is not contained in the Olympic Charter.
Coubertin himself refrained from giving a definition. The term was coined and
appeared from 1909 as a set of values. These values are not clearly defined.
They are the basic values of ancient Greek philosophers. They believed that
young people should exercise in order to have a healthy body. Cultivate ethical
and spiritual values to attain perfection. It is, therefore, obvious that today
the philosophy of Olympism pursues pedagogical and educational objectives and
does not influence only those who participate in the Olympic Games, but also
millions of people who watch them on
television. There are over half dozen TV stations operating in T&T.
The TTOC should use these media forms to solve many of their problems. Their
avoidance of the media suggests, something to hide, mistrust, a code of
silence, cultivating a culture of ignorance, to assume total control.
The TTOC may invite the importance of intellectual property
to the Olympic movement into the conversation:
“Under the Olympic Charter, most elements of the Olympic IPR
(including the Olympic symbol, flag, motto and anthem) belong exclusively to
the IOC. While the NOCs and OCOGs have limited rights with respect to emblems
that they develop and use for a particular Games, after those Games are
finished the rights for those emblems must be assigned to the IOC.”
You do not need the permission of the IAAF/IOC to give out
Olympic information.
Sport
Related Articles:
Romany: TTOC has no money to use media
Larry Romany—President of the TTOC at a recent
intermnational sports conference.
Rise of the hunting pack
Monday, June 04, 2012 12:32 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, June 4, 2012
The road to the London Olympics passes through New York at
Icahn Stadium, on Saturday. Each athlete’s pathway is dissimilar. However the
resources to make the journey more developmental are there. This includes this
important pit stop in New York where the Adidas Grand Prix showcases the
journey with world-class athletes as they make their way through the biggest
and brightest city in the world, heading towards the Olympic Games. No matter
what happens from now until the end, the world
will bear witness. This second
decade will see the fastest or even the greatest quarter-milers ever since the
likes of Michael Johnson appeared on the
planet. T&T has a new generation of green quarter-milers which include
Lendore, Hewitt, Forte, Lalonde, Solomon, Mitchell, Richards, Cedenio, Quow.
These rivals hopefully will be assembled to do battle at the T&T
championships at the end of this month. Six will rise and make the hunting
pack. They will all seek to be the Alpha quartermiler of this generation’s
litter to challenge and dethrone the reigning king and claim the crown as new
champion. The Alpha will lead his pack of young cubs against the best in the
world.
To win a medal they must run under three minutes. Currently
the team is ranked 13th on the list. The limit is 16 teams. The former Olympian
and 400 metres record holder, Ian Morris wrote about this earlier in April. The
game is on. They are young, untried, inexperience, nervous, the adrenaline is
flowing. Their blood must travel through ice cold veins to achieve their
purpose. Their assignment is to put the country on the map charted by their
predecessors. A noble bunch of boys grew up to be men in Tokyo 1964.They put together silver and gold to the reality
of a World record in the 4 x 400 relay in Jamaica 1966. There is no pressure on
this young pack. They should just go out there and run to their potential. This
is their freshman year. Their destiny should be fulfilled in 2013. It will be historic. And the world is on
notice of the coming impact of this nation on track & field. The man from
the East, Deon Lendore, will lead the
charge. He is from the club Abilene. Abilene: (land of meadows)—a city situated
on the eastern slope of Antilibanus, in a district fertilized by the river
Barada (Abana). The city was 18 miles from Damascus, and stood in a remarkable
gorge called Suk Wady Barada. Arima is 18 miles from East of Port-of-Spain. It
is in the lowland valley of the Northern Range. It is fertilised by the “ice
factory river”—running north to south to the mighty Caroni.
