In the Elite Women category, Campbell ended atop the standings with a maximum points tally of 20 after her four races throughout the weekend. She was followed by Breakaway’s Dominique Lovell on 13 points. Campbell won the 1-Lap and 3-Lap events, with Lovell second in the 1-Lap and third in the 3-Lap. Cheyenne Awai claimed second place in the 3-lap.

In the Fitzroy Lyons Elite 1&2 Invitational 30-Laps, Jabari Whiteman of Heatwave managed to stop PSL’s bid for a clean sweep of the awards, finishing joint top with PSL’s Akil Campbell and Marloe Rodman on six points.

Akil, after his success on Saturday, needed to finish in the top three to wrap up the victory but he finished fourth, opening the door for his rivals. Whiteman needed no further invitation and won Sunday’s race to be tied on points with Campbell. And Rodman, who was second on both days, joined them atop the podium with his consistent form being rewarded.

PSL’s Romello Crawford was third on Saturday and Sunday and finished with four overall points. Whiteman, showing immaculate form on the final night of competition, copped the Robert Farrell Individual Pursuit in a time of two minutes, 54.62 seconds, once more ahead of PSL’s Rodman (3:00.30) and fellow club-mate Enrique De Cormarmon’s time in 3:06.97.

Rigtech Sonics’ Keron Bramble secured the gold medal position in the Ian Atherly Match Sprint event with Akil Campbell second, followed by Tireeff Smart of Breakaway in third.

Over the two-day competition, other undefeated athletes in their respective events included Sylese Christian of Phoenix in the Tinymite Women, Ashley Whiteman representing Rigtech Sonics in the Juvenile Women category, Justin Baptiste of Breakaway in the Juvenile Men, Phoenix’s Derell Petrovanie in the Tinymite Men and PSL’s Carlton Simmons in the Masters 40-49 category.

Mohammed defeated Brandon Gregoire 7-6 (6), 6-4, while Patrick, who is a national squash player, was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Scott Hackshaw in the other semifinal.

In the girls Under-10 singles semifinals, Jaeda- Lee Daniel-Joseph outlasted Inara Chin Lee 4-0, 5-4 (3). In the final, Daniel-Joseph will face Jordane Dookie, who got past Abigail Chin Lee 4-1, 4-0.

Charlotte Ready and Cameron Wong will play in the girls Under- 12 singles final.

Ready defeated Ella Carrington 4-1, 5-3 and Wong eased past Zara Ghuran 4-0, 4-1.

The tournament continues today from 9 am.

OTHER RESULTS: Girls Under-16 Quarterfinals Lily Lanser def Victoria Koylass 6-3, 6-4 Osenyonye Nwokolo def Kimberly Sabga 6-0, 6-1 Yin Lee Assang def Rhyse Houllier 6-1, 6-0 Solange Skeene def Abigail Jones 5-0 (ret)

Boys Under-16 Quarterfinals Aidan Carter def Ebolum Nwokolo 6-1, 6-2 Ethan Jeary def Edward Laquis 6-3, 6-1 Adam Ramkissoon def Kyle Lee Young 6-0, 6-1 Andre Crawford def Alijah Leslie 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3

Boys Under-10 Quarterfinals Kale Dalla Cosa def Isaiah Boxill 4-0, 4-2 James Hadden def Jayden Mitchell 4-2, 4-1 Leeum Chan Pak def Messiah Permell 4-0, 4-2 Alexander Merry def Callum Koylass 4-0, 4-2

Boys Under-18 Quarterfinals Adam Ramkissoon def Joshua Arnold 6-4, 6-3 Scott Hackshaw def Zarek Joefield 6-1, 6-2 Che Andrews def Samuel West – walkover

Trinity showed excellent teamwork as they paddled away with their second consecutive title in a time of one minute, 7.10 seconds. Queen’s Royal College (1:10.10) had to settle for the silver medal while Hillview College were only able to muster a third place finish in 1:15.80.

