THE EDITOR: I am reminded of the words of one of V S Naipaul’s characters in The Suffrage of Elvira: ‘ “He not only pee on us … he shake it.” ‘ I can only describe the USA’s latest international pronouncement as the most blatant attempt yet to shake it liberally over all of us who won’t roll over and play dead. The International Criminal Court, they proclaim righteously, does not fall under any UN charter. The same UN which George W Bush flagrantly disregarded in his illegal, criminal and economically motivated invasion of Iraq. I am heartened that our government has declared its firm support for the ICC and its refusal to be regarded as a mere convenience by the US administration. For rest assured, the rest of the word exists only to serve the US or to be destabilised.
The so-called trade agreements which the Caribbean islands have signed don’t seem to have brought us any substantial benefits so far — not surprising, since they were designed to suit US interests. And the “military aid” is a thinly disguised excuse to maintain surveillance in the region under the guise of monitoring the drug trade. Now is the time for Caricom nations to truly come together. Europe has managed to unify and throw its weight behind a single currency, realising that in unity lies strength. As much smaller players on the international scene, we need to make our collective voice count. It’s not an easy road; the euro had a difficult gestation period of at least fifteen years. But with the USA’s jingoistic, fascist attitude of “If you’re not for us, you’re against us” and the use of force to back it up, it is time that we paid attention as a region and took steps to look after our own interests, short-term and long-term. Instead of waiting for someone to rescue us with fake trade agreements.
KAREN MOORE
Champs Fleurs
THE EDITOR: Couva has lost one of its finest sons with the horrific murder of Gerard Punch of Fotocraft Limited. This senseless act is testimony to the ongoing folly where two ethnic parties have been fighting over the cash register instead of carrying out the mandate of serving its constituents which its members swore to do upon taking their seats in the House of Representatives. Coupled with this we are saddled with a police service which apparently has surrendered or tacitly sent this message to the criminals. Outgoing Commissioner of Police Hilton Guy’s lament of having only 7,000 officers to serve a population of 1.2 million would have had credence of these 1.2 million people were all criminals. I wrote before that the battle against crime is being lost; more and more, this is proving to be the case with each passing day.
MC DONALD JAMES
Couva
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is expected to report their first financial success in the last five years. This information has been revealed by a source close to the beleagured regional cricket body. Former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall became the president of the WICB at a time when the figures were in the red but he has been able in short time to change their fortunes. “When Wes Hall was appointed, there was a reported US $7.6 million loss and the next year in 2002, the total was reduced to US $2.1 million. And this year so far, the result based on preliminary figures is a profit of US $2.5 million, and the forecast for the next three years is more profit with stringent management,” declared a source close to the West Indies Cricket Board. “The financial windfall however is having a negative fallout creating a fight for power among the various regional organisations as people are witnessing first hand how the West Indies Cricket Board can be profitable if it is efficiently cut and certain expenses reduced,” he said. “There are some persons who believe that the World Cup in 2007 was brought to the region by then Jamaican-led WICB and that for this reason, a Jamaican should run West Indies cricket at this juncture, while others see this as grab for money.
“But there is also a fear among the current executive that this would destroy the unity of West Indies cricket and its progress at the moment, as there is currently no Jamaican on the executive,” he said. The current WICB executive comprises of Val Banks (Acting President, Leeward Islands), Chetram Singh (Guyana), Richard De Souza (Trinidad and Tobago) and Stephen Alleyne (Barbados). Their term ends in July 2004. It was also learnt that the WICB do not expect to make as much profit as before from overseas tours. “Despite the obvious popularity of the West Indies cricket team, on a tour match fees are now fixed by the ICC, so that the WICB only get US$62,000 per Test match and US $25,000 per one-dayer, which alone cannot even pay the players’ salaries, travel arrangements much less for any incidentals,” he stated. “If you look at it, we will play four Test matches and seven one-dayers in South Africa, and that sort of money will not pay the way for the team and other expenses,” he said
The West Indies women’s cricket team left Trinidad and Tobago yesterday for Holland where they will have to come to terms on synthetic turf if they are to emerge one of the two qualifiers for the upcoming World Cup. Coach of the team Ann Browne-John said yesterday the team was confident of success. ”The girls had a hard ten- day camp here and really ironed out the little problems which has now given them a lot of confidence.” The regional team will be vying for one of the remaining two places available for the Women’s World Cup. At this tournament they will be competing against Pakistan, Ire-land, hosts Holland, Scotland and Japan. The matches will be spread around Ams-terdam, the country’s biggest city and Browne said from information it is still very very cold in Europe. “We have gotten word from the organisers of the tournament that West Indies will be playing in temperatures around 18 to 19 degrees Celsius. The Caribbean girls are unaccustomed with this coldness and we will have to do some adjusting when we arrive,” she said.