What a season it will be for Lendore if it turns out that my
optimism is converted into results. While the nation waits, sprint sensations
Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Carmelita Jeter, and Yohan Blake
will run in the Grand Prix in New York, one of the premier track-and-field
events in the world. It is the sixth stop on the international Samsung Diamond
League circuit, and the third stop on the Visa Championship Series. Randall’s Island in New York City—that’s
where the action will be. The London Olympic Stadium will be officially opened
this weekend in the presence of IAAF President Lamine Diack and 40,000
spectators, one of whom will be plucked from the crowd on Saturday evening to
perform the formal opening rites.
The ceremony – including 'top secret’ celebrity
entertainme—will be held in the midst of the London Games’ athletics test event
which takes place from Friday to Monday
marking the first competitive action on the track where Bolt, Blake, and
others. will strut their stuff just 12 weeks—or 2012 hours—later. Those with
some prospect of making the T&T team include: Ahye, Alexander, Selvon,
Lucas, Hackett, Wilson, Jehue, Burns, Brown and Callendar, Thompson, Sorillo and Murrain. For them, this
test event is a chance to sample the particular geography, feel and atmosphere
of an arena where they hope to live their Olympic dreams in the near future, an
opportunity no 'international’ athlete will have before teams arrive in July
for the Games themselves. That lies in the future, however. The London Olympic
Stadium’s first small entry into athletics history will be written this
weekend; the main chapter will follow shortly.
Sport
T&T’s Renny Quow, second right, receives the baton from
Deon Lendore during the men’s 4x800m relay final event at the Central American
and Caribbean Athletics Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, last July. AP
Photo
Is Richard ready to race in London?
Monday, May 28, 2012 2:24 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, May 28, 2012
Is Richard ready to race in London? Where is Richard
Thompson headed? Are his eyes focused? Is his voice echoing the inward hunger
as it was at the Beijing Olympics where he won two silver medals? Does he
possess the same desire as then? To win the NCAA Division One championships
puts you in an enviable state of mind that is positively unbelievable. This is
because you have just beaten the best America has to offer. It is what he did
prior to his outstanding performances in Beijing. Thompson is now four years
older. Is age becoming a factor? Is his mind and body connecting at the same
intensive level with reactive efficiency that it did four years earlier?
Thompson constantly returns to his college alma mater training grounds to
rejuvenate his spirit and his karma. Would this solidify his quest for gold in
London?
John Smith now coaches him in California. Smith also coaches
Walter Dix, America’s hope for gold. Is this a replay of the Ato Boldon/Maurice
Greene scenario? Different times,
different turf, different dynamics and competitors. Different focus. Three
Jamaicans, like the witches in Macbeth, appear upon the heat with a Frenchman.
Past, Present and Future of track. Ever
since he doubled as the 100 and 200-metres NCAA champion in 2008, Thompson has
not committed to that work load intensity. He's never been hungry enough to
challenge for the title of world’s best sprinter since a tall young man named
Usain Bolt emerged to stunt his growth. Last season was marred by the Hasely
Crawford Stadium fiasco. Blatant administrative blunders and false timing,
caused him to shut down 2011 in July after he posted a personal best of 9.86
for the 100 metres event on this track. He went on to compete in Korea. Was he
really there? This was answered by his performance.
In June, he is headed for a showdown against Keston Bledman
who hungers for him. He ran 10.14 in Jamaica and 10.24 in Doha and has put on
weight. What does that mean? It means that he has to learn how to run with that
weight /bulk and to control and effectively use the weight to his
advantage. This new physique would
suggest he must forgo any attempt at the 200 metres. How is this going to
affect his sprinting ability?
The preparation for something new may have included:
[1] Speed endurance training mixing aerobic and anaerobic
training
[2] Weight training: flexibility power and resistance
training
[3] Mental and psychological preparation
[4] Avoidance of negative people and environmental stimuli
[5] Sprinting, starting. Reaction and acceleration drills.
Video tape reviews.
It may be a combination of all five categories. The world is
going to crown the Olympic champion in less than three months and he is lifting
weights and training. This is a strange learning experience under John Smith.
