During a meeting of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Enterprises Committee (PAEC) on Wednesday, Solid Waste Management Company Limited (SWMCOL) CEO Ronald Roach said the Beetham and Guanapo landfills must be remedied and converted to transit sites for sorting and recycling trash. All remaining waste would then be sent to a new site at Forres Park that would possess an impervious lining and collect leachate (run-off).

However, in an interview last Thursday, Rambachan said because of fumes from the current Forres Park site, residents of the nearby Springvale community had to seek medical attention, and the Springvale Hindu Primary School has been closed.

“The fumes from that dump go very regularly into that village and the smoke clouds the whole village,” Rambachan said, adding, “The school has had to close on several occasions because of the dump.” “So the decision of the Government to move all activities there, I think that is something we are going to resist very strongly. What is required is for Government to think, not just in terms of that kind of landfill, but for incineration processes based along models that we have for instance in South Korea. And they should try to encourage private-public sector partnerships in that regard.” Asked what type of resistance might be planned, he said: “Total resistance. Whatever way we have to fight it, we will fight it.

The Government have to stop dumping Port-of-Spain problems in central Trinidad.” Long-time resident Vernon Polo, 68, told Sunday Newsday that little children would “wet pieces of cloth and wear it over their noses” because of the smell from the landfill.

“The air becomes toxic whenever the wind blows the fumes from the dump into the village and that does happen regularly,” Polo said. “And it have no such thing as wet and dry season, is just smoke everywhere.” He said villagers regularly complain of breathing problems, stomach cramps and a burning sensation in their throats.

“The children in the area does fall sick on a regular basis,” he said. He admitted to being unsure, however, whether the smoke had caused a rise in cancer rates in the village.

This is a health promotion/screening initiative geared toward diagnosing, educating and empowering members of the public about the importance of preventing and managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

At the Tunapuna church on January 29, some 100 church members benefited from a range of services which included complete medical checkups, H1N1 vaccinations, and blood sugar, blood pressure and HIV testing, carried out by NCRHA doctors and nurses, all free of charge.

Chief executive officer of the North Central Regional Health Authority Davlin Thomas said Walk-The-Talk answers the clarion call for a much greater emphasis on primary care and public health by creating and exploring relationships in our society via community organisations and using already existing infrastructure to establish prevention-oriented health care systems.

Thomas added that Walk-The-Talk was the artery and the window to facilitate a flow of information and services to empower communities to become healthier.

“What we are seeing, essentially, is a building of networks and relationships through service that would supersede the confines of hospital walls and enter into our communities to provide solutions before non-communicable chronic diseases escalate into health problems that will require secondary and tertiary care,” he said.

The general manager, Primary Care, Dr Abdul Hamid, has acknowledged “that an increase in early screening, detection and treatment would essentially see a decrease in the overflow of serious cases that are admitted to the hospital.” January’s outing was the project’s seventh instalment since its inception on December 18, 2016. Other groups to have benefited thus far are: • The Curepe Presbyterian Church, Curepe; • The Nur E Islam Masjid, El Socorro; • TML, St Joseph; • The Good Shepherd Anglican Church; • St Augustine South Government Primary School; • Equal Opportunities Commission Health Fair.

The project will continue to partner with various institutions, including but not limited to, mosques, mandirs, churches and workplaces throughout the NCRHA’s catchment area.

NCRHA’s chief operating officer Dr Raveed Khan said Walk-The- Talk would soon be expanding its service to include, among other things, palliative care.

Chairman of the North Central Regional Health Authority Steve De Las, and the board of directors underscored the NCRHA’s desire to be more proactive, with particular importance being placed on a preventative approach to health care, in order to lessen the need for reactive and curative approaches.

Any community- based organisation interested in having the NCRHA team provide preventative medical services can contact its Office of Primary Health Care Services at 662-4206 (Tel/ Fax) or 645-3232 ext.

2097/2098.

It was the early 1960s, a period in which the law penalised vendors who sang calypso and whistled in fish markets and other business places.

And Hendrickson, a precocious 15-yearold at the time, was charged one day by a policeman for singing at the former George Street Market in East Port-of-Spain while selling fish for his ailing mother.

