Put on your hearing ear and seeing eye. The political, structural and strategic truth of sport in T&T has been laid out for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear. The facts can't be denied, excused away or defended.
Last week Thursday and Friday, T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) secretary general Annette Knott and yours truly attended the Best Practices symposium hosted by the US Olympic Committee ( USOC), Olympic Solidarity and the Pan American Sport Organization( PASO) held at the Conrad Hilton in Miami. It was one of the best events I have attended in the 17 years I have been involved in the Olympic Movement.
Two days of discussion sharing ideas, thoughts and solutions with people who have both the theoretical and practical understanding of the sport development continuum.
The overarching agenda was how to deliver quality sport. There wasn't always agreement but the discussions were robust and constructive. The focus was on the big picture.
In one of the daily papers on Sunday, the front page story revealed details of a special report done by the auditor general on the Sport Company.
The stark contrast between the positive and forward thinking two-day symposium and the headlines on local sport is as vast as the dark of night and the light of day.
Saturday night I attended the Harvard Club annual awards and Sunday afternoon the T&T Hockey Board prize-giving ceremony. The passion for sport and the spirit of giving back through sport and the innocence of sport was most pronounced. The sport foot soldiers of T&T are in it for the right and best motives.
The problem is not at the base.
In regard to the auditor general's special report, the pronouncements are hugely disappointing but it should be appreciated that there is a new minister of sport, new permanent secretary, an acting CEO of Sportt and a new board of directors of Sportt is to be announced. It is their individual and collective task to ensure that such adverse and negative situations never again happen.
At the Conrad Hilton, 40 of 41 Olympic committees from South, Central and North America and the Caribbean had intense and far-reaching discussion about Olympic sport. Some of the questions, ideas and thoughts that were shared and discussed included:
�2 Not all sport is good. Recognition of this fact is important to developing sport. Excellence takes time.
�2 The current popular sport model–the pyramid–actually operates as a system of exclusion. Those who are not good enough at the school level are excluded from the sport. Much of the investment is wasted. The talent identification model does not work because of the difficulty of predicting the future. It is an inefficient and ineffective means to create a sustainable sport system.
�2 If we want excellence there must be a physical literacy programme.
Across the Pan American region there were common issues and challenges. Major Challenges at the following levels:
Government:
�2 No expertise re sport at governmental level
�2 No national framework
�2 Limited budget
�2 Lack of clear strategy
�2 Limited understanding of the sport development pathway
National Sport Organisations:
�2 Lack of resources and expertise
�2 Lack of collaboration
�2 Lack of talent transfer
�2 Knowledge gap
Coaches:
�2 Perception of coaches as volunteers
Athletes:
�2 Early specialisation
�2 Lack of proper club structure
�2 Small pool of athletes
�2 Athletes not getting proper coaching
�2 Economic struggles confronting athletes
The TTOC can access the expertise from within the Pan Am region to help create a better future for T&T. Once all concerned are prepared to put good governance, policy, process and systems ahead of politics, the future of T&T sport is bright no matter the problems and failures and mistakes.
Editor's Note: Brian Lewis is the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the National Olympic Committee.