Speaking to Newsday after the achievement, Trinity College’s captain, Nicholas Mac Leish said: “A lot of energy was expelled in the last couple of races as some of our athletes had to participate in backto- back races, however, the team showed great effort by giving that extra push when it was needed the most, and now we can boast of back-to-back titles.” Mac Leish said their was only possible because of the long hours of hard work in training and the time invested collectively by the team.

“One of our main motivators was keeping the Regatta title in the school and we consider this location our home as it is our training turf, however, despite the scorching heat and the number of competitors increasing, we were able to apply the techniques and tactics worked on during those long training sessions to reclaim the title. It was a great team effort and a great well done to the guys at Trinity College Moka,” he said.

Action got underway close to 10 am with 16 schools competing which was the largest number of entrants for the annual event sponsored by Excellent Stores Limited.

St. Joseph Convent (POS) paddled away with the first gold on the day as they won the U-16 Female Small Boat event in one minute, 39.90 seconds ahead of second placed Bishop Anstey High (1:40.70) and St Joseph Convent (San Fernando) (1:59.30). In the U-21 Female Small Boat event, St.

Francois Girls’ comfortably held on to the first position as they finished the race in 1:31.70, bettering St. Joseph Convent (POS) who timed 1:37.50 and Holy Name Convent (1:42.80).

QRC’s blistering pace in the water (1:24.30) proved too much for the Polytechnic Institute and Hillview College in the U-21 Male Small Boat event and they were left battling for second. Polytechnic’s (1:27.10) just managed to scrape past Hillview’s time of 1:27:50 to secure silver.

Things were then shaken up a bit when both male and female teams paired up with their ‘sibling’ schools as they contested for the U-21 Mixed Small Boat crown. Trinity College paired with St. Joseph Convent (POS) as they rowed their way over the finish-line in 1:25.00, well ahead of the Polytechnic’s mixed team time of 1:30.10 and the 1:35.20 timing of Hillview’s combination with SAGHS in third. Bishops Anstey High held their own in the U-21 Female Standard Boat event as they copped the gold medal in 2:31.10 and managed to maintain a deserved lead over St. Joseph Convent (St. Joseph) who finished in 2:39.60.

Trump derided Mexico as a source of rapists and criminals in his campaign and has vowed to build a wall on the southern border. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto recently cancelled a trip to Washington over Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for the wall.

U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati immediately faced questions about the impact of Trump’s stance toward Mexicans on staging one of the biggest events in sports as he presented the bid alongside his counterparts from Mexico and Canada in New York.

“We have very specifically addressed this with the President,” Gulati said of the Trump controversies.

“He is fully supportive of the joint bid, encouraged the joint bid, and is especially pleased with the fact Mexico is participating in the joint bid.” Trump has also faced criticism over his plans — since stopped by courts — to bar new visas for people from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last month that all players, team officials, and support staff from the 48 finalists “need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. That is obvious.” The US, Mexico and Canada have to guarantee freedom of travel as part of the bidding requirements.

The proposal for the first World Cup with the field expanded from 32 to 48 teams is that the U.S. hosts all the games from the quarterfinals. The US would get 60 games while Mexico and Canada would have 10 each.

“We don’t believe sport can solve all the issues in the world but, especially with what’s going on in the world today, we believe this is a hugely positive signal and symbol of what we can do together in unifying people, especially in our three countries,” Gulati said atop the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan.

The North American nations are seeking to bring the World Cup back to the region for the first time since 1994 when the US was the sole host. Mexico wants to be the first three-time World Cup host after previous editions in 1970 and 1986.

The U.S., Mexico, and Canada all expect to qualify automatically — as the last co-hosts South Korea and Japan did in 2002 — but the FIFA Council has the final decision on the 2026 slots. The quota of finalists for CONCACAF, the North and Central American and Caribbean region, will double to at least six under the new format.

