TT$3.8M basketball programme coming

Blackman welcomed the programme which he feels will be an asset to the development of the sport locally. He made it clear the proposed "Village Hoops" exercise will also provide employment for many in the different zones when it is started. Blackman who only recently was installed for a second term in office, added that the programme was aimed at covering seven zones across the country.

He said these zones will include East, South, Central, North, Mayaro, South-West and Tobago, in two age brackets: 7-12 years old (which caters for students at primary schools) and for students between the 13-19 age group at secondary schools.

Blackman expressed the view that the country can soon witness a core of more talented budding basketballers with the programme focusing on the skills of the game such as shooting, passing and ball handling. With the programme, he said, government is aiming at cutting out distribution of subventions to the various sporting bodies for developmental purposes. This government-sponsored programme is also being applied to all the sporting bodies in which they will cover expenses on the proposals from sporting bodies.

According to the programme, sporting organisations will provide the personnel/players necessary to take part in the exercises and will submit their different requests on the amount needed to fund the particular sport.

The basketball boss said the federation intends to host a series of motivational workshops which will be conducted parallel to the "Village Hoops" programme. Blackman said the TTBF was embarking on a massive drive to enhance the development of the sport. This country hosts the Caribbean Junior Basketball Championship at the University of The West Indies Sports and Physical Education Centre at the St Augustine Campus.

A total of 18 teams from Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua, Puerto Rico and St Kitts/Nevis and other Caribbean countries are expected to contest the championships which will take place in both boys and girls categories.

This along with the launch of a Bidi Basketball workshop which will serve off tomorrow at UWI. Blackman said the workshop was scheduled to bounce off two Saturdays ago but was postponed due to a number of unforseen circumstances.

He made it clear that the Bidi Basketball workshop which is expected to cover all primary schools within the East/West Corridor will be held at UWI on Fridays from 1 pm to 3 pm until the start of the Caribbean tournament.

Blackman said the entire Bidi basketball programme is costing the federation approximately $10,000 inclusive of stipend to coaches and teachers. He said schools are now planning to utilise the programme for their physical education sessions. Schools are to provide transport while the federation provides equipment. Federation secretary Ishmael St Bryce will be in charge of the workshop, which will include physical education teachers.