Penny: Don't treat sport like bastard child

OPPOSITION leader and PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles has called on the Government not to overlook the value of sport and urged them to appoint a Sport Company of TT (SporTT) board urgently.

Days after the April 28 General Election, seven board members of the SporTT left office.

"I want to call on the Government, the Honourable Prime Minister (Kamla Persad-Bissessar) to appoint a board of SporTT and to consider this as a very urgent matter," Beckles said during a media conference on July 29.

Referring to a TT Guardian article printed on July 29, Beckles said Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Phillip Watts stated the absence of a SporTT board is not a major issue at this time. In the article, Watts said they are focusing on the appointment of other boards before looking into sports.

"We understand how important of sport...yes, you have your A class boards to appoint, but whether you consider sports B Class or C Class, the people of TT deserve the SporTT board to be appointed so that all these important sporting activities continue."

Beckles pointed to multiple issues facing sporting teams and associations in TT over the past week.

"For all of us in TT, we understand the significance of sports. If you looked at the (TT) Tennis Association, they indicated that they had to cancel 11 of their 13 tournaments and they said what it means is that they have reduced competitive opportunities, both local and regional. Then of course, you have the (TT) Hockey Board, indicating that they failed to field the men's and women's senior teams in the ongoing Pan Am Cups."

The hockey situation especially received public attention as national players openly stated their frustration, saying that all their training went down the drain. The players called on the hockey board for answers as they have not been communicating effectively with their players. Also, they said TT teams have arrived at tournaments in the nick of time without time to settle down. This has happened repeatedly in the past.

The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs explained in a media release why the hockey teams were not on a plane to compete at the Pan Am Cup in Uruguay. The ministry said the TT Hockey Board (TTHB) has not been compliant in submitting audited financial statements. Also, the ministry said the TTHB did not meet the deadline in applying for funding to travel to the Pan Am Cup.

The Tennis Association of TT (TATT) was planning to have a full calender of events over the July/August holidays, but said a lack of funding has curtailed those plans.

In a media release on July 22, TATT said it was expecting support as the last government indicated its backing.

Addressing the challenges, the release said, “Chief among them is the delay in the disbursement of previously approved funding from the prior Ministry of Sports and Community Development administration for last year’s events,” the statement said. “This has resulted in outstanding payments to suppliers and limited resources to host this year’s full slate of tournaments.”