The hosting rights are due to be awarded by FIFA in 2020.

Pride entered the day/night ninth round contest second in the standings, about 10 points behind leaders Guyana Jaguars and hoping on a win to catapult themselves to the top, especially with the twotime defending champions sitting out the round.

But Pride were undermined, ironically by one of their own – exciting Barbadian all-rounder Roshon Primus – who smashed an entertaining half-century and returned to grab five wickets and hand an under-strength Red Force side an unlikely win.

Resuming the penultimate day on 133 for five, Red Force rallied to 211 all out in their second innings thanks to Primus’s 51 off 62 deliveries and Imran Khan’s supporting 26.

When opener Amir Jangoo perished in the day’s first over without adding to his overnight 71, the pair then pulled Red Force around in a 63-run, seventh wicket stand.

Primus, who top-scored in the first innings with a similarly entertaining 60, struck nine fours and a six while Imran Khan counted two boundaries in a 49-ball knock.

Once Imran Khan edged a cut at left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican and was caught behind, the innings quickly declined as the last four wickets tumbled for 14 runs.

Primus, who started the day on nine, was ninth out bowled by Warrican who finished with three for 19 while fast bowler Justin Greaves picked up five for 63 – his second five-wicket haul in nine first class games.

The 21-year-old Primus, who captured four wickets in the first innings, returned to haunt his compatriots with another superb performance as he captured five for 21 to blow away Pride for a meagre 109. Set 240 to win, the hosts never came to terms with the right-armer, with only Greaves managing to make it to 20 as one of four players in double figures.

Primus finished with career-best match figures of nine for 42 to clinch Man-of-the-Match honours.

It was seamer and captain Marlon Richards, however, who made the early breakthroughs, removing Test opener Kraigg Brathwaite for 17 and Kyle Corbin for four, as Pride limped to 25 for two.

However, even then, there was no indication of the collapse to follow, as the hosts battled to 62 for three after opener Anthony Alleyne also fell, to one of two catches at second slip by Primus.

But once Test wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich – now with only 51 runs in his last five innings – had his middle stump removed by Primus for eight after an hour at the crease, Pride declined swiftly to lose six wickets for 16 runs in the space of 48 deliveries.

Greaves belted two fours and a six in a 36-ball knock at the death, in adding 31 for the last wicket with debutant Rashid O’Neale (9 not out) before missing a heave at leg-spinner Imran Khan and going bowled.

SCOREBOARD
Barbados vs Red Force
Red Force 1st innings 196
Barbados Pride 1st innings 168
Red Force 2nd innings
(overnight 133 for five)
K Ottley c Dowrich b Greaves………………… 3
A Jangoo b Greaves……………………………. 71
I Rajah c Dowrich b Greaves…………………. 0
T Webster c Stoute b Greaves……………….. 0
Y Cariah c Warrican b Stoute……………….. 31
A Cooper c Dowrich b Stoute……………….. 10
R Primus b Warrican…………………………… 51
I Khan c Dowrich b Warrican………………… 26
M Richards c Brathwaite b Greaves………… 1
B Charles lbw b Warrican………………………. 4
S Cotterell not out…………………………………. 5
EXTRAS: (B4, LB2, W1, NB2)……………….. 9
TOTAL: (all out, 59.3 overs)……………… 211
Fall of wickets: 8; 21; 21; 94; 116; 134; 197;
198; 202; 211.
BOWLING: Greaves 17-2-63-5, O’Neale 6-2-
16-0, Williams 4-2-9-0, McSween 5-2-9-0,
Chase 5-0-30-0, Warrican 6.3-1-19-3, Stoute
15-3-55-2, Brathwaite 1-0-4-0.
Barbados Pride 2nd Innings
(Target: 240 runs)
K Brathwaite b Richards………………………. 17
A Alleyne c Primus b Webster………………. 17
K Corbin c Primus b Richards………………… 4
R Chase c Cotterell b Primus……………….. 19
S Dowrich b Primus………………………………. 8
K Stoute lbw b Cotterell…………………………. 4
K Williams lbw b Primus………………………… 0
J Greaves b Khan……………………………….. 20
J Warrican c Jangoo b Primus……………….. 4
P McSween c Cotterell b Primus…………….. 0
R O’Neale not out…………………………………. 9
EXTRAS: (LB3, W1, NB3)…………………….. 7
TOTAL: (all out, 40 overs)………………. 109
Fall of wickets: 25; 29; 48; 62; 67; 74; 74;
78; 78; 109.
BOWLING: Cottrell 8-3-17-1, Richards 9-3-
24-2, Charles 6-2-15-0, Webster 6-1-17-1,
Primus 9-3-21-5, Imran Khan 2-0-12-1.

