TTCGA president Brian Lewis shared in the celebration via Twitter to send well wishes to The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC).

“Gold Coast 2018, one year to go! On behalf of Team TTO and all of us here in Trinidad and Tobago wishes you (GOLDOC) best wishes, enjoy your celebrations and we are looking to representing the red, white and black in Gold Coast in one year’s time and doing our part to contribute to a great Games.” The Commonwealth Games is a unique, world class, multisport event that is held once every four years and is often referred to as the ‘Friendly Games’. The Games brings together the members of the Commonwealth of Nations in an effort to raise the bar of sport for all humanity and provide a level playing field where athletes compete in a spirit of friendship and fair play.

On March 13, Queen Elizabeth II placed her message into the baton and entrusted its journey with the many baton bearers who will carry it around the Commonwealth. Travelling for 388-days throughout all nations and territories, the Relay will be the longest in Commonwealth Games history giving more than one-third of the world’s population, the opportunity to have a memorable experience with the baton and share the dream of the Queen as well as the Games.

From May 28-31, the baton will spend four days in Trinidad and Tobago. The final baton- bearer will return the baton to Queen Elizabeth II or her representative, where the message will be removed from the baton and read aloud to officially open the 2018 Games.

The team, which is coached by former national player Nicola Welch, got past Jamaica 4-0 in the final yesterday morning at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex in Nassau. Tahirah Beepat, Victoria Gillette, Megan Stafford and Yasmin Mohammed all chipped in with a goal apiece to secure TT ’s victory.

The team remained undefeated for the tournament after winning two games on the opening day. TT first pummeled Barbados 17-3, and then earned a 10-2 win over Jamaica. Three teams participated in the tournament, and due to their perfect start, TT ’s earned a bye on Saturday before beating Jamaica for the gold in a close contest to Friday’s clash.

Jamaica first defeated Barbados 11-2 in the round robin match on Saturday morning, and then defeated the Bajan outfit in the evening to earn their place in the final. Coach Welch was pleased with her team’s performance in the final.

“Jamaica definitely came out strong to try to beat us as you will see by the score margin but the girls persevered and remained strong and poised on defence.

They converted where they needed to on offence but our strong defence anchored by our goalie Zoe Van Reeken was our strong suit. I’m extremely proud of their efforts and they put their all into the game to bring home the gold,” she said.

Welch, who last represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Pan Am Games in 2010, was delighted to emerge triumphant in her first stint as a national coach.

“This was my first tour as a national coach. It’s certainly very different from being an athlete but I’ve gained a much better understanding of the game in my experience playing at the university level and I’m happy to be able to share the knowledge with TT ’s present young athletes.” The TT U-15 male team had a disappointing outing, winning only one out of five games and finished fourth just above Bonaire.

TT ’s only win came against Bonaire who they trounced 22-7.

TT lost to Bahamas (7-10), Barbados (8-10) and Jamaica (6-7) in the round robin rounds, then went under to Jamaica 3-7 in the bronze medal game. The teams return from Bahamas on April 13.

The tournament saw 18 boats entered with a total of 89 anglers, including two female and two male junior anglers. 3043 pounds of fish were caught and brought to the scale. This includes 162 pounds of dolphin, 155 lbs of wahoo and 2800 pounds of yellow fin tuna.

A total of 34 billfish were caught and released along with nine blue marlin and 25 sailfish. The award for heaviest wahoo went to Keegan Williams, Heaviest Dolphin went to Adrian Sabga and Heaviest Yellowfin Tuna to Godfrey Thomas.

The junior angler award went to Issiah Aleong while the Best Female Angler award was given to Tachelle Mohammed. Andy Ramnaran was named the Best Overall Angler while the best foreign boat award went to Black Child 2 of Grenada.

Former Argentina international Pablo Caesar Aimar and former Colombia national team forward Juan Pablo Angel Arango will arrive in the country today and will appear in the goodwill football match between a TT FA/FIFA team and a Government/SporTT outfit at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

Angel Arango scored 44 goals in 175 appearances for Aston Villa, also appearing for Colombian club Atletico Nacional,River Plate and LA Galaxy among other teams. He made 33 appearances for Colombia between 1995-2005.

Aimar made 52 appearances for Argentina between 1999 and 2009, also appearing for Argentina’s Under 17 and Under 20 teams. He played for River Plate, Valencia, Zaragoza and Benfica. He represented Argentina at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups and two Copa Am?rica tournaments, as well as a FIFA Confederations Cup. He reached the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup and the 2007 Copa Am?rica with the Argentine national side. Aimar was also a member of the Argentina team the won the 1997 FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Malaysia.