Browne also revea-led that the pitches will be of a synthetic nature and this will also be a factor in their play. We have little know-ledge of the synthetic pitches but we are not going across there to complain. We are going there to win this tournament so that we can advance to the World Cup. “We are confident that we can get past these teams and reach the World Cup that we played at in 1998,” she said. The West Indies finished eighth at the last Women’s World Cup in India under Browne as captain and hence have to go through a qualification phase. Recently the West Indies hosted World Cup qualifiers Sri Lanka and although they failed to win any of the matches they gave the visitors a run for their money. Browne said the team is a good all-round one and she is looking to the seniors to lead the way. One of the main weapons on the team will be the youngster Anisa Mohammed. The 14-year-old from Sangre Grande was drafted into the team after Vincentian Clea Hoyte got injured.
West Indies: Stephanie Power (captain), Nelly Williams, Shane DeSilva, Felicia Cummings, Neil Lashley, Envis Williams, Juliana Nero, Anisa Mohammed, Verena Felicien, Phillipa Thomas, Nadine Geroge, Doris Francis, Debbie Ann Lewis, Candacy Adkins and Indomatie Goordial. Ann Browne-John (coach) and Cinda Bobb (manager).
Trinidad and Tobago assistant football coach Jamaal Shabazz is still in a Miami, US jail and being interrogated by officers of the US State Department. According to FIFA vice-president Jack Warner in a telephone conversation yesterday, he was asked to provide legal counsel for Shabazz and pay all fees which he did. Shabazz was detained by State Department officers in Miami on Tuesday last week, for allegedly in possesion of a forged American passport. Warner spoke yesterday on his way to the airport, heading for Toronto, Canada, from Miami where he is at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament now underway. He is going to Canada to inspect a new stadium being erected for the Under-20 World Championship 2007. The Trinidadian FIFA vice-president said all efforts are being made to protect Shabazz’s interest. But Warner said no hearing date has been fixed for the national women’s football coach. He said the lawyers for Shabazz are to meet with the Miami Public Defender by Wednesday, after which a hearing will be arranged.
Trinidad and Tobago Under-17 singles champion Vikie Singh and her doubles partner Nekeisha Blake as well as boys doubles champions Justin Siu and Earnesto Dean will contest the gold medal matches when the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) Junior Championships finals are contested at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo today. All the junior age groups finals will take place from 10 am while International finals are scheduled to start at 2 pm. Presentation of medals and closing ceremony will take place following the International matches. With the Under-17 pairs in the finals, Trinidad and Tobago are assured of at least two silver medals to add to five bronze overall in the juniors category. Yesterday, Singh and Blake easily overpowered their counterparts Cindy-Ann Ballantyne and Sharon James at 15-6, 15-2 in their semi-final match. They will do battle with the Mexican pair of Rosina Nunes and Naty DeLa Ranger in the gold medal match. The Mexicans will also face off against each in the Under-17 girls singles final. Ranger outplayed Singh 11-0, 11-2 in their singles semi-final encounter yesterday while Nunes stopped Jamaica’s Shaunette Davis 11-5, 8-11, 11-3 in the other “semis”.
TT collected the bronze medal in the Girls Under-17 singles as well as two more bronze in the Boys Under-17 singles. Both Siu and Dean succumbed to Mexican rivals Alexandro Reyes and Jose Gonzalez who will fight each for the singles gold medal today. Reyes beat Siu at 15-7, 15-2 while Gonzalez overcame Dean 15-5, 15-5. The Trinidadian Under 15 pair of Mitra Ramcharran (singles champion) and Cindy-Ann Ballantyne also had to settle for bronze medal when they were edged out by Jamaica’s Jovan Browne and Cherisse Schaff 17-15, 9-15, 8-15.
A similar fate was meted out to TT’s Adam Barclay and Stefan Bhagwat who together lost their Under 13 semi-final clash to Jonathan Smith (Jam) and Dillon Dharmohoetomo (Sur) by a 4-15, 3-15 margin. There was also a tinge of sadness among the locals when national senior mixed doubles champion Anil Seepaul and Zeudi Mack missed the bronze medal by conceding victory to Surinamese top pair of Oscar Brandon (10-time singles champion) and Stephanie Jadi in their CAREBACO International quarter-finals encounter on Thursday night.
Although leading 13-8 in the first set, Seepaul and Mack committed unforced errors and failed to capitalise on scoring opportunities which allowed their Dutch rivals to reel off seven consecutive points and claim the set advantage. The second set was another sizzling affair but the local senior champs were unable to overhaul the Surinamese top pair who advanced to the semi-final and secured a bronze for their country after 28 minutes of action. The Seepaul/Mack tandem had taken care of their local counterparts Surajdeen Mohammed and Stephanie Mitchell in the first round match at 15-4, 15-6 while Brandon and Jadi advanced without flicking their racquets. Seepaul and Kerwyn Pantin lost their round of 16 match against the world-rated pair of Bobby Milroy and Keith Chan at 15-5 and 15-1 while the other TT pair of Darron Charles and Glendon Thomas also bowed out in the round of 16 to the Kin-dervarter/Siegemond combination at 15-1 and 15-9 on Thursday evening. Suriname have been assured of the gold and silver medals in the Boys Under-19 singles when their top two players square off in the grand finals today.