John Arnold, chairman of the Tobago Jazz Experience, in an interview with Newsday said its organisers expects 81 percent brand equity.

This year’s event, to be held from April 22 to the 30, will feature Grace Jones, D’Angelo, Morgan Heritage, Shabba Ranks, and Kes the Band as its main acts.

The line-up drew mixed responses from the public. In a February Newsday article, some members of the public described the line-up as, “Uninspiring”, “lack of imagination”, and “out of touch”. Some went so far as to make suggestions such as Fantasia, Angie Stone, Avery Sunshine, Kem, Maxwell, Music Soul Child for the lineup.

But Arnold said, despite what some have described as an uninspiring line-up, the shows will be quite powerful.

Arnold could not give an idea as to how sales have been going as, “we have not looked at that as yet.” But he assured there was a lot to look forward to at this year’s nine-day festival, among them fringe events such as the inclusion of a film festival; Leve – an event marrying fashion, music and food; Fashion Coda; and Plymouth Jazz at Dawn Arnold said questions surrounding this year’s line-up needed to consider the budgetary constraints. The festival was given a budget of $12 million, $3 million less than last year. In the eyes of the organisers it is the best show that can be put on with the money provided.

“The show is working within the budgetary constraints,” he said, adding that headliners did not make a show but were rather part of the show.

He assured, however, “we do have proper entertainment.” While many have discussed the profitability of the festival, Arnold said the purpose of the event was not profit but rather to boost Tobago’s visibility and to merge people with the various communities in Tobago. “It is a catalyst to come to your island and adds to your visibility campaign.” Arnold noted that the model of jazz for profit in Tobago had come and gone. “I think you have to go back to the history of the festival. There was a reason that model had to change, to embrace a community kind of thing.” He said when the jazz festival model was changed in 2009, it took a tourist-centred approach.

Arnold noted that many people needed to look at why the festival was being held and what one intended to gain from the festival.

The festival has drawn new sponsors, among them the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) and discussions were being had with other potential sponsors.

Saying that there were three models upon which festival are born, home-grown, tourist-centred and indigenous, Arnold said all of TT and more so Tobago needed to analyse, “what they [festivals] do for us and what we want them to do for us

THE concept of mindfulness has been around for many years, but fast-paced levels of co-existence has given it traction in today’s environment.

Professor emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, USA, assisted in bringing the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream media, and he also showed that practising mindfulness can result in tremendous improvements in both the physical and psychological well-being of individuals. Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment, and accepting it without judgement.

Though it may appear to be simple, mindfulness brings with it tremendous benefits. Let’s start with your well-being and mental health – it boosts working memory, reduces stress, creates a broader capacity to treat with adverse events, relieves depression, helps with substance abuse, relieves eating and anxiety disorders. Mindfulness also brings positive outcomes in your body as it treats with heart disease, lowers blood pressure, reduces chronic pain, improves sleep patterns and alleviates gastrointestinal difficulties. Your work environment is not devoid of benefits as you become more efficient, task-focused, communication between your co-workers and yourself is improved, you become a better leader, better listener and better prepared to embrace constructive criticism.