Both Angel and Aimar will take part in the 30-minute football match following a press conference at the Ato Boldon Stadium. FIFA president Infantino will also partake in the match which will include several local officials, past players and personalities.

Infantino is also scheduled to meet with President Anthony Carmona and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley today.

Infantino was in Aruba on the weekend for the CONCACAF XXXII Ordinary Congress which was also attended by TT FA boss David John-Williams and General Secretary Justin Latapy-George. Elections were conducted for CONCACAF and FIFA Councils positions at the Congress. The Confederation’s membership also received updates from the implementation of the ONE CONCACAF Vision as well as a report of the progress achieved in each of the Confederation’s divisions, including a review of the organisation’s strategic roadmap and the 2017 financial budget, which was approved. While opening the Congress, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani emphasised the need to bring the World Cup back to CONCACAF in 2026, for which the Congress displayed rousing, unanimous support. To that end, three CONCACAF member nations – Canada, Mexico and the United States — have scheduled a “historic announcement” for today in New York City.

He also announced the creation of a Players Ambassador Programme aimed at advising and supporting CONCACAF in its mission to develop football.

They were in serious danger of falling short, though, with wickets falling repeatedly but Jeron Maniram’s whirlwind century proved the glue to stick the innings together.

Maniram blazed 137 from 122 balls with 16 fours and three sixes to put his team in position for victory.

But when he was run out with the score on 239 in the 48th over and 16 still needed with two wickets left, all three results were possible.

Another wicket fell with the scores tied which caused panic but pacer Strassack Sankar scrambled a single off the final ball of the match to secure a nerve-wrecking win.

Central Sports captain Shazan Babwah tried his best to rein Powergen in with four wickets for 38 runs.

Earlier, Central Sports had contributions from Babwah (54), Denis Smith (41) and Dave Samooj (30 not out) in compiling 254 for seven from their overs. Adrian Cooper was the pick of the Powergen bowlers with three for 36.

Summarised Scores: QUEEN’S PARK 157 all out (38.3 overs) – Daron Cruickshank 57, I Mohammed 4/11, Rayad Emrit 3/15 vs ALESCON COMETS 104 all out (29.3 overs) – W George 35, Akeal Hosein 3/5, Terrance Hinds 3/30, Kevon Cooper 2/18.

CLARKE RO AD UNITED 108 all out (28.5 overs) – Kerry Holness 40, Aniel Kanhai 3/37, Amir Khan 2/19, Jeetendra Sookdeo 2/7 vs MERRY BOYS 110/4 (25.2 overs) – Rishaad Harris 30, Amir Khan 37 not out, Ahkeel Mollon 4/28.

CENTRAL SPORTS 254/7 (50 overs) – Shazan Babwah 54, Denis Smith 41, Dave Samooj 30 not out. Adrian Cooper 3/36 vs POWERGEN SC 255/9 (50 overs) Jeron Maniran 137, Gibran Mohammed 28, Babwah 4/38.

Pacers Roshon Primus (2/14), Marlon Richards (2/24), Sheldon Cottrell (1/2) and debutant Tion Webster (1/17) were all among the wickets as the Red Force looked to stun the Bajans on their home soil.

Earlier, Amir Jangoo, on his First Class debut too, didn’t add to his overnight total but he did much of his damage on Saturday in a knock of 71 that lifted the Red Force to 211 in their second innings. Primus, however, again terrorised his compatriots with a knock of 51 to ensure the Red Force bowlers had a total they could defend.

Leading by 28 runs on Saturday after dismissed Pride for 168 in their first innings, Red Force were slumping at 21 for three in their second innings before the 19-year-old left-handed Jangoo came to the fore with a well-compiled effort.

The knock lifted Red Force to 133 for five at the close, an overall lead of 161 runs heading into yesterday’s penultimate day.

Jangoo hit seven fours and two sixes.

Lively pacer Justin Greaves (3- 39) knocked over Kjorn Ottley (3), Isaiah Rajah (0) and Tion Webster (0) in quick time but Jangoo combined with Yannic Cariah (31) to stitch up the innings in a vital 73-run, fourth wicket stand.

Red Force looked to be batting their way back into a sound position when seamer Kevin Stoute (2-29) struck twice in the space of six overs, removing Cariah to a catch at first slip and debutant Akiel Cooper, caught at the wicket for 10.