“At the George Street Fish Market, I was carried to court for singing and whistling calypso by an officer by the name of Constable Sonny Small from Woodbrook. He had now come in the (police) force and was keeping duty in the fish section when he heard me singing and stopped me,” said Hendrickson, 77, known to the calypso world as All Rounder.

Hendrickson recalled that PC Small had cautioned him before he was eventually slapped with the charge.

“I had stopped whistling after Small’s warning, but continued after he walked away. But when he make the rounds and come back down, he take out his notebook, because that was the law: a vendor could not sing and whistle behind the stall, whether is calypso or what. So he charged me for singing and whistling calypso.” Hendrickson pleaded guilty in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court.

“I tell the magistrate that I am a law-abiding citizen. I told him my mother now get a stroke and I have a little sister and brother to help, and instead of going on George Street and picking pockets and doing wrong thing, I go to the lower fish wharf and most of the fishermen, they know me and my mother and I will credit the fish, go up to George Street market, sell it and I will tie up their monies and bring it for them.” Hendrickson said the court sympathised with his plight and the magistrate nodded in approval.

“I said, ‘Sir, had I the slightest idea that it was an offence for singing and whistling I would have never, sir, I am a law-abiding citizen.

The magistrate say, ’I believe you,’ and dropped the charge.

“That day in court, I put on short khaki pants and a blue shirt and the magistrate say, ‘Mr Hendrickson, you love calypso?’ to which I replied, ‘Yes, sir, that is my culture.’” The magistrate, Hendrickson said, then asked him to sing a verse of the Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) tune he was singing when he was charged.

The magistrate, he said, expressed his wish to hear him perform at a calypso tent some day.

Today, more than five decades later, Hendrickson still laughs about the incident, which brought to light, even at that relatively tender age, his penchant for pushing the boundaries.

It would become his defining characteristic as a calypsonian, one which enabled him to survive 50 years in the artform and become one of the country’s most loved and revered entertainers.

With a repertoire comprising timeless favourites such as “Blacks Ability”, “The Talking Baby”, “Garlic Sauce”, and the ever-popular “Innocent Jimmy” (Swaggart), Hendrickson is still at the top of his game and showing no signs of slowing down.

If anything, his warm, fatherly demeanour, eccentric outfits and rib-tickling offerings have continued to enthral audiences at the Klassic Ruso tent, which he has led for many years.

“I love to make people laugh,” a dapper- looking Hendrickson said in a Sunday Newsday interview on Wednesday.

“It is nice to make people laugh. It is a tonic to the body.” Hendrickson has made it to the National Calypso Monarch Finals of the Dimanche Gras show on 11 occasions.

“But the highest I ever reached was fourth place in 1984 with “The Talking Baby”. It was good to be there,” he said of the experience.

The veteran, whose children Diane (Lady Wonder) Hendrickson and Shirlaine Hendrickson, have followed in his footsteps, said he had never regretted not winning a National Monarch crown.

He has won the Calypso King of the World title on two occasions (1983 and 1984), and was awarded a Hummingbird Medal at the National Independence Awards in 2015 for his contribution to culture.

A semi-finalist in yesterday’s Calypso Fiesta at Skinner Park, San Fernando, Hendrickson said he has enjoyed a fantastic season thus far and is confident about his ability to go toe to toe with his counterparts for the remaining days.

And while he believes his witty 2017 selection, “Granny Loves Jack”, in reference to the “relationship” between former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Independent Liberal Party founder Jack Warner has been a crowd-pleaser, Hendrickson said his uplifting selection, “To Be An Icon”, was crafted to leave an indelible impression in the minds of young people.

It was written by Shirlaine, who is also a manager and host at the Klassic Ruso tent, and Hendrickson regards the tune as both timely and thought-provoking.

“I am basically talking to a youth man and I am telling him that to be an icon you have to leave footprints on the sand for people to emulate you. That is the inspiration to be an icon.” Hendrickson said icons also had a responsibility to live up to their reputation.

