Monday is a significant day for sports in Trinidad and Tobago, as team sports can resume together with the reopening of gyms .
So says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley: “Team sports can begin, gyms will be open. Where team sports are allowed, there is to be no congregation within venues. For example, you won’t have spectators for the event but the players can play." He made this disclosure on Saturday during a regular COVID-19 virtual press conference from Tobago as the country moves into Phase 5 of relaxing the restrictions which were implemented since mid-March.
The news to reopen gyms, sporting venues and for all team sport to commence and racing activities have been met with great appreciation by sporting fraternity more, in particular, the sports of cricket via the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB).
General secretary of the board Surujdath Mahabir said: "We are happy for this news. Although we cannot re-start the domestic competitions because we have been off the park for quite a while, some new initiatives will startup. We have the over-40 and over-15 tournaments coming up and we intend to let this signal the start of cricket on the local scene."
He added, "We have become a nation where we have cricket all year round and we are thankful that in the past without any knowledge that COVID-19 will come about, we started to make cricket a year-round sport. We want to welcome the over-40 and over-50 cricketers into the fold and we are saying that we are open for business."
The news also means that the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) plans to play its 2020 season in T&T got a major boost with the announcement. Guardian Media Sports understands that the CPL is very close to getting approval from the T&T government to stage its programme here and this will mean that from mid-August to September the world will be focussed on T&T as the CPL capital. The CPL will be perhaps the first T20 franchise tournament to be played since the lockdown has affected all other tournaments around the globe to date.
Mahabir believes that all other sporting bodies throughout the country will be looking to host events soon because the absence of action has adversely affected their bottom line. For sports to survive in a small economy like T&T, there needs to be some action and this is why we can expect a flurry of activity over the next few months.
The two most popular sports in T&T are cricket and football and with football's house in an uproar because of a legal fight between the TTFA and FIFA, the world governing body for the spoiting discipline since March over who is in charge of the TTFA administration.
FIFA removed the then-president William Wallace and his three vice presidents which means the nation's footballers might have to wait a little longer to get any on-field action.
Several training facilities are expected to open up and yesterday head coach of the Kumar Rampat Cricket Academy (KRCA) Vasu Rampat said he will be open for business as he has had to turn back cricketers for far too long. He plans to implement all the personal protective measures but will open his facility in California to all.
The racing fraternity can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Sport of Kings is set to resume on Saturday at Santa Rosa Park in Arima with a six-race card and three simulcast events. Racing was last staged on March 14.
Meanwhile, Douglas Camacho, chairman of the Sport Company of T&T (SporTT) said most of the sporting facilities under the management of the Sports Company are ready for the return of national athletes to the training immediately.
Camacho said that SporTT has done all necessary work at the respective facilities following the Ministry of Health protocols to ensure a safe return to sports for all athletes, inclusive of being sanitised.
Among the venues set to reopen after being closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19, is the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima; Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella; Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, as well as the National Aquatic Centre and National Cycling Velodrome, both in Couva.
However, two major facilities, the entire Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (ERISA) in Tacarigua, as well as the Home of Football in Couva, will both remain close as they are being used by the Ministry of Health as step-down centres in the government's fight against COVID-19.