National boxing coaches, Reynold Cox and Floyd Trumpet, are intent on qualifying newly promoted senior athlete Michael Alexander to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dubbed as one of the most successful junior boxers for 2014, Alexander captured bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and bagged another at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Veracruz, Mexico.

Although still nursing a shoulder injury from his recent CAC stint, Alexander is hoping to be fully recovered by March as he winds down preparations ahead of three tough Olympic qualifiers.

Speaking to coach Cox, he admitted that 2015 is indeed a big year for the young pugilist.

“We definitely want to see if we can get Michael Alexander to qualify (for the 2016 Olympics),” said Cox. “His first qualifier is the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Championships (October 5-18) this year. Then there will be two other qualifiers in 2016, one in the Americas and a universal tourney as the final decider.”

Having now entered the top-flight senior division, Alexander anticipates some challenging times ahead. Cox and Trumpet are presently building their athlete towards Olympic qualification with the former pleased with his competitive prowess on both the local and international circuit thus far.

“I think it was a good year (2014) for him because we set out to get him on the podium. We did so a couple times and that was a good step for us. Michael Alexander is knocking on the door and if he maintains what he is doing right now we can see him qualifying for the Olympic Games and beyond,” added Cox.

The boxing coach indicated that he is presently building a team around Alexander in an effort to produce multiple local qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Games. He hopes that over the coming years an array of youthful boxers will be generated in an effort to expand TT’s contingent of athletes for coming international tourneys.

“To win an Olympic medal in boxing at the Olympic Games, it takes approximately four to eight years of hard training. And this is what we are trying to provide the athletes with right now. We are seeing the opportunities coming our way by getting athletes on the podium so we will continue with this kind of work and keep pushing forward. Our programme so far has been reaping good results,” he added.

He went on to note that Alexander will be their main focus for the 2016 Games while the upcoming athletes are keen prospects for other major meets. Alexander and his youthful group currently train at the elite boxing gym at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

Cox concluded, “This year is strong year for us to also do some development in relation to women boxing. We want to get them back in to the fray. At one time we had a very strong women team and well they fell off the grid so this is an initiative we want to nurture this coming year.”

Source

The career of up-and-coming wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran has been put on hold following injuries suffered in a motor car accident.
Pooran underwent surgery yesterday after suffering a fractured left ankle and a damaged left knee in an accident in St Mary’s, near his home in Couva. Pooran was returning home from training with the national team currently preparing for next week’s Nagico Super50 regional one-day series to be staged here.
“Terrible” was the way CEO of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, former T&T and West Indies opening batsman Suruj Ragoonath described the setback for the left-handed strokemaker who burst onto the scene with a debut half-century for the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament in 2013 as a 17 year-old.
“The situation is being monitored and our doctors are in touch with the doctor who is treating with Nicholas,” Ragoonath told the Express yesterday. He added: “The first priority is his general well-being and the second priority would be his cricket.”
Speaking briefly also yesterday, Pooran’s father Lawrence said his son was in “good spirits” ahead of the surgery. However, Pooran’s personal setback has also been a blow for the Red Force.
Already without regular wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin due to West Indies duty, the selectors yesterday called up Steven Katwaroo to replace Pooran.
“It is a huge steback,” said Ragoonath. “Nicholas is one of the most if not the most talented young players in the Caribbean. His career was very much on the launching pad. We are hoping that there is positive news coming out of the surgery.”
Chairman of the senior selection panel Alec Burns was more philosophical about the enforced change. “We have to move on from this unfortunate incident. Our chain is as strong as our weakest link,” he said. “We would bounce back.”
He was more concerned however, about the recovery of the precocious left-hander who further marked himself down as a player of the future when he stroke 143 out of a total of 208 in a losing cause against Australia at last year’s under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
“Having heard that news, it was quite devastating,” Burns said. “I immediately thought about myself when I was in an accident...We are hoping that he recovers quickly and gets healthy.” But Burns again expressed confidence in T&T’s reserve strength, noting that “young Katwaroo is an out and out keeper and he is a useful batsman, so hopefully we will be in good stead.”

