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| Larry Romany—President of the TTOC at a recent intermnational sports conference. |
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.
