Sporting bodies receive $4m from sport ministry

FIVE national governing bodies (NGBs) for sport have received a total of $4,240,526.14 to fund their respective national teams in recent and upcoming competitions.

The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Sport and Community Development at Nicholas Towers, Port of Spain.

The recipients are among the 15 NGBs under the purview of the Sports Company of TT (SporTT).

Head of SporTT's sport development and performance unit Justin Latapy-George was also on hand to make the symbolic handover in support of administrative expenses and for teams travelling to international and regional competitions. All funding is now disbursed to NGBs via online transfer.

The TT Netball Association received $1,447,144.14 towards participation at the Netball World Cup in South Africa and the TT Golf Association got $1,034,691.90 towards hosting and participation of national athletes at the 66th Annual Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships in Tobago.

Also benefiting from the funds was the TT Boxing Association ($598,930.09) for pre-competition training camps in Mexico and Guyana, as well as participation of national athletes at the AMBC Pan Am Games Qualifier and AMBC Junior and Youth Continental Championships in Colombia.

The National Association of Athletics Administration of TT collected $713,349.91 towards the participation of national athletes at the NACAC Under-18 and Under-23 Championships in Costa Rica and the NACAC Age Group Championships in the Dominican Republic.

The TT Rugby Football Union received $446,410.10 towards the participation of national teams at the Rugby Americas North Men's Under-19 and Senior Women's 15s tournament which was held earlier this month in Jamaica.

Cudjoe said national athletes have an opportunity to show what they are worth on the international stage.

“(This funding will support) all the activities that go towards you flying our flag high, representing the red, white and black, providing opportunities for young athletes to showcase their talent, and for the region and the world to know their names and remember that TT is a force to be reckoned with.”

In addition to NGB executives, netballers and golfers were also on hand for the presentation, a first for some. The golf athletes—T&T captain Ryan Peters and Jean-Marc Chevrotiere—both expressed their excitement about their debut at the latest edition of the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships.