Local athletics association hosts women's annual seminar, workshop

The National Association of Athletics Administrations Trinidad Tobago (NAAATT) women’s committee hosted its annual seminar and workshop at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo last weekend.

The event titled “Empower Her” catered for 60 junior female athletes (in person) and an online audience via Zoom. Parents who accompanied the younger athletes were also allowed to participate.

In his welcome remarks, NAAATT president George Comissiong shared a few anecdotes from his experience as team manager on how different situations can directly impact performance by female athletes and their sustained interest in the sport.

The morning session ended with a presentation titled "Your Brand Matters" by former national athlete, Desiree James. She provided participants with tips on how to improve their physical appearance as well as their social media presence.

The afternoon session started with reflections on her life story by Candace Scott, who spoke to the topic “Rising To The Occasion”. Scott is an Olympian and one of the best female throwers in the sport to have emerged from the English speaking Caribbean.

She had a distinguished career including back to back gold medals in shot put at the Carifta Games in 1998 and 1999; gold medals in the hammer throw at the Central American & Caribbean (CAC) Championships 2005 and 2008; and silver in the 2007 NACAC Championships.

She was accompanied to the event by her daughter and two sons.

In addressing the topic "The Female Athlete vs The Menstrual Cycle", Dr Nadya Watson provided tips and practical advice on how the young athletes could mitigate the pain and other issues related to the monthly occurrence. She was followed by Grace Jackson, Jamaican Olympian and current director of sport at UWI, St. Augustine Campus.

Jackson drew from her life story speaking on the topic “Achieving Gender Equity”.

Cuquie Melville, former TT athlete and NAAATT women’s committee chairperson, recognised the fraternity’s commitment to providing flexible learning and development opportunities to its female athletes, coaches, and technical officials.

There were additional presentations from beauty consultants and make-up artists Debra McWilliams-Wilson and Shanella Marshall. Marshall closed with a practical demonstration of the application of basic make-up.

Sponsoring the event was National Gas Company of TT (NGC), Pennywise Cosmetics Limited, Bryden Pi Limited, Pharmtech (Caribbean) Limited, Angostura Limited.

This was the 15th edition of the event and Pharmtech (Caribbean) Limited has been involved from the inception.