Nevertheless, Thompson has reason to be optimistic. Smith has been there
before. He knows his game and has a résumé to be envied? Can he train Thompson
for the big one? He coached champions before. He himself was a champion.
Thompson must be well ahead of schedule if he is training seriously. His times
this year are neither impressive nor reflective of his ability. He must be
working on a peaking plan. The only thing that should matter to him this year
is the Olympic Games. Is his preparations solid enough to beat the likes of
Usain Bolt, Yohane Blake, and Tyson Gay. These three runners have all run under
10 seconds for the 100 metres, under 20 seconds for the 200 metres and under 46
seconds for the 400 metres. They are all world champions at a sub-lunar
existence.
The other parts of the puzzle are Asafa Powell, Walter Dix,
Le Maitre, and Gatlin. It may not be a bad idea if Thompson can associate
himself with major prep races on the road to London which passes through the
continents: America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Times spent in T&T before
the Olympics Games should be minimal. If not, it will present an unhealthy “oil
down—pelau” of problems. Thompson is
certainly capable of medalling in London, but he needs to assess his present
position in relation to where he wants to be.
He must do that now, as he does not have the luxury of time.
Sport
Richard Thompson celebrates second place in the men’s 100m
Final and the silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 16, 2008
in Beijing, China. AP PHOTO
Relay parts need to be changed
Monday, May 07, 2012 12:28 AM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, May 7, 2012
Nobody tripped and fell in front of T&T. Nobody dropped
the baton. Nobody ran out of the exchanged zone. Nobody lost a shoe. For the 4
x 100 metres men’s relay team, it meant a good trip. The temperature was
fluctuating between 60-62 degrees. It was brisk with a spinal chill. With
49,000 bodies functioning at 96.6
degrees body temperature, there was heat in the stands. T&T team with
Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callendar, and Richard Thompson clocked
39.3 seconds for the circuit. This was good enough for fourth. After working in this order for the past
eight years, Bledman who cannot run turns, was on the back of Burns. Burns was
outrunning Callendar. Callendar was at fencing practice with a grabbing hand
motion target supplied by Thompson. To the normal eye this is 20-20 vision.
This team is not running on all available cylinders. It is an eight-year-old vehicle. It will take you from
point A to point B in too long a time. Parts need to be changed for reliable
performance.
The 4 x 100 relay used to showcase this country’s sprinters
as well as the standard of excellence. The spirit of cooperation that defined
T&T at Beijing Olympics has come to symbolize the decline, dysfunction,
distrust and disappointment of the wrong dynamics at work. There is a culture
of mistrust and chaos in the national organization’s relay programme. You have
a man coming in at 25 mph and one leaving at 20 mph. No, No, No! Check time,
distance, velocity. Mix this with individual ability and behaviour, plus rapid
acceleration and leg speed turnover. Burns is a one race man, Bledman a
straight away runner, Sorillo into the turn first. Thompson is good coming off
the turn. The others cannot take or deliver the baton. Think back to Beijing,
Korea, Penn Relays 2011-2012. The relays this year presented T&T with
visually pronounced issues. To the casual observer it was business as usual.
However this is the Olympic year and things must be observed differently. These
issues must be brought to the attention of the administration.
1. Executive and unwarranted liming at the starting point of
the pole vault runway. (1 pm–approx 4.30pm)
2. Why was the masseur encouraging the pole vault lime in
open field?
3. Messaging an athlete in 62 degree weather in open field
in the lime.
4. The baton exchanges between Calendar and Thompson need to
be addressed.
5. The relay team has to be changed to a more productive
effort
6. There is a need for more assertive chemistry
7. Why did Ayanna Alexander compete unattached?
Madeline Hunter’s lesson plan framework reflects general
rules for developing skills used in solving problems. In this process, the
teacher develops problems, carefully accesses skills needed to solve problems.
Create conditions and /or parameters that act as guidelines for productive
solutions. These same conditions and parameters also serve as evaluation
criteria. Who will be on the 4x400 and the 4x100 metres teams? We have to start
fixing the problem at the primary and secondary school levels. This cannot be
fixed elsewhere!