SOUTH STARWORLD Strikers will be looking to halt W Connection’s nine-match winning streak in the Under-17 division of the TT Pro League at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva today. Connection edged Strikers 2-1 in their previous encounter on May 24, the only goal conceded by the Connection lads in their remarkable run this season. But Starworld were hammered 4-0 by the Connection squad in the Under-15 category and, with a record of 35 goals scored and five conceeded, Connection are expected to make light work of their fellow Southerners. Two other double-headers are on schedule today, with Joe Public hosting South West Institute of Football (SWIF) at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya while San Juan Jabloteh will face North East Stars at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo. Under-15 matches will kick off at 9 am with U-17 fixtures beginning at 10.30 am.
STANDINGS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under-15 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
W Connection |
9 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
35 |
5 |
25 |
San Juan Jabloteh |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
16 |
18 |
Joe Public |
10 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
15 |
12 |
14 |
Starworld Strikers |
9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
10 |
14 |
Defence Force |
8 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
10 |
8 |
11 |
Arima Fire |
6 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
8 |
10 |
SWIF |
10 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
7 |
20 |
7 |
North East Stars |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
27 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under-17 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
W Connection |
9 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
1 |
27 |
Joe Public |
10 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
9 |
22 |
Starworld Strikers |
9 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
13 |
9 |
15 |
San Juan Jabloteh |
10 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
17 |
21 |
11 |
SWIF |
10 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
18 |
10 |
Defence Force |
8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
15 |
8 |
Arima Fire |
7 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
15 |
6 |
North East Stars |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
18 |
0 |
Champions Ceramic Mer-ryboys Cricket Club will receive the prestigious “Club of the Year” title when the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) host their annual prize-giving ceremony today at the Bureau of Standards, Macoya today. Merryboys, winners of the Carib National League Division One title for the past two years have been in excellent form during the past few seasons. Merryboys also reached the finals of the Carib Cup but lost out to First Citizens Clarke Road United. They will also receive a cheque for $35,000 for winning the National League, plus $12,000 for their Carib Cup effort. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Carib Sunday League but will still pocket over $50,000 for their season’s work.
Clico Preysal who captured the Carib Sunday League crown, together with the Noel Guillen Under-21 cricket title just missed out on copping the title they earned in 1998 as the top club.
West Indies coach Augustine Logie will deliver the feature address at the function where comedian Tommy Joseph will entertain those in attendance. Logie was recently appointed coach of the West Indies team after being named assistant at the beginning of the year. After the success of the team, he was then asked by the WICB to assume the role of coach for the next two years.
Former Naparima Col-lege student, 19-year-old volleyball player Marc-Anthony Honore has recieved a volleyball scholarship to attend St Francis University in Loretta Pennsylvania, USA. The six-foot six-inch middle blocker/hitter is the first local male player to receive such a scholarship to a Divi-sion One volleyball univcrsity in the US. “The Red Flash is listed among the top ten teams in the Eastern Conference. Honore is ranked among the top 18 senior players in Trinidad. He has only been on the national spotlight for two years, but has risen through the ranks. Other than attending training camps in Cuba and in the United States, Honore has also represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2001 Caribbean Junior Championships in Suriname. He also gained prominence representing local club Star-lings last year and was named “Most Outstanding Player.” Honore was also instrumental in helping Starlings move from “B” to “A” Division.
The talented athlete has also completed a Level One Volleyball Coaching Course and was presented with his FIVB Certificate and serves as a coach-player on the Starlings team. He has also assisted in recruiting new players on the team. Honore said Trinidad and Tobago have a long way to go in the sport. “But I believe that we are capable of becoming one of the top volleyball countries in the Caribbean. It’s going to take hard work on behalf of the players and organisers to meet the international standard of volleyball,” he said. At present Honore is training fulltime to prepare for the Caribbean Junior Tournament which will be held from July 18 to 28 in Martinique. Honore plans to pursue International Law with a Business Major at St Francis.
Police earned their spot in the women’s division final of the Eastern Community Basketball League with a tight 47-44 win over Unit Trust Maloney Pacers at the Maloney Indoor Sport Facility on Thursday evening. The match presented a challenge for the normally dominant Police team but Euphemia Huggins rose above all others and scored a match-high 19 points. She secured nine rebounds in the process. Peggy Ann Brown contributed 16 points, while taking seven rebounds and two steals. On the defensive side Monica Maule grabbed seven rebounds, four steals and gave one assist, while Maloney’s Latoya Lawson put in 12 points to lead her team’s scorers, followed by Melissa Guerero with 10 points, four steals and four rebounds.
Leslie Ann Francois scored seven points and took nine rebounds for Maloney as Police pair Charmaine King and Giselle Norton rounded off the scores with five apiece. Police now move on to the final tomorrow when they will meet the Brian Chase Aca-demy women’s outfit. The day will also feature the start of the men’s “Big 4” competition beginning at 4 pm with the Second Division match-up between Unit Trust Maloney Pacers and Colours. The other clash will be between Edinburgh 500 Hawks and Marabella Raptors.
