Sporting facilities available to national athletes only

NATIONAL ATHLETES have been given the all clear to resume training at all but two sporting facilities in TT.

Local sportsmen and women have already restarted their individual and team training routines at these venues but must stay clear of the Eastern Regional Indoor Sport Complex in Tacarigua, and Home of Football in Couva.

These two buildings are still being utilised by the Ministry of Health as step-down facilities for recovering covid19 patients. The National Racquet Centre, however, falls within the bounds of the Tacarigua facility and remains inoperative.

Venues such as the National Cycling Centre, National Aquatic Centre and all other stadia are now up and running but limited for use by TT athletes only.

Sport Company of TT (SporTT) has also implemented strict sanitation protocols for proper use of these sporting arenas. All 15 non-governmental bodies (NGBs) have already been briefed on these mandatory procedures by SporTT head of Sport Development Justin Latapy-George.

“There was a meeting with all the NGBs last week so any questions or concerns could be addressed beforehand. We wanted to ensure clarity among all these sporting bodies before we moved forward with the reopening,” said SporTT chairman Douglas Camacho.

Through their respective governing bodies, national athletes must fill out a specific form for each training day and submit to SporTT. Use of the facility will only be granted to those who have done so.

These forms will provide SporTT with all the necessary information on athletes, coaches and administrators who will be present during training sessions. This procedure was implemented to ensure tracing can be done if any issues arise.

“All the medical protocols have been established. The NGBs know what they need to provide if they want to train. You can’t turn up at any facility and want to lime around. We’re looking at opening it up to clubs by mid-July but they would also have to go through their respective governing bodies and use the facilities in accordance to the required protocols,” he added.

Prior to phase three (June 8) of the Government’s lift on public restrictions, SporTT’s facilities were sanitised in anticipation of a possible reopening, which did not materialise at the time.

On June 22, the facilities were sanitised once more when Government further relaxed its restrictions on public gatherings and the resumption of team sports.

Camacho revealed SporTT has been eagerly anticipating to resume operations and is prepared to host national athletes once more.

“Athletes must be properly sanitised before they enter the facility. SporTT will also clean and sanitise the athletes’ individual work spaces when they are finished. We are following all the rules and protocols recommended by the Ministry of Health and we have developed a lot of guidelines and rules for use of these facilities,” Camacho said.

Additionally, although the Home of Football sits within the environs of three major sporting facilities – National Cycling Centre, National Aquatic Centre and Ato Boldon Stadium – Camacho confirmed they have isolated movement around the Home of Football to ensure the safety and security of athletes and coaches.

He concluded, “We will continue to urge people to act responsibly so there would be no cause for the privilege of using it to be taken away.”