VISITING Bank Workers Union netballers drew and lost their opening games of their three-day tour here. The BWU juniors drew 19-19 with hosts Chips in Wednesday’s opening match at the Woodbrook Youth Facility in a thrilling game which saw the teams also knotted up 12-12 at half-time. BWU Goal-attack Corlita Roberts who scored four of her nine attempts was  the heroine for her team, slotting in the goal to clinch the tie. Goal-shoot Cheryl Steele scored 15 goals from 25 attempts for BWU, while for Chips, Rhonessa Williams had 11 goals from 29 attempts, Leeann O’Brian six from 12 and Cassie Ann James two of three. A Combined team whipped the BWU girls 42-37 in the night-cap, after the Bajans led at the end of the opening quarter 15-7. But the Combined squad outscored BWU 15-11 to trail 25-22 at the half-time interval.

Led by goal-shoot Beverly Rodgers who had 28 goal from 42 attempts, Michelle Boyce 11 goals from 18 attempts and Euphemia Huggins three of seven, Combined led 33-31 at the three-quarter stanza and maintained their momentum to the end. Goal-shoot Andrea Puckerin netted 28 goals from 45 attempts and goal-attack Heather Belle got nine of 21 for BWU. Today, BWU meet hosts Chips II, while the BWU senior team take on Port-of-Spain Netball League squad Arima Ball Masters in the later game at the same venue. First match will begin 6 pm.

FIVE players from the West Indies Under-23 championship team have been included in the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Cricket squad for the West Indies Championships in Grenada later this month. The quintet, Nelly Williams, Jade Chadee, Lee Ann Kirby, Anisa Mohammed and Kirbyina Alexander, join four others who represented West Indies against the touring Sri Lankan team in March. Youngest player in the Trinidad and Tobago squad is 14-year-old Mohammed. The championships will be played between June 15-29. Trinidad and Tobago will be keen to defend the knockout title they won when the championships were held in Guyana last year. The full squad is:  Stephanie Power (capt), Envis Williams (vice-capt), Brenda Solozano, Erica George, Shane De Silva, Nelly Williams, Rona Rajkumar, Jade Chadee, Lee Ann Kirby, Anisa Mohammed, Sharon Wharton, Kirbyina Alexander, Felicia, Sunita Naipaulsingh. The team is being coached by Ann Browne-John, assistant coach is Jasmine Sammy, while Neil Lashley is the trainer and Jean Carmino manageress.

A NORTH team defeated a South outfit 4-3 on the snooker table and 3-1 in billiards at The Triangle, Aranguez, San Juan on Sunday last. Daniel Himraj was presented with the Most Oustanding Player award at the day-long event, which is the final event before the Open Islandwide Snooker Tournament starting from June 24 also at The Triangle. Member of Parliament for San Juan/Barataria Dr Fuad Khan, in an impromptu address to the gathering, praised the organisers of the event, including Shyam “Mr Billiards” Gosine, for their role in using the Aranguez venue, which includes nine pool tables and two snooker tables, to the youths of the district. The family of the late Ganess Maharaj, a long-time sponsor of the games of pool, snooker and billiards at the Grand Central, Curepe, were presented wtih a plaque while Maharaj was hailed by officials of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council.

And, among the competitors who will vie for supremacy at the Islandwide Tournament, are Himraj, North Snooker champ Narine Gosine, the queen of national snooker Karen Scott as well as Herman “The Mean Machine” Araujo, Carl “The German” Christopher, Michael Max “Toes” Martin, Mervyn Aqui, Paul Chung Soo Hon, Johnson “The Chinese Chopper” Young Sing, Frank “Pee Wee” Akim, Sookoor “Boom” Ogeeraly, Terry Layne, Natalie Soo Hon and “The South Big Gun” Alvin Daniel. For further information, call Michael Max “Toes” Martin at 669-9369.

THE newly-appointed Boxing Board of Trinidad and Tobago has called a meeting with all promoters of local professional boxing in an effort to draw up and implement strategies to get boxing back on it’s moorings.
Chairman Melchior Taylor proposed the meeting in view of the fact that there has been no professional boxing here for almost one year. The meeting will be a forum for promoters to field questions, express problems and to meet the board with a vision of getting boxing back on stream as early as this month.

