NAAA presidential candidate Hypolite: Track and field is at a crossroad

TRACK and field is at a crossroad.

So says veteran coach Dr Ian Hypolite, who leads an 11-member slate for the November 27 National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) elections.

Hypolite will challenge incumbent George Commissiong for the presidential post while his candidates – Sherwin Joseph (first vice-president), Michelle Allyene-Pennie (second vice-president), Bevon Lord (general secretary), Damian Gopee (assistant treasurer), Aaisha Martin (treasurer), Arlon Morrison, Anna-Lee Walcott, Kairon Serrette, Peter Campbell and Soren Bishop (directors) – vie for the remaining positions.

Commissiong was appointed NAAA president in February after long-standing NAAA president Ephraim Serrette resigned.

He is now seeking a full term in office and will contest the presidential race alongside Hypolite. the only two confirmed nominations for this post thus far. The deadline for nominations is Saturday.

Hypolite seeks change with a fresh slate of administrators.

“We have a new slate which is very judicial blend of experience and youthful exuberance. We have a lot of young, qualified people.

“Everyone in the group has had prior administrative experience in one sport or another and at different levels in track and field. We bring a very fresh team, poised with new ideas,” he said.

Hypolite’s team built its plan on four pillars; performance, leadership, marketing and support.

On performance, Hypolite wants to return TT track and field to the “prominence it used to occupy.” He pointed out that his team has several initiatives geared towards this goal.

On the second pillar, he said, “We’re trying to bring a new brand of leadership, a transparent form of leadership, because we believe that transparency is lacking. One that is sensitive to communicating constantly with our general council and member clubs.”

For marketing, Hypolite wants to revisit the current strategy but take a different and more enhanced approach to promoting the sport. He added that this remains integral, since the NAAA recently lost a couple of sponsors.

Concerning support, Hypolite said his team will pay particular attention to data management, upgrading the NAAA website and seriously engaging all major stakeholders.

“The first aim is to engage the stakeholders: athletes, coaches and officials and the Ministry of Sport and Ministry of Health.

“We feel we want to engage them in a way to understand clearly what our position is in terms of track and field resumption.

“We don’t think the position has been clearly represented before and we want to make a difference now. Track and field is at a crossroad.

“Things have not gone well for us recently and this new team is one with a new vision. It’s poised to take us in the right direction,” he said.

He also introduced a few of his candidates, like Gopee, Kairon Serrette and Campbell, who he believes bring immense knowledge and experience to the hopeful NAAA executive.

Hypolite dubbed them “the new cadre of administrators.”

Gopee is well known in primary school track and field, but Hypolite thinks it’s time to introduce him to the broader field of senior track and field.

Serrette is also three-time Olympian Andrew Lewis’s manager and also head of partnership and alliances at the Sport Company of TT. Although he has never served as a track and field administrator, Hypolite is confident Serrette can bolster NAAA administratively.

He said  Campbell is an information and communications technology (ICT) specialist and also a coach at Rebirth athletic club.

“Peter is going to spearhead our thrust using data to vastly improve the organisation. Other people are known and we have a very strong team,” he added.

In 2018, Hypolite received the Hummingbird Gold medal  at the National Award Ceremony for coaching TT athlete Jehue Gordon to 400m hurdles gold at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

On Monday, however, it was confirmed that Gordon had joined Commissiong’s slate for the NAAA elections and will contest for a post as director.

Up against his former athlete and both now gearing up for an election race, Hypolite said he was a bit disappointed at Gordon’s decision to join the incumbents.

“Jehue is going in another direction. It’s disappointing to me because I had engaged him how he could support an association under my way. But I think he may have been lured by office. For me, disappointed but not surprised,” Hypolite closed.