Inaugural Borders Festival set for late May

Borders will be staged between May 26 and 28 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.

“The idea of Borders,” Monderoy explained, “came about because of the sport database and the current economic situation. We had to find a creative way to get it done because sport needs it. All stakeholders, media, government, athletes, coaches, agree unanimously that TT needs a database for sport.

So we decided to create an event which can fund the development of the database, and this was the birth of Borders Festival.” Monderoy, a former TT athlete with six national middle distance records to his name, returned home last year after living in Finland for 16 years. During his time in Scandinavia, he made a name for himself as an IT (information technology) professional and concert promoter.

Monderoy’s main reason for coming home was to set up the sports database, an initiative he is convinced would bring about radical positive change in the local sports industry.

“A sports database helps create efficient evaluation of all emerging talent throughout all sport in Trinidad and Tobago. It also helps identify, with statistical analysis via results from performances, which areas produce the best athletes so that analysis can be done as to what conditions exist in those areas to produce these results.

“The database,” Monderoy continued, “also allows media to do better reporting and international coaches to track the progress of athletes over time with a view to awarding scholarships. The database is unique, and something the Ministry of Sport can licence to other Caribbean countries, becoming an income-earner for the Ministry.” Monderoy said he hopes other promoters will follow in the footsteps of Borders Festival.

“I fully understand the limitation which exists for Minister of Sport Darryl Smith and Sports Company (SporTT) chairman Michael Phillips, which hinders their vision for sport. So by setting up the sports database ourselves, we set an example for others who use the sports facilities for their events to contribute to the development of sport.

“However, maintenance, which is the population of the database, will have to be under the Ministry of Sport or related bodies as it becomes their product.” Borders 2017 will kick off on May 26 with “Legends Friday”, a full-length tribute concert featuring David Rudder, Shadow, Gypsy, Baron, Explainer and a host of other legendary local performers.

American R&B star Jhen? Aiko will be the main international artiste on show on “Electric Saturday”.

The major international act for “Super Sunday” has not yet been announced. Apart from featuring local, Caribbean and international music on four stages, Borders Festival will showcase local food and art.

Phillips was among the speakers at the launch, held at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium last December. The SporTT chairman spoke about the suitability of the Hasely Crawford Stadium for the first-ever Borders Festival.

“The venue here in which we sit today has hosted all sorts of different activities over the years, and we see this as an asset of Trinidad and Tobago for the benefit and enjoyment of the population. That’s why the utilisation of it is so diverse.

“And for visitors coming in to have something that is easily accessible with regards to transportation routes, with regards to comfort and safety, is something that lends to the success and the brand of hosting something of this magnitude.

We hope this develops into a national asset, event and activity that is done on an annual basis, and becomes something in people’s calendar that they look forward to.” Monderoy said he is determined to make a difference in sport here in TT through Borders Festival.

“To borrow from the famous John F Kennedy quote, ‘ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country’.

It is the intention of Borders Festival to do just that.” For more Borders Festival information, log on to www.bordersfestival.

com. For enquiries, send emails to info@bordersfestival.

com.