LONDON: Scores at the close of play on the second day of four-day English County Championship cricket matches yesterday:

Division One: At Tunbridge Wells: SUSSEX 311 – R Martin-Jenkins 67, C Adams 62; A Sheriyar 4-49 vs KENT 188-5 – A Symonds 54.  At Liverpool: LANCASHIRE 503-6 declared – M Chilton 108, S Law 82, C Hooper 74, A Flintoff 71 not out, I Sutcliffe 55, M Loye 54 vs LEICESTERSHIRE 117-4.  At Lord’s: MIDDLESEX 363 – B Hutton 107, E Joyce 69, Abdul Razzaq 54, P Weekes 51 not out; J Dakin 5-86 vs ESSEX 95-8 – S Cook 3-7.  At Edgbaston: WARWICKSHIRE 351 – J Trott 63, M Wagh 58, C Obuya 55; G Smith 4-60 vs NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 389-3 (K.Pietersen 140 not out, G Welton 99, U Afzaal 72, C Cairns 52 not out.

Division Two: At Swansea: GLAMORGAN 395 – R Croft 84, J Hughes 69; T Lungley 4-101, K Dean 3-84 vs DERBYSHIRE 7-0.  At Gloucester: NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 622-8 declared – M Hussey 264, G Brophy 152, P Jaques 75; I Butler 3-130, M Ball 3-149 vs GLOUCESTERSHIRE 109-4. At Southampton: HAMPSHIRE 456 – S Katich 135, A Mascarenhas 92, N Pothas 79, S Udal 60 not out; D Law 4-71, N Phillips 4-129 vs DURHAM 107-2.  At Bath: WORCESTERSHIRE 538 – S Peters 165, A Singh 105, A Hall 104, G Hick 71; I Blackwell 4-131 vs SOMERSET 238 – G Batty 3-66, K Ali 3-68.                                                          

TRINIDAD and Tobago field event records will now be able to be ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. This because of a piece of equipment donated to the National Amateur Athletic Association of Trinidad and Tobago by Gill Athletics, through local agents PaperMax. The $20,000 equipment was handed over to NAAA boss Ken Doldron during the recent CARIFTA Games held here. This equipment will be used to certify that all implements used in track and field games meet IAAF specifications, thereby ensuring the ratification of field event records. This system is also to be made available to the Ministry of Sport and management of the various stadiums throughout Trinidad and Tobago to check the specifications of field implements when they are being purchased.

Marketing consultant Trevor Hewitt explained that Gill Athletics and PaoperMax are quite pleased to support track and field throughout the Caribbean. He said: “We are quite aware that track and field sometimes provide thge only opportunities for many young men and women to astrive for excellence, be discipolined and to venture into new horizons.” And Doldronb said, his association is committesd to achieving the highest level of prtofessional standards in the administration and development of the sport of track and field in Trinidad and Tobago, and in particular young athletes, “whose aspirations and potential can only be truly fulfilled with genuine support from the business community as displayed by Gill Athletics/PaperMax.” Already, the NAAA have started plans to again host CARIFTA Games 2006 here.

The Coca-Cola Club Championships to be held at the St Andrews Golf Club on June 7 and 8 will tee off at 8.30 am with over 100 eager participants hoping to capture the top prize defended by women’s holder Michelle Torry but left vacant by reigning men’s champ Christian de Meillac. Brother Louis de Meillac who was runner-up last year and has represented Trinidad and Tobago internationally in the past, will however be present and along with Dion Gonsalves, Scott Anderson, Simon Merry, Shane Costelloe and Douglas Ammon who has also represented Trinidad, to give Teddy and Robert Grell a run for the title. Michelle will be challenged by multiple club title holder Maria Nunes and younger sister Diana leaving this year’s competition wide open, the battle will be on for the championship the competition is held in A, B and C classes with the view of producing the best players including Gross and Net winners.

The players will tee off in groups of four and three beginning at 8:30 am: Pauline Raynor, Sigrun Lillelokken and Hillis Richards, 8:40 Joanne Bryden, Jackie Niles and Diana Torry, 8:50 Michelle Torry, Angela Hodgkinson, Maria Nunes and Victoria Seenath, 9:00 Synthia Nelson, Deahana Ramnath, Sharon Arneaud and Charmaine Stewart, 9:10 Zailaika Karim, Martine de Gannes, Chikako Takagi and Janet Ali, 9:20 Carol Dyke, Alicia Francois, Rosemaire Eckel and De Anna Gregory, 9:30 Patricia Inglefield, Chris Cape and Julie Chatoor. 9:40 Starters time.
9:50 Derek Cardno, Lloyd Hodgkinson and Raoul John, 10:00 Anthony Smart, Gerry Ayin, Ross Richards and Bover Jaggassar, 10:10 Ameen Ho Sing Loy, Richard Gordon, Bernard Pantin and Jonathan Low, 10:20 Farouk Bhopa, Dennis Fakoory, Michael Cole and Jonathan Perry, 10:30 Pat Hernandez Jonathan de la Rosa, Stephan Mackay and Selby Wilson, 10:40 Raul Poon Kong, David Merry, Jamsheed Ali and Errol Ajodha, 10:50 Steve Anderson, Arnold Singh, Dallas Kidman and Ousman Mohammed, 11:00 Haroon Joseph, Sean Boyce, Hayden Imam and Ian Peebles, 11:10 Vishnu Galbaransingh, Russell Hosein, Nigel Aqui and Anthony Romain, 11:20 Norman Clarke, Wilson Asiu, Edward Bhopa and Richard Knox, 11:30 Andy Dyke, Rasheed Ali, John Sampson and Michael Harries, 11:40 Starters time.