“When you get a young person coming to give you advice, as an icon you should be able to tell them something in the right way.” Hendrickson has shied away from overtly political songs.

“I will sing a political song, but I don’t get too deep in politics. It will get you in trouble. You don’t want to be walking the street and people watching you cross-eyed and you don’t know what you do them.” Over the years, the calypsonian said he has gravitated to humorous songs, social commentary and nation- building selections.

Born in Gonzales, Belmont, Hendrickson grew up on Clifton Hill, at the top of St Paul Street.

His mother was a fishmonger and his father died at the St James Infirmary while he was very young.

“I will always remember, my mother worked hard. She had ten children, nine of my brothers and sisters died, and now I am the only one alive,” he said.

“So that, too, has given me the encouragement to continue in calypso, hearing in my ears God telling me that I have something to do.

This is why I am enjoying this 50 years more than anything else.” As a young boy, Hendrickson said, he listened to the music of Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), Sparrow and others who had already established themselves in calypso.

The gifted Hendrickson said he experimented with various tunes and, at one point, took a keen interest in extempo. Little did he know that a chance meeting with Kitchener would change his life forever.

“I met Kitchener in a barbershop and I didn’t even know he was Kitchener,” he recalled with a chuckle. “ I walked in the Saturday evening and I started to extempo, singing ‘Yuh can’t charge a bald head man the full price, charge him half price.’ Kitchener say, ‘Who is he, boy?’” The rest, he said, was history.

Hendrickson’s first song was called “My Little Brother Charlie”; he made his debut with it on January 6, 1967, at Legion Hall, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain.

“I remember singing on position five and I got seven encores.” Hendrickson said Kitchener was pleased with his performance and vowed to turn him into a calypsonian.

“I could tell any young fella now, in the days of Kitchener, he will take a weak song from you and when he done inject it, it get life.” Hendrickson boasted that since his debut performance in 1967 he has never missed an opening night at a tent.

After performing with Kitchener for about six years, Hendrickson became one of the founders of the Carnival Development Committee (CDC) tent.

Under his stewardship, he recalled that a little-known singer, now President Anthony Carmona, was once a cast member.

“In 1980, the present President of this country, Carmona, started singing calypso at the CDC tent at the City Hall under the name of the Prophet of Sisyphus and he made the semi-finals,” he recalled.

“All these things have meh feeling great for 50 years. Anything that you could do to help anyone, do it, and don’t do it for the show because you could do it. Do it from your heart. Remember when Christ was dying and he said, ‘Forgive them.’” The CDC would morph into Klassic Ruso, Hendrickson’s base for the past few decades.

While its emphasis has been on retaining some of the traditional elements of calypso, he said the tent was also futuristic in its approach.

“I look at tent as one that will bring younger ones. But you could mix it. You will have experience.” Asked how the tent measured up to its counterparts, Hendrickson said Klassic Ruso had weathered many storms and developed the careers of many calypsonians.

“You want to be a boxer, come out and box. Don’t stay in your room and box.

I want to see when you get cuffed down or when you cuffed down people. The Calypso House, the East Zone tent, they all come from the CDC which is now Klassic Ruso.” The tent’s line-up includes Contender (Mark John), Versatile (Dorrill Hector), Manchild (Carlton Collins) and Brother Ebony (Fitzroy Joseph).

As he commemorates his golden jubilee in calypso, Hendrickson praised his wife April for her unwavering support as a wife, mother and cheerleader.

“On April 17, we will have 57 years married.

She was the one who gave me the name All Rounder.” Hendrickson said his family – he is the father of five – has been the backbone of his life and success.

“Shirlaine will tell me, ‘Daddy, when you going out and sing, put on a smile.

That smile is the attraction of the song to the people.’ “I have learnt a lot of things from my family, and money can’t buy that.”

But Keens-Douglas, 74, believes that with support and greater exposure, the tent’s brand of clean, quality comedy and social commentary could do much more for this society.

This year’s edition of Talk Tent will feature spoken-word artistes Kleon McPherson and Brian Carimbocas as special guests, singing MC David Bereaux, and talk calypso from Short Pants (Llewellyn McIntosh), as well as Avion Crooks, Farida Chapman, Miguel Browne, and of course Keens-Douglas himself.

The show will also pay tribute to community activist and actor Hal Greaves, known for his character Roy in the Roy and Gloria series, who, together with his acting partner Dawn Henry (who played Gloria), was a prominent member of Talk Tent. Greaves died last October.

“He will be missed this year, very badly,” Keens-Douglas said.

He explained his process of scouting for talent for Talk Tent, recalling for instance that the comedian “Nuts Landing” (Andre Jilkes) was selling nuts in the National Stadium and would stand up and do a piece about different soap operas. Keens-Douglas invited him to participate in Talk Tent, and his career moved forward from there.

He said some talkers were “over-exposed,” but he prefers to have people who nobody would see otherwise, and who might come third and fourth in competitions.

Performers have to talk for 15 minutes, he explained, but there are some talk artistes who do not have the stamina. Keens-Douglas himself, as a veteran, can talk for two hours straight without a script.

“You have to be totally rehearsed.

I can do a show any time of the day.

Always rehearsing.

Always on top.” Some people are natural storytellers and performers, he said, and only have to be polished on the dos and don’ts. They also have to be brave enough to go on stage and they must have a very good memory. “You can’t go around talk taking [down] what people say like a reporter. Nobody will talk if you around them. You have to absorb and retain, and must be able, when you get back home, to bring out what they said. So you researching all the time when you walking around.” People say some of the funniest and strangest things, he said, and tragedy was one step from humour.

Keens-Douglas stressed that every piece must be “about something”; it must leave something in the audience member’s head and improve their intelligence. It doesn’t necessarily have to be brand new: each year the tent brings back “old stuff,” as part of it is making stories live.

“If you don’t tell stories, they die,” he stressed.

But Keens-Douglas said that as part of the Carnival mentality and “throwaway society,” we create things, throw them away and then look for the new. He explained that stories like Snow White and Cinderella are told for years, but in this country we want a new one every year. In his own performances he mixes his old stories with the new ones.

He explained the purpose of Talk Tent is to preserve old stories and to see the art as an artform.

He pointed out that, other than the Talk Tent, there was no place people could go to see “talkers” in the same way they see calypsonians.

So the plan of the Talk Tent was to imitate a calypso tent, but instead of calypsonians, you have comics, satirists and storytellers.

Instead of singing artistes they had a singing MC and instead of back-up dancers they had backup “laughers,” though the latter were eventually dropped. One thing he lamented was the media coverage of Talk Tent and the lack of critical analysis in reporting, which he said would usually focus on the guest artiste or crowd size, but did not “focus on the art of it.” People overseas would ask him for newspaper articles about his performances, but he does not share them because of the lack of proper analysis.

Every year, material is written only for Talk Tent that will not be heard anywhere else. Asked if this was unfortunate, Keens-Douglas said most of the artistes do not have their material recorded, though Talk Tent shows are taped to preserve the material. But it would need a sponsor to get on television. and while business groups talk about values, they sponsor events like golf and horse racing and not little shows like the tent.

Keens-Douglas said he has a piece this year called The Sponsor, about the artiste as beggar. Overseas, sponsors are proud to be associated with you but in Trinidad some act like they are doing you a favour, he said, adding that the country is so rich with culture that Talk Tent is viewed as “just something down the road”. He also said the National Carnival Commission (NCC) does not recognise shows like this one, “but these shows are the glue that keep Carnival together”.

“Nobody interested in small shows,” he lamented, saying that was necessary as a way of improving Carnival.

So he suggested the NCC could spread $1 million around small shows and to people who are doing things just for love, “sponsor or no sponsor.” Meanwhile, for Talk Tent specifically, it is a struggle to put on the show every year, but it has been lucky to build its own crowd over the years. Then there’s a problem with venues. Keens-Douglas said he is not able to have repeats of the Talk Tent or do storytelling for children. He pointed out, however, that a number of ministry buildings have large conference rooms and a lot of space and could be utilised once there is basic lighting and sound systems are implemented.