Whenever there has been a report of a missing female teen there follows a stream of negative comments and chastisement ranging from pronouncements of the severe beatings that should be inflicted on the youngster, to open confessions that if it were their daughter she would be handcuffed or locked away in a room. What is also distressing is the number of people who make the immediate supposition that the motives for leaving home is to seek sexual gratification, and that they somehow believe their opinion gives them liberty to describe the missing teens in the most vile crude terms.

These comments are very problematic because of the underlying assumption that the home life of the missing person is ideal and comfortable, and that they are just being indolent precocious youngsters. However, to address the situation appropriately, the actions of the missing teens needs to be understood within a wider social, cultural and political context.

So, with that in mind, I am asking the armchair QSM social workers and psychologists to stop for a minute and consider the rollercoaster of complexities that encompasses female teenagedom.

I am not advocating that we make excuses for teen misbehaviour, because we all know that they can be petulant know-it-alls (I remember my own teenage years and those of my children), but even though those female teens may be making poor choices they do not deserve to be demonised.

Let us not forget that part and parcel of adolescents and puberty is hormonal changes, its resultant physical and mental effects, and that accompanying phase of development when they begin to question their identity, push boundaries, and strive to assert independence and privacy.

According to www.understandingchildhood.

net, young people struggle to find their way from the uncertainties and confusion of puberty to fully-fledged adulthood as they meander different and conflicting pressures and role models.

There is also the often understated fact that a significant number of female teens live in unhealthy home situations which they find unacceptable, and some feel that they have no choice but to make the difficult decision to escape. I am sure you will not be surprised to know that there are households which are hotbeds of emotional, physical, psychological or sexual abuse, and gender-based discrimination, so the female teen flees to seek solace from emotional trauma, grief, habitual mistreatment or bullying.

In addition, unrealistic parental expectations puts undue pressures on conflicting young minds, and then there are those who may be living with mental health or intellectual challenges and vulnerabilities.

Given the myriad of reasons why girls go missing, and the harrowing experience it causes parents, guardians, friends and family, it is time to rethink and rebalance the political, social and cultural systems of caring. The negative commentary by the armchair QSM social workers is unhelpful, especially if the action of running away or “going missing” is a cry for help. Instead, the narrative should focus on positive awareness raising messages so that troubled teens know where they can get support to assist them in coping with, and unlocking some of their teenage troubles and angst.

For the commentators who beliefve that missing female teens are leaving home to co-habit and indulge in sex with unscrupulous men, your input would serve a more useful purpose if its focus was on self-care and protection, forming healthy romantic relationships, and the location of safe places of refuge.

I recall sometime ago The Honourable Prime Minister saying “You call on the Prime Minister to do something about crime, I’m not in your bedroom.” Mr Prime Minister my call to you to take an interest in what is happening in the bedrooms and households of some of our female teenagers who have the potential to run away, by injecting additional resources into the adolescent social care system so that evidence-based solutions can be implemented to reduce the numbers of missing teenage females from rising.

The caring and passing along of these plants by the pupils –all members of their school’s 4-H club, mimicked the Olympic Torch relay and ended with a tree-planting ceremony.

The first tree was planted at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port-of- Spain last Wednesday.

A second planting is scheduled for the Scarborough Botanical Garden next month.

The seven schools based in Trinidad that took part in the initiative were represented at the ceremony. Representatives from Massy Stores, the World Food Day National Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the National 4-H Council and the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries were also in attendance.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Sen Clarence Rambharat signalled the importance of the Run for Food initiative stating that it would “bring people closer to the producers of their food,” a media release stated.

Established in 2016 by Massy Stores and the World Food Day National Committee of the ministry, Run for Food has already helped raised local awareness for food sustainability during its one-year existence, the release said.

“Last year we created quite a stir when we announced that that there was $100 million in business for local farmers just from Massy Stores alone. The truth is in 2015 we sold $67 million in local produce (fruits and vegetables) and with import substitution and a closer relationship with our local farmers we forecasted that the produce category will grow to $100 million,” said Derek Winford, CEO of Massy Stores.

“In a declining economy where retail sales are down by as much as 15 percent we [Massy Stores] saw $5 million in growth from goods supplied to us by the local farming community.” The tree-planting exercise was a precursor to the Run for Food Charity 5K, which took place last Saturday at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain.

As with the previous year, the public was invited to participate in the run by contributing $60, which will be donated to Feel (Foundation for the Enhancement & Enrichment of Life) and United Way Trinidad and Tobago.

“I encourage the nation to support our local farmers and food sustainability,” said Deokee Bholasingh- Hay, chair of the World Food Day National Committee.

On the tree-planting exercise Bholasingh- Hay said: “We are trying to educate children about the indigenous fruit. Each year we target different schools for the exercise and I encourage them to share the knowledge gained.”

“This is a French book,” said one child confidently.

The rest of the children turned to him and said, “no,” most emphatically.

The librarian read on. “Vooback.” “What? What is this? It’s so weird. This is not my language.

Is this a book about a plant or what? Is the bug’s name Icky? What kind of book is this? Is this a language?” they asked.

Du Iz Tak uses an invented language to tell the story of a plant growing from a shoot.

Two damselflies watch it grow and comment on its growth. As the plant grows, the insects invent more creative ways to use the plant. Insects bring a ladder and build a tree house that is attacked by a spider and a bird.

The illustrations are small to add to the bugs’ perspective.

Most of the pages are white space.

While searching for meaning in the story, children note certain types of linear progression.

They realise seasons are changing in the story, and they note how this affects the plant. They note a cocoon going through its stages.

“This is the weirdest language I ever heard,” one child says again.

Reading this book to your child or your students if you’re a teacher will show you a lot about how children process language.

Girls were much more willing to “interpret” the bugs’ language.

They accepted it was a language. Boys were more perplexed and annoyed with the story. Boys became more visual and relied on the interpreting the pictures to understand the story. Girls worked with language more than boys.

All children tried to construct the story by asking themselves questions. “Are the bugs knocking?” Girls felt the book was “interesting and fun.” Boys said it was confusing.” One girl deemed Du Iz Tak as “unique.” Only a couple of boys said they didn’t like the story.

“I don’t get the point of the book,” said one boy.

“It’s about bugs’ lives. It’s about the seasons. It’s about how plants grow,” the girls said.

Children decided the book was about many things. One decided it was a about a baby shower for a cocoon.

They used their imagination to ground them, and then they decided to construct the story from the pictures and finally they tackled the language.

When asked about observations they could make about the language, girls said they have punctuation like question marks.

All the children realised words were repeated. Using their imagination, they actually translated lines: “Here’s your baby shower”, “Ok”, “so let’s climb up the ladder.” One boy realised the language had a syntax.

He pointed out, “The sentences have an order to them.” Boys continuously wondered about the purpose of the book and girls weren’t put off at all by the boys’ distress. Interestingly enough, by the end of the book, children accepted the invented language as an actual language: bug language.

In the end, one boy said, “This is the weirdest language I ever heard.” Du Iz Tak is a fun read for children. It sharpens comprehension and analytical skills at a young age.

Parents and teachers will find it a very useful book in determining how children approach language.

The theme of this year’s exhibit, ‘Gems of our Twin Island’ featured local flora cleverly arranged to create familiar scenes in and around Trinidad and Tobago, including Maracas Bay and Bucoo Reef. The event brought together florists, agronomists and craftsmen to the Country Club in Maraval to showcase the skills and products of the Society’s members.

While ornamental plants assumed centre stage for the exhibit, local entrepreneurs were also on hand to showcase their products which ranged from personal-care items to produce and gourmet chocolates.

Garden enthusiast, Henrietta DeVertuil said that the exhibit provided a valuable forum for budding horticulturalists and entrepreneurs seeking to build a customer base. “People tend to think of these events as stuffy fower shows where all we do is drone on about plants, but the truth is that horticulture and agriculture has become a very lucrative business and ornamental plants are only the beginning as there are a number of diffferent cosmetics and food stuff available as people tend to go towards healthy but cost-effective meals.” President of the Horticultural Society, Joan Hampton, said that while she was generally satisfied with the response of patrons to this year’s show she expected a much larger gathering.

“The show has been gradually picking up momentum over the past few years but it hasn’t drawn as large a crowd as I have expected and a lot of that has to do with people’s interest on foreign ornamental flowers. For weddings and other special occasions, persons tend to focus less on the locally available plants and more on those imported.” Hampton added that this speaks to a wider issue that many local Horticulture enthusiasts and many farmers continue to face.

Newsday spoke to Nawaz Karim an official with the Agricultural Scoiety of Trinidad and Tobago who echoed Hampton’s sentiments adding that while the room for growth in local Agriculture, there is no incentive for persons to become involved.

“There’s a lot of opportunity in agriculture to grow and flourish in Trinidad but the willingness on the part of the private sector and the government to invesrt simply isn’t there. We’re really grateful because events like these really give us the opportunuty to market ourselves not only as farmers but as entrepreneurs.”