Minister of Sports Darryl Smith has come in for praise from several heads of the country's National Sporting Organisations (NSO) on the first anniversary of his appointment to the post.
The general consensus was that Smith had done an excellent job of meeting the needs of the different NSOs while operating on a reduced budget.
President of the T&T Football Federation David John-Williams stopped short of going into detail during his review but maintained that the Minister, "had been very good for football" and had "always been accessible", giving him an eight out of 10.
Speaking on behalf of the T&T Cricket Board, third Vice-president Patrick Rampersad said he had also been pleased with Smith's performance.
"In my mind, he's done a tremendous amount with the resources he has. He is well-intentioned and has a fairly good grasp of the requirements of sport. I think he is boxed in by economic issues and so on and there are developments that take place higher than his level that interfere with the kind of progress he would like to make. I would give him more than a passing grade, roughly about a 7.5."
Another vote of approval came from Ephraim Serrette, President of the National Association of Athletics Administrations.
"He's always been in contact with us, working with us for solutions and in the case of funding, communication has been smooth. Overall, relations have been very good."
President of the Amateur Swimming Association of T&T Joseph McLeod felt it was too early to pass judgment on Smith's record though he said his relationship with the Minister had been all positive so far.
"It's too much of a short period of time to do any kind of assessment," he noted, adding: "He has had very good interactions with the NSOs and he has maintained his open door policy."
Meanwhile, president of the T&T Hockey Board Douglas Camacho said that after the turbulent reign of former Minister Anil Roberts, Smith's diplomatic approach to the job had come as a welcome relief.
"He's certainly been better than the recent Ministers as he has tried to be collaborative and listen to ideas. He's done a pretty decent job and has really made an effort at outreach which is quite a pleasant change from the recent past."
Camacho was especially impressed with what Smith had managed to accomplish during a lean economic time.
"He made it clear the government did not have the funds they had in the previous five years and while everybody had some concerns with regard to the treasury, he vowed to work with us. He appears to have made an effort way beyond what would have been expected of him to reach out to the less-recognised, so called minor sports. Everybody is quite pleased."
Camacho added the Board was anxiously awaiting the budget statement in October to learn whether funds would be put aside for the relaying of the turf at the National Hockey Centre in Tacarigua.
The upgrade would be necessary for the board to stage international tournaments."From a hockey perspective I would give Mr Smith a 7 out of ten," he said. "If he delivers on the turf, he will move up to an eight."
Editor's note: We asked the NSOs interviewed to rate the Sports Minister on a scale from 1-10, three did and the other two chose not to.