Last Saturday, when Prime Minister Rowley announced the listing on the COVID-19 restrictions, one could have heard the shouts of joy from citizens. The beachgoers could venture up to Trinidad's north coast and enjoy the bake and shark while on their way to many of our fine beaches/waterfalls on the north coast; others, excited at the prospect of going to the western peninsula to Macqueripe where it may have been slightly quieter than places like Maracas. What about those who opted not to take a dip in the salty waters, but rather go to Caura River, put a pot on the fire to enjoy their favourite curry or pelau and maybe, play some all fours?
With domestic flights operational, Tobago would also be a great alternative. I have always enjoyed going to Tobago. Apart from the marvellous beaches and hospitality, the food is excellent and there is so much underrated tranquillity. My experiences going to Tobago every year while representing my former employer for over two decades with the Great Race and dealing with Tobago people will always be one of my fondest memories. Some of the warmest people I know come from the sister isle.
Others, on the other hand, couldn't wait to revisit their favourite watering holes and enjoy that missed picong from politics to the latest community bacchanal. From all reports, there was not a rush on the first day at some establishments, but some businesses were pleased with the turnout. Most importantly, I think people are taking a cautious approach.
Perhaps the biggest cheer from the PM's announcement came from the sporting fraternity. They have been eagerly waiting for team sports to resume especially when football, in particular, has been taking place in Europe for weeks. I note that the T&T Cricket Board is starting a fete match competition for over 1940s and '50s which should give those fete match teams some joy. I know from talking to two officials from one of the TTCB zones that they are not pleased as they felt with just 2 rounds of cricket to play, they could have restarted the domestic competitions. While I empathise with them, it would have been difficult to restart competitions, especially having earlier made an official announcement to cancel the remainder of the season. It would have meant that players would have had to be training and getting in some form of practice. Another serious question would have been raised as to whether grounds were suitably prepared to host matches.
Although football is in a state of confusion with the imposed normalisation committee seemingly having lockjaw, there is a Pro League and a Super League and I expect both of these leagues to be looking forward to starting their 2020 campaign maybe in August and playing out the rest of the year without any COVID-19 fears. I assume all teams have already notified their charges to start training and by this week or next, groups of 25 players would have taken to the fields.
The horse racing fraternity must be finally breathing as they were to restart on one of their traditional racing days, June 19 - Labour Day. Public holidays have traditionally brought more punters than Saturday race days, so having previously announced that racing was to resume on June 19, only for that plan to be aborted by the authorities must have been a bitter pill to swallow. One day later, they were finally given the green light for racing to resume this Saturday. Let's hope the horses are ready and well-prepared after such a long lay off.
Various stadia around the country are being re-opened for our national athletes to train and some are allowed to use the facilities to keep active. The National Cycling Velodrome and Aquatic Centre have also opened their doors. Unfortunately, the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena remains closed as it is being used as a step-down facility in the fight against this deadly virus. How can I forget the infamous 'Home of Football'? Thankfully, it is being used to house some patients as it could not be used for anything else based on the reports from the former TTFA executive.
Amid all this positivity, I am hoping in the next few days the PM will announce more good news and signal the government's approval for the staging of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) right here in T&T. As previously mentioned, it will be an excellent advert for T&T and could very well be the first T20 tournament to be played since the COVID-19 pandemic affected all sports worldwide. The Minister of Health keeps harping on that he is going to closely monitor the biosecure test series going on in England with the West Indies team and from that series, make some decisions regarding the CPL.
This little twin-island republic has done marvellously well in limiting the COVID-19 spread and I honestly see no reason why, with the help of our superior medical advisors, we cannot successfully bring players from other countries to take part in this tournament that potentially is seven weeks away. It goes without saying that all precautions must be undertaken and who knows, by then, if things stay as good as they are, we may be able to put 50% of fans into the Oval to watch matches. Maybe I am being overly ambitious or naive but surely this can be managed appropriately to return to some semblance of normality.
The Prime Minister has taken an extremely cautious approach with the handling of this COVID-19 pandemic. The negative impact on businesses and the economy are obvious and some may argue that he may pay the electoral price for exactly that. But the successful hosting of the CPL alongside careful management can serve as a jumpstart to T&T's economy and bring in much needed foreign exchange. So, I say put two and two together. You have an economy in need of a boost and an event waiting to happen - bring it on, Mr PM! Let's carefully plan and serve as a model to other countries eager to safely return to the sporting arena.
Editor's note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the views of any organisation of which he is a stakeholder.