Also, the shows are very successful and there is no reason they cannot move around the country and “really educate people and talk to them.” The talk at the shows includes issues such as AIDS, politics and corruption – packaged with humour – and the Talk Tent creates its own world inside of Trinidad with its own values and upkeeps its standards. Everyone should insist on standards in their own areas, he said. After 34 years the Talk Tent is still going strong and still has a following, but Keens-Douglas insisted it needs more exposure and should be able to perform for schools and have its stories put into the school system.

“The rest we leave up to God,” he said.

Talk Tent is being held from March 3 to 5 at Queen’s Hall, Portof- Spain.

McCartha “Calypso Rose” Lewis is the Calypso Queen of the world and she recently rocked the world when she copped the Album of the Year at the French version of the Grammy’s, the Victoires de la Musique, for her platinum selling album Far From Home. And like the titular flower, Rose’s 16-track album blends the beauty of sweet calypso rhythms with the thorny lyrics of social commentary.

The opening track, Abatina, is also one of the strongest on the album. Rose, with her usual melodious, resonant voice, tells the tale of Abatina, a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband Harry. It is a tune with deep storytelling that draws you in from the first few lines.

One of the final lines, “in the end Tina was buried by the church where she was married”, is poignant and melancholy and when Rose lifts the final note it is as though she is crying not only for Abatina but all the victims of domestic violence. In the track, I am African, Rose celebrates both her African and West Indian heritage, declaring she is both an African from Soweto and an African from Tobago.

“I’m an African, and my blood is hot, I’m a West Indian, I like to dance a lot,” she sings.

The song is a nice pick me up after the sobering Abatina. The party continues with the album’s most popular track, the ultra catchy Leave me alone. And the story is simple – Rose is in the mas and enjoying herself and she does not want any man holding her down and bothering her. Just leave her alone. It is a lovely chipping tune and features the thrills and chants of Manu Chao, a French-born musician of Spanish origin.

The tagline is so catchy and so universal it can be applied by co-workers who do not want to be disturbed, or by children who do not want to come in from playing on the street. Leave me alone has really captured the nation and is testament to the genius that is Rose.

Next up is the title track Far from home. It is a song of wanderlust as Rose ponders during a flight “nothing looks real from up high”.

It encapsulates her journey from young Tobago girl to international music icon.

“It’s a long, long way from Mt Irvine Bay,” she sings.

Chao returns for this tune as well as the later track, Human Race, and he does add some extra pep and vitality into the songs where he is featured.

The fifth track is Calypso Queen, one of my favourites. From the opening trumpets you are thrown back to the era of vintage calypso.

The 76-year-old Rose has been singing since 1964 and she lets you know that she was and still is the boss. “They say that I reign too long. Forgetting that meh constitution too strong,” she sings.

She added: “I been breaking down walls ever since I was small.” This is robber talk and reminiscent of a stick fighter chant. It is bold and brash and beautiful, and reminds of what an impact she made on the male dominated arena of calypso.

“No man alive or dead could come and take meh crown off meh head.” She also tells of the breadth of her career, “they used to call me small island girl, now I travel the world”, and also its longevity – “others have come and gone but Calypso Rose still singing on”.

The track Zoom Zoom Zoom is a whimsical party song. Rose is a young girl who wants to play mas but her mother will not let her. She expresses her frustration with the refrain “mammy oye!” Things continue up-tempo with Trouble, which also returns to the social commentary aspect of the album. In the tune Rose sings about a jealous man mistreating his woman. She urges him to let her be free and warns of the dangers of attempting to control her.

“It go be trouble if you fence her in,” she cautions.

There is a similar theme of freedom as with Leave me alone, but with a broader message.

The eighth track, Love me or leave me, continues the issue of the treatment of women by men but dives even deeper into romantic relationships and adds the aspect of domestic violence.

“You cook their food, you wash their clothes, when they want they give you blows,” she laments.

But in the song, Rose, a pillar of strength, will not take any nonsense from any man.

“The time is too hard to mine a man that is bad,” she declares.

