Triathlon boss wants stronger female presence in sport

PRESIDENT of the TT Triathlon Federation (TTTF) Paul Hee Houng has made a rallying call for a stronger female presence in the sport hot on the heels of the National Primary and Secondary Schools Triathlon Championships.

In the Secondary Schools Division, on Sunday, at the National Aquatic Centre, in Couva, the girls proved to be formidable talents in the pool, on the bike and on the track, with the 13 and Under division standing out. Fatima’s James Castagne-Hay took top prize for the boys with a time of 9:51, but the next four best times were registered by females with Makaira Wallace of St Joseph’s Convent (10:27), Isis Gaskin of Bishop’s East (10:41), Mekelle Cedeno of St Joseph’s Convent (10:55 ) and Holy Name Convent’s Ashleigh Thomas (11:07) following his lead. Behind them were four male athletes in one of the meet’s most eye-catching results, and it’s a resounding ray of promise Hee Houng wants to build on when it comes to the volume of student athletes, as well as women involved in administrative roles driving the sport forward.

“Women in sport is really the key to success. A lot of people in sport don’t recognise that (and) that’s why football and cricket push them so much.

“You have to focus on getting women on board at every level. We have seven people on our executive, four are women.

“All of them have children in the sport. Of the 14 or 15 coaches we have, just about half are women and what we do is go to the schools and make sure these girls come out. We target them and it’s an easy thing to sell. The girls don’t have any inhibitions about partaking,” Hee Houng continued,as he cited the rising quantity, as well as quality of the female athletes, coaches and colleagues such as the multi-faceted secretary, Karen Araujo.

“It’s no surprise to me those girls did so much better in that event. If James wasn’t in the race, they would have taken the top four! All of those girls are CARIFTA girls. They’re on the national scene but that didn’t happen overnight. You look at Makaira, she’s been dominant in whatever age group she goes into. She’s always on the podium in whatever race she’s in,” he boasted.

Hee Houng made it clear youth development of these girls remains a focal point for his tenure and he wants to ensure much more are participating than in the nascent days of the sport in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

He even pointed out that Debe’s Parvati Girls Hindu College took part in the Championships which showed they were reaching more women across the country and motivated his team to continue getting more in from primary schools and upwards.

“The sport has shifted to a youth sport and we have to ride that wave. We have to push our girls and push these schools. That’s the bottom line: more primary and more secondary schools across the entire country,” he concluded, making it clear their outreach program was more than just about delivering equipment, it was about instilling the philosophy of training and moving towards being a young professional.