Primary/Secondary school Level:
T&T future Olympic Elite Athletes
Aim: Athletes will understand a multiplicity of T&F
relay racing skills.
Related goal: Athletes will be able to identify the
different skills in track and field relay racing preparation.
Many athletes fail to realize that any scripted dialogue
must be accompanied by activities. Prior to the main activity, students will be
watching video clips of major international games. The teacher must make sure
the lesson includes an activity that gets the students ready for the body of
the lesson. That is the intent of the “anticipatory set, to get the students to
anticipate the lesson.”
Anticipatory Set:
a) The teacher will start the session by watching video on
the proper way to prepare for major games in foreign arenas.
b) There will be an instructional video and clips from this
past year’s Penn Relays and 2011 World Championship
Objectives:
a)Students will identify three important components of relay
racing.
b) Students will respect each other's baton racing and
handling abilities.
c) Students will practise baton exchanges at least 20 - 30
free exchanges during the session time.
Modeled Practice:
a) The teacher will explain the proper components and
mechanics of baton exchanges.
b)The teacher will also demonstrate the proper components
and mechanics of baton exchanges in T&F.
Guided Practice
a) The teacher will then have the athlete's practice baton
exchanges freely at the six stations around the field.
b) The teacher will be walking round the field helping the
athletes with their mechanics and make sure they are exchanging the baton with
the correct form.
c) The teacher will correct the athletes if and when she /he
find mistakes in the way they are exchanging the baton.
Independent Practice
a) The students will practice exchanges freely on their own
at the stations around the field.
b) Students must remember to exchange the baton with the
proper mechanics.
c) The teacher will be walking around the field reminding
the students of the proper mechanics involved in baton racing.
Closure:
a) The teacher will gather the students together and review
the important components and mechanics that are involved in baton exchanges.
b) The teacher will begin by asking the students to name the
components and if they can't remember them or say something that isn't correct,
the teacher will tell them the correct components and mechanics.
Sport
Olympic 4x100 silver medalists, left to right, Keston
Bledman, Emmanuel Callender, Marc Burns, Richard Thompson
Olympic Committee it’s TnT not Tri
Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:34 PM
Dr Cliff Bertrand
Published:
Monday, April 30, 2012
The London 2012 Olympic Games starts in July. T&T will
hopefully gain medal success. The question is would the twin island state be
wearing the emblem ‘TRI’ rather than ‘TnT’? There must be an emblem that
includes the island state of Tobago.
The time is too long overdue for us to be seen as
‘TRI’. Sixty-four years of penance! Is
the TTOC being fair with the non-inclusion of Tobago? Is there a moral
conscience? The change is long over-due. Fifty years of non inclusion of Tobago
constitutes a willful neglect of duty. The TTOC know the rules, the time frame
window for application, the statute of limitations. Ignorance of this fact is
no excuse for negligence. Other smaller states have ensured that the parent
body makes the necessary change within the past few years. On what is the TTOC
waiting? Have they made an effort to make the abbreviation representative of
T&T—one nation under one flag. The
TTOC must make a justifiable effort, not a case, for the change to take place.
The country must feel the pulse of your concerted involvement and commitment to
try.
Trinbagonians are dissatisfied with the performances of the
Olympic Committee. The international community is questioning the significance
of the abbreviation ‘Tri’ which does not include Tobago. At the 1948 London
Olympic Games, under British rule, 64 years ago, T&T was represented by the
abbreviation “TRI”. How is the new Republic to be represented?” If it ain’t
broke don’t fix it”. This is the Modus Vivendi of the TTOC. One wonders if the TTOC is acting
responsibly. There is the mysticism of secrecy fuelled by fear of failure. It
motivates their action or inability to act responsibly by not embracing Tobago
into the equation. The story of the rights of man reflects the power of the
human spirit to change history, despite seemingly insurmountable odds. 64
years! T&T How could such an implausible metamorphosis have occurred? The
questions of values! Of what significance is Tobago athletics to the nation?