For the next track, No Madame, she gets humourous. The character in the song is a domestic worker in Princes Town. She is dissatisfied with her low wages and becomes very unproductive. When her boss lists the various tasks she should have done, the character responds with “no madame”. This clever track caused me burst out laughing at least once.

For the 10th track, Woman Smarter, Rose discusses various scenarios, from infidelity to the Garden of Eden, and shows the intellectual superiority of women.

It is no feminist statement, though, as Rose delivers the cheeky line “is not me, is the people that say”.

In the track, Human Race, Rose delves into race relations and criticises racial purists.

“Nobody cyar say who the hell descended from who,” she points out.

She tells listeners that “no matter where your mammy and your pappy come from you belong to the human race”. Throughout the album, whether she is dealing with partying and social commentary, the musicality of her songs are always very happy and breezy. The final main track, Wah fu dance, continues the theme of enjoying yourself in the party. No violence nor work but just dance.

The album also features four bonus tracks and remixes: I Am African (Jillionaire Remix), Calypso Queen (Mo laudi Remix), Abatina (Dollkraut Remix) and Leave Me Alone (Kubiyashi Remix), which adds the vocal talents and energy of soca superstar Machel Montano.

It is easy to see why Far From Home received the prestigious French Album of the Year. It is fun and energetic from a musical standpoint and also has great depths of social commentary. Rose may sing “leave me alone” but with such talent, prowess and strong messages, music lovers really should not heed her advice.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

For a six-month period, 43 athletes (24 boys and 19 girls) will be engaged in the junior elite pilot project with a philosophy that takes a 360-degree approach to developing prospective podium athletes into an elite status, through the implementation of multidisciplinary procedures.

Ten of the 43 athletes will be engaged in the “Level I” category whereby they will be given special attention and primary focus over the specified period. The other participants, categorised in “Level II”, would also be included and exposed to the training sessions and workshops during the six months.

Speaking at the launch of the project, held in the VIP Room, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo yesterday, NAAA president Ephraim Serrette stated, “basically our vision is to bring about excellence in our sport of track and field, as we pilot this project towards further understanding the development it takes for our athletes, especially our juniors, to reach their full potential.” He continued, “we are taking a handful of these athletes and placing them into a controlled setting, where they would be receiving a certain amount of attention and resources as EDPU’s professionals conduct their analysis on the athletes’ improvement over the course of the period.” Candice Thomas, manager of the Support Services at the EDPU, presented the modules of the programme in detail to the athletes, coaches and media at the launch, as she gave an insight as to what the agenda entails.

Thomas detailed, “the project modules comprises the monitoring and evaluation of the athletes as well as scientific, therapeutic and educational support to improve overall athletic development. As a result, the EDPU will provide the following suite of services, namely Strength and Conditioning, Sport Psychology, Psychometric Tests, Sport and Exercise Science, and Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, to these individual athletes.” The first phase is set to begin tomorrow where Baseline Screening Assessments (BSA) would be conducted on the athletes. The BSA includes a Physical Competency Screen (PCS), Psychometric Evaluation and Anthropocentric Profiling.

The EDPU’s responsibilities to the project includes the monitoring and evaluation for junior track and field athletes, along with providing them with scientific, therapeutic and educational support to create an optimal elite athlete development framework.

All assessments and workshops conducted by the EDPU will be undertaken at the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) facilities at the Hasely Crawford Stadium (Gym, Labs, Clinic) and at the Media Room of the National Cycling Centre in Tacarigua. SPORTT are currently making arrangements for the EDPU team to conduct sessions in the sister isle, so as to ensure the equal treatment for the Tobago- based athletes.

Here are some of the Junior Elite Athletes chosen….

Under-18 Age Group: Anya Akili (Panthers), Rae-ann Serville (Memphis), Jenea Spinks (Concorde), Tyriq Horsford (Zenith), Avindale Smith (Abilene), Adel Colthrust (Abilene). Under-20 Age Group: Jacob St. Clair (Abilene), Kashief King (Point Fortin Neon Jets), Akanni Hislop (Zenith), Tyrell Edwards (Toco Titans).

The team, under coach Brian Williams, will be looking to guarantee TT’s third ever place at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, following appearances in 1991 (in Portugal) and 2009 (in Egypt).