NGC Red Force squad:
Rayad Emrit (Captain), Jason Mohammed (Vice-captain), Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Nicholas Sookdeosingh, Jeremy Solozano, Evin Lewis, Stephen Katwaroo, Akeal Hosein, Imran Khan, Kevon Cooper.

Source

Medal bonus that is performance based. Life skills Coaching. Preparing  our athletes for life after Olympic level sport.

Changing the culture is never easy or simple.

Getting support for Olympic athletes  in individual and team sports in an effort to allow them to achieve sustained competitive excellence is a vital priority.

But in doing so we must communicate the interests and protect the rights of athletes.

There are a number of areas that our athletes need to be better informed about these include anti-doping,  code of conduct, their right to due process.

Also important is assisting the athletes in recognizing their right to control and protect his or her own personal name, likeness and image.

As I have said before and made it very clear when the establishment of 10 Olympic Gold medals or more by 2024 (#10golds24) Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund was announced - we have to accept that our athletes dedicate the better part of their lives to fulfilling their dreams of representing their country be it at Olympics or otherwise. They overcome obstacles and pressure despite significant odds.

The central message  is that giving matters to our athletes.

Fundraising is essential and our athletes can’t do it on their own.

They need them to focus their attention on preparing to compete against the best  in the world.

Share the dream help our athletes achieve their dream .

There is a gap between perception and reality.

The perception that our athletes are well supported and that they make large sums of money or that the government support is enough and anything more is pure greed is furthest from the truth.

What the Athlete welfare fund is attempting to do is a long standing approach in countries  with a culture of philanthropy.

There is a reality and no amount of wishful thinking will change that reality.

We are at a point in Trinidad and Tobago sport where the option of doing nothing and letting false pride stand in the way of the athlete’s best interest is not a credible option.

Multiple revenue streams are necessary if the Olympic movement is to hedge against the volatility of depending on one revenue stream.

Doing nothing or doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is a failed strategy.

The idea behind the 10 Olympic Gold medals by the year 2024 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund is simple- ESTABLISH a fund that is transparent, ethical , accountable, sustainable and dedicated to supporting athletes.

To pledge financial support email; contact@ttoc.org or call 625 1285, Facebook: @trinidadandtobagoolympiccommittee, Twitter : @ttolympic

Brian Lewis

President

Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) and Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association (TTCGA)

Editor's Note:  President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC), Brian Lewis, has launched a new initiative with the social media handle, #10golds24, designed to give more of the country’s athletes the opportunity to fulfill their potential. He has committed to compete in the Trinidad and Tobago International Marathon on January 25, 2015 to raise awareness for  the #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund and TTD$500,000 (£51,000/$79,000/€65,000).  The Fund's mission is geared towards alleviating financial hardships of  Olympic, Pan Am, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games athletes to enable them to train, recover and compete.

Foreign-based T&T-born athletes Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung were named the T&T Table Tennis Association (TTTTA) Senior Male and Female Players of the Year for 2014.

The announcements were made at Saturday’s annual awards ceremony hosted by the T&T Table Tennis Association (TTTTA) at the Central Indoor Regional Sports Arena at Saith Park in Chaguanas on Saturday.

St Louis secured a bronze for T&T at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Mexico, while Chung secured similar accolades at the Women’s singles, Pan American Sport Festival, Mexico City, Mexico in July; the Women’s Singles, International Table-Tennis Federation (ITTF) Latin American Championships, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (April).

Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson, 16, of Carenage Blasters and Brittany Joseph, 16 of Arima Hawks were named Junior Male and Female Players of the Year. It was reputed to be Joseph’s third Junior Players of the Year Award.

Interviewed, she said, “It’s shocking because I didn’t have such a good year this year. I wasn’t able to win as much prizes as I aimed for, but I was still able to achieve one or two of my goals.”

Wilson said his love of table tennis emerged when he realised that contact sports was not for him and he realised it was “a lot of fun to play.”

Reeza Burke, out-going president of the association said one of the major achievements for his executive was ensuring that “the mantle for representation of our national players on the senior team, being handed over to younger, more talented players. We know that in terms of long term development we are on the right track. Our focus on youth development over that past four years, have reaped rewards not only on the national scene, but also in the Caribbean. In term of challenges”

Source