Mindfulness is designed to re-configure our minds to experience life as it happens, our energies and thoughts are channelled towards the present moment and we avoid worrying about things that occurred in the past or what might emerge in the future; there is also a purposeful concentration on what’s happening around you and you are also non-judgemental about any observations.

Being mindful and focused provides clarity in your thoughts, slows down your nervous system, allows you to relax, helps to cope with stress and most importantly, assists in becoming more aware of yourself, your body and the environment. Because of its uniqueness, there is research to suggest that mindfulness helps individuals to accept their experiences, feelings and painful emotions, rather than respond negatively.

Begin your new journey of mindfulness by developing a systematic method of focusing your attention on your present circumstances and basic meditation techniques.

Professor Kabat-Zinn recommends at least 45 minutes of meditation for six days weekly, but these simple exercises can also help. With eyes closed, sit calmly on a straight-backed chair for at least 30 minutes and focus on your breathing and air flows from your nostrils and mouth. Become aware of sounds, sensations and ideas and embrace each thought with purity and an open mind.

These exercises allow your awareness to expand and can lead to a renewed you.

Sandrine Rattan is a Communications/ Branding Consultant/ Author and President of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) Contact: thecorporatesuitett@ gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.com or contact 283-0318.

At no cost, the organisation’s trainers have guided the visually impaired clients and staff in The Sage Path serenity yielding meditation. Research has shown that this neutral, ancient and time-tested technique helps participants to discover a gentle, natural state of deep inner serenity, tranquillity and total relaxation. It helps dissolve stress, tension and anxiety, and produces profound inner quietness. The Sage Path also introduced the group to the specialised practice of Namaste Namaskar; gentle, yogic body postures and to Qi Gong Chi; an ancient Chinese practice of self-healing, which both create a greater sense of rejuvenation and flexibility in the body.

The organisation believes the population is plagued with stress, anxiety, tension and many other lifestyle diseases, and is now extending its services to the general public.

Interested persons can visit www.thesagepath.

org email: hello@ thesagepath.org or call 742-3454 or 343-5432.

Hutcheon has been singing for five decades and is known for hits like Kiss Me for Christmas and covers of Frank Sinatra songs, and will appear at the festival at Turtle Beach Hotel Resort on April 29. He will be accompanied by the Wayne Guerra Trio and will be performing Sinatra’s Come Fly with Me, Just the Way You Look Tonight and Strangers in the Night. In 2015 Hutcheon won the Humming Bird Medal silver, for culture. Other artists on the day include Barbadian smooth jazz and jazz/reggae saxophonist Arturo Tappin.

The annual festival will also feature local pop/soca group Kes the Band, rapper Chromatics, as well as international artistes D’Angelo, Shabba Ranks and Grace Jones, among others.

The Malabar Arima Non-Government Organisation (Mango) has taken full opportunity of the Epic initiative facilitated by the Digicel Foundation, to promote self-reliance, health and wellness on their path to healthy living. It was established to work directly with community- based organisations and encourage public private sector partnerships.

Entitled Making Arima Green Again, the initiative focuses on a grow-box project at the community centre and a market day. The market day will highlight the benefits of growing one’s food and expose residents to varying entrepreneurial opportunities.

During the intervention, 500- 600 plants will be distributed and residents can take advantage of workshop sessions conducted on developing kitchen gardens along with advice on care and maintenance of plants.

This community project will be done in collaboration with the Malabar Community Council, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries and the Digicel Foundation.

To get the project rolling Digicel Foundation’s assistant accountant, Videsh Lal, and board director, Vindra Dhanraj recently presented a cheque in the sum of $33,750 to Mango president Kerry Ann Sudama, PRO Angelo Marcelle and director Kathleen Diaz-Rogers at Digicel’s head office on Maraval Road, Port-of-Spain.