“I think right now we are fired up and ready to take on our opponents from the opening whistle,” said TT captain Jabari Mitchell. “We have a strong desire to represent the country to our best ability and the players understand what it means doing well in a tournament like this and going on to qualify for a World Cup.

“The main thing is for us to apply ourselves well and go out there and get the job done,” added the W Connection midfielder.

Williams is optimistic of a good start but also mindful of the opponents as TT lost 2-1 to the Bermudans at the CFU (Caribbean Football Union) qualifiers last year.

“We have a good understanding of the Bermudan team. We know what happened the last time these two countries met at the CFU level and I think the players will remember that going into the game. We are focused on the task at hand and we know a good performance and winning start will be a huge boost to our chances of advancing to the World Cup,” Williams said.

The Championship opened on Friday with Honduras defeating Canada 1-0 and Mexico overcoming Antigua/Barbuda 3-0.

TT face hosts Costa Rica in their second game at the National Stadium on Wednesday and El Salvador at the same venue on Saturday.

The National Stadium and Estadio Ricardo Saprissa will both be used for the tournament, to be played in a new format consisting of a group stage, a classification phase, and the grand final.

Under the new format, designed to increase the number of meaningful, competitive matches, the top two teams from Groups A, B, and C will advance to the Classification Stage, where the Confederation’s four tickets to the World Cup at this level will be determined in round-robin play among two groups of three teams each.

The top two teams of each of the two Classification Stage groups will qualify as CONCACAF representatives to the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2017.

The ceremony was held at the Century Ballroom of the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday night.

And the O’Brien trained Thisonesforon was named Horse of the Year for his outstanding perforances during the 2016 season, winning six races including the rich Gold Cup and finishing second three times.

Leading Lady from the O’Brien barn was voted champion West Indies-bred two-yearold filly, and stablemate Battle Cry won the colt/gelding equivalent.

And Battle Cry was later voted champion two-year-old overall and trainer O’Brien got the award as top trainer __ earnings.

But his arch-rival took the champion trainer title.

Champion threeyear- old West Indian- bred was O’Brien’s Desert Dancer and added to the Horse of the Year title, Thisonesforron was champion imported stayer and also took the sward for champion turf performer.

Not to be left out, champion trainer Glenn Mendez-trained horses were voted champion West Indian- bred four-year-old and over __ Swept Away who also got the award for champion West Indies-bred sprinter.

Mendez was not done there, as he saddled Control Unit who was voted champion imported sprinter.

Anthony Nunestrained Academy Award, winner of the prestigious Derby, was voted champion West Indian-bred threeyear- old and was also champion three-yearold overall.

Rolf Bartolo won the inaugural Most Improved Horseman award, while Bobby Singh was champion groom wins and Richard William John was top groom earnings.

Shivan Maharaj was again champion owner while Ronald “Tiger’ Ali was champion jockey and Ridge Balgobin top apprentice.

Once again, the Poon Tip Stud Farm were top breeders and their Charismatic Cat the champion sire.

At the Invaders Ground in Felicity, Central Sports registered a comfortable 10-wicket victory over Tableland.

On the opening day on February 11, Tableland were skittled out for 133 while Central Sports responded with 182.

Tableland, resuming their second innings yes terday on their overnight score of six runs without loss, were bundled out for 102 with only ex-national pacer Daniel St Clair offering any resistance with the bat with 31.

Steven Shaddick collected two wickets for 13 runs for Central Sports while Rakesh Maharaj had 2/18, Shazan Babwah 2/22 and Kissoondath Magram 2/27.

Set a target of 54, Central Sports raced to 56 without loss with Kamil Pooran not out on 40 while Denis Smith was at the other end on 16.

The encounter between Queen’s Park and Merry Boys were evenly poised entering today’s final day at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair.

After Merry Boys tallied 318 on the first day, the Parkites, continuing from their overnight 32/0, were dismissed for 237 with past and present TT Red Force players Marlon Richards and Aneil Kanhai doing most of the damage with the ball. Richards, with his pace, snapped up five wickets for 69 runs off 20.1 overs while Kanhai took 3/61 with his off-breaks. The Parkites were reliant on a 69-run ninth-wicket stand between Tion Webster and Javon Searles to earn a measure of respectability with the bat.