What gives something genuine value? Is all value subjective? This is not
consistent with the TTOC’s thinking. This view opens the door to a question of
redefining and fine tuning the ability of the TTOC to see how deep the question
of ethics, morality and value apply to the choices that governs there survival.
It projects and affects our national platform. Will the Republic of T&T
still use the bamboo to pole vault?
As an Olympian, athletics represents the perfect expression
of the Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ (‘Faster, Higher, And Stronger’)—
the competition requires athletes to run faster, throw further, jump higher and
leap longer than their rivals. With 2,000 athletes competing in 47 events,
athletics is the largest single sport at the Games. When London calls, who will
answer the phone?
Staged in the brand new Olympic Stadium, the 24 track events
(12 for men, 12 for women) will be held
over distances ranging from 100m to 10,000m. Some events will also feature
obstacles to negotiate, as in the 400m hurdles and the 3000m steeplechase.
The majority of track events begin with one or more rounds
of heats, with the best athletes eventually qualifying for the final. So will
“TRI”! Sorry Tobago! You have the horses. You will have to wait before you are
part of the equation. By the way do you have anyone on the TTOC executive? The
TTOC is dividing the country’s athleticism. They lost out on a chance of a
lifetime. The ‘inward hunger’ lives on. The poignant question what moves have
the TTOC made to correct the 64-year-old question? How could you be late for 64
years of waiting? How could you not address the situation within 50 years as a
Republic? Must the IOC or the IAAF take action? Fifty years as a Republic
without sensitivity or equal representation.
As a nation. Tobago stands alone.
PRODUCE “FEASIBLE”EXPLANATIONS FOR THESE FANTASTIC TIMES!
The NAAA is hosting its National Senior Championships this weekend. Our Olympic hopefuls will be attempting to catch the eyes of the selectors. This should be exciting enough but there is also a perennial concern in conjunction with the staging of these Championships. Our track athletes often produce world class and even world beating times which are not duplicated in subsequent international competitions. Too regularly times have to be "adjusted" to be more credible or realistic. This is an embarrassment or at least it should be - although those responsible don't seem to have such misgivings as they are able to produce "feasible" explanations for these fantastic times or for these required "adjustments".
Do our track athletes peak for these Championships and are unable to repeat?
Is it that our tracks have surfaces which are conducive to speedier times?
Do we have a faulty malfunctioning timing apparatus?
Do we have personnel who lack the necessary expertise to successfully operate the timing apparatus?
We await the outcome of this weekend's Championships. Hopefully the foregoing questions would be answered or better yet we may have an exciting and professionally run event.
The track and field championships qualifying criteria
Does the NAAA have one? Are athletes aware of this situation?
The age of diminishing expectations is an axiom we must not ignore, but accept. It will be difficult for the NAAA to fill the lanes for all championship races.
The athletic community is not all aware of this escalating condition in track& field.
The TTOC and the NAAA is feeding the sporting consumer with a false sense of belief. They are carefully conducting damage control about the magnitude of the lack of developing talent in the country.
The public continues to display boundless optimism about the future of track &field despite the existing conditions and lack of credible performers.
Little has been done by the NAAA to challenge the fundamental issues confronting the track & field deficit in Trinidad &Tobago. Regardless of the way one choses to interpret the data mirror reflections, we still live in the Trinidad&Tobago that the scribes describes as an oil wealthy nation that faces no immediate crisis ,but which more and more fails to live up to its potential expectations in sports.
Track &field is experiencing an all-time low of creditable performers. The Ministry of Sports, The Sports Company, the TTOC and the NAAA are all engaged in argumentation with crossing purposes and vegetative recycling.
You as the intelligent and motivated consumer must ask the question.
Dr. Cliff Bertrand
Olympian