11:50 Ramesh Rampersad, Hugh Harriagin and Robin Moosai, 12:00 Shane Costello, Anthony Wight, John Hale and Tyrone Leong, 12:10 Richard Smith, Rajesh Mahabir, Robert Grell and Douglas Ammon, 12:20 Jordan Delaney, Satish Tiwari, Adrian Sampson and Garvin Clarke, 12:30 Derek Poon Tip, Corey Hamel-Smith, John de Gannes and Patrick Boocock, 12:40 Luke Thompson, Louis de Meillac, Christian Quesnel and Kyla Snaggs, 12:50 Adam Montano, Dion Gonsalves, Teddy Grell and Robert Delaney, 1:00 Dahomey Kadera, Scott Anderson, Robert Llanos and John Holley and 1:10 Jean de Meillac, Takoor Ramnath, Simon Merry and Vishnu Pooran. All players are to check with the starters table 20 minutes before tee time.

OVER $20,000 in cash and prizes will be at stake at the F&E Diamond United Football League second open tournament. The action will kick off on June 29 at the Kennedy Park, Diamond with a march past of all teams.Winning team will receive $4,000 with the runners-up getting $3,000 and  third $2,000. In addition winners of  the knockout leg of the competition will colelct $1,000. Youths in the area will also see action in the under-15 age group, starting on July 13 to August 16. Teams can contact Brian Julien at 654-1034, Andy Mahadeo 653-7207, Roger Minors 795-4468 or Allan Khan at 657-4684. Deadline for registration for all competitions is June 24.

FOOTBALL administrators from 16 CONCACAF countries will attend a two-day FA/CONCACAF workshop at the Dr. Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Tunapuna, starting on Tuesday. The 36 senior administrators will attend the workshop entitled “Contracts, Transfers and Structures” between June 10-13. Three top English FA administrators, Graham Noakles, Director of Football Administration, Mark Ives, head of Business Development and Maurice Watkins, a director of English Premiership champions Manchester United will be the chief lecturers at the workshop,  along with Kim Fisher of the FA’s international relations department.

The workshop will feature a highly interactive format with focus on important administrative issues which include improving relations with key stakeholders, effective management structures, regulations on the transfer of players, contract negotiations and measuring success. Watkins is regarded as a leading expert in the legal aspects of modern football. The Centre of Excellence has been the venue of two previous CONCACAF programmes already this year.

TORONTO: Top Trini-dadian jockey Emile Ramsammy captured his third stakes win of the 2003 Canadian horse racing season Wednesday when he landed the Bold Ruckus Stakes astride the third favourite Tusayan for Jamaican trainer Laurie Silvera. Making his turf debut, Tusayan (6-1) produced a strong finish and sprinted clear in deep stretch for a 2-3/4 length win in the CAN$139,000 event. “It’s nice winning here today, his first time on the turf,” said Ramsammy, a two-time Canadian champion jockey. The 10-1 chance Penthouse Prince, with Barbadian Simon Husbands riding, and Dressed For Action (9-1), battled on the front-end early, leading the field through an opening quarter-mile in 23.26 seconds. Ramsammy kept Tusayan within reach of the pacesetting duo, comfortably held in third. As the field charged towards the finish line, Tusayan accelerated away from his rivals and covered the six-furlong sprint in one minute 12.02 seconds.

“We’ve been angling towards this race from the very beginning of this  year,” said Silvera, who co-owns Tusayan, along with Srinivas Kilambi. Ramsammy, who won the 1996 and 1997 Sovereign Award as Canada’s most outstanding jockey, also won the sixth race aboard Sharide (4-1), topping Todd Kabel’s mount Caledon Bound by two lengths. Kabel had three winners on the card and took sole leadership in the riders’ standings with 38 wins, three ahead of Barbadian Patrick Husbands (35), with Ramsammy third on 31.

Woodbine jockeys’ standings
1.Todd Kabel                                  38 wins
2.Patrick Husbands                          35
3.Emile Ramsammy                           31
4.James McAleney                           23
5.Steven Bahen                              21
6.Constant Montpellier                     20
7.Chantal Sutherland                       17
8.Robert Landry                              15
8.Dino Luciani                                 15
10.David Clark                                14
10.Richard Dos Ramos                      14
12.James McKnight                          12
12.Simon Husbands                         12