Webster top-scored for the hosts with 65, off 77 deliveries, with eight fours and two sixes, while there were other useful knocks from captain Justin Guillen (40), Jeremy Solozano (34), Daron Cruickshank (31), Searles (25) and Marlon Barclay (22).

Merry Boys were in a bit of trouble as they closed on 58/4, with Red Force batsman Isaiah Rajah unbeaten on 25.

Webster got two wickets for the Parkites, at the cost of 14 runs. The other two matches were badly affected by inclement weather.

At Pierre Road in Charlieville, not a ball was bowled in the Alescon Comets-PowerGen match (Comets closed the first day on 341/8).

A damp pitch prevented play before tea while a downpour forced the umpires to call off play for the day.

And, at Wilson Road in Penal, only one over was possible in the First Citizens Clarke Road-Victoria encounter, with Victoria progressing from 269/7 to 272/7.

The Pride, who were runners-up in the 2016 final at the Queen’s Park Oval, won the toss and decided to bat first. And, with Hope’s invaluable 101 (on the heels of his 125 against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in Thursday’s semi-final), coupled with a blistering 69 from captain Jason Holder, amassed 271 runs for nine wickets off their allotted 50 overs.

The Scorpions relied heavily on the powerful hitting of Rovman Powell, who made a stroke-filled 65, but they were bowled out for 212 with 5.3 overs remaining.

Pride openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kevin Stoute put on 59 in 12.3 overs before Braithwaite was bowled by leg-spinner Damion Jacobs for 22. Stoute followed shortly afterwards for 44 while Jonathan Carter (eight), Roston Chase (seven) and Shane Dowrich (six) followed to leave the Pride in some strife at 138/5 in the 35th over.

Hope and Holder consolidated the innings but it was not until the start of the 44th over, when the Pride were on 179/5, that the tempo changed. Both West Indies players indulged in a feast of big-hitting, with a slew of fours and sixes, as they put on 86 in eight overs before Holder (47 deliveries, five fours and four sixes) was caught by Jermaine Blackwood at long-on attempting a big hit off Powell’s medium pace.

Hope was later run out by Powell, attempting a quick single (98 balls, five fours and five sixes) but the tail struggled to make any headway in the last two overs.

Former West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach accounted for Steven Taylor (nine) and Blackwood (seven) while Chadwick Walton (26) was held at long-off by Kraigg Braithwaite with the score on 69.

John Campbell (two) and Andre McCarthy (30) were removed in quick succession, while Damani Sewell (six) and Jacobs (28) offered little resistance, as the Pride sensed a huge victory in the day-night contest.

But Powell, in tandem with Jerome Taylor (23) blunted the Pride’s bowling with an eighth-wicket stand of 59 before Taylor was held at deep midwicket by Carter off Holder.

Powell took measures into his own hands, but Miller was trapped in front by Holder, before Carlos Brathwaite took the final wicket, of Powell (59 deliveries, five fours and four sixes), who was held by a gleeful Holder at long-off.

During the prize-giving ceremony, Hope, who was the obvious Man of the Match, was named as the Wicketkeeper and the All-Rounder of the Tournament (17 catches, four stumpings and 482 runs), while Powell was adjudged the Best Fielder with seven catches. Hurricanes captain Kieran Powell was the Batsman of the Tournament (513 runs) while Pride off-spinner Ashley Nurse was the Bowler of the Tournament (26 wickets).

Scores: PRIDE 271 for nine off 50 overs (Shai Hope 101, Jason Holder 69, Kevin Stoute 41; Rovman Powell 2-27, Jason Campbell 2-35) vs SCORPIONS 212 all out off 44.3 overs (Rovman Powell 65, Andre McCarthy 30, Damion Jacobs 28; Sulieman Benn 3-33, Jason Holder 2-28, Carlos Brathwaite 2-43, Kemar Roach 2-54). Barbados Pride won by 59 runs