The presence of women in sport is so much more advanced today than it was, say 40 to 50 years ago. Women athletes have always excelled at sprinting but who can forget our victory at the World Netball Championships right here in T&T in 1979.
Jean Pierre, an exceptional former netball star whose name will long be remembered after that fantastic victory, as the Complex was named in recognition of her achievements.
Although at primary and secondary school level girls were encouraged to take part in the school’s sports meetings (as it was a must for most of the girls), many would never have thought about taking up a sport professionally.
Netball was arguably the easiest way for women to participate in sport without the likely harassment from ignorant male folks in our society. Cricket was a 'no-no' and I remember speaking with Louise Browne, the first T&T player to captain the West Indies women’s team and she recalled when her local club team went to practise in the savannah, they would be hurled sexist slurs like, "why you’ll don’t go home and cook?" and "woman is to make child". It was indeed tough for women who genuinely wanted to pursue a life in sport outside of the traditional netball and athletics.
We continue to excel at netball as we go to the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England later this year. Unfortunately, we are not as talented as the great netball team of the ‘70s but it is a team full of aspirations and a fighting spirit that will make us all proud in T&T. More importantly, the name T&T will be taking part in another world sport amongst the elite.
In athletics, following in the footsteps of Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Michelle-Lee Ahye has ensured her name is now being called with all the top sprinters around the globe. Already becoming the first female athlete to create history from this country to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, my hope for her is to work on her technique and strength which will enable her to improve her times and thereby give her a serious chance to medal at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Our women cricketers gave a good account of themselves at the regional championships losing out to the overall champion Barbados. We now need to take a step back and analyse the women's performances and understand what we could have done better or differently so that when next we come up against the Bajans or anyone for that matter, we can ensure that we come out on top.
Putting in the work to look at the other teams and their strengths and weaknesses should also be high on the agenda for the board. For example, why is Deandra Dottin so strong? What makes her tick? Does she have any weaknesses and where and how can we exploit them? I must admit our women cricketers seem very professional, dedicated and coachable. I hope the powers that be have a proper development plan in place so when the older heads move on, the younger ones can come straight into the fold.
Our women footballers have been a disappointment for me. Let me, however, make it clear, it cannot be their fault. I thoroughly enjoyed their performances leading up to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup when we narrowly lost out on qualification to Ecuador. I thought then that France 2019 looked very promising for us as we had the experience and the talent to move forward and qualify.
But this was short-lived, only for them to be let down by an inept T&T Football Association (TTFA) board who gave them no support. Yet still, these women reached the last round of CONCACAF qualification with very little preparation, changes in the coaching staff, little to no funding, low morale and behind the scenes bacchanal. These ladies never had a chance to go to France after the TTFA board likely gave them just lip service. Truly sad!
Another woman who has burst onto the international scene last year and is making history worldwide is our women's cyclist Teneil Campbell. Her inroads in the sport have made me proud as a Trinbagonian. Campbell, the top road racer in the Caribbean, became only the first T&T and Caribbean women’s cyclist to finish among the top two in an international tour event.
Once again, I have never known our women cyclists to be so competitive, but it seems that in Campbell we have someone who is determined. At 21 years old, the sky is the limit for her. I expect her to become stronger and better in the coming year.
Next month, she is off to the Pan-American championships which incidentally will be a qualifier for the Olympic Games and the forecast is she will make history for a second time at the championships. Who would have thought years ago we would have the possibility of a woman qualifying for the Olympics in cycling? I hope she gets all the help she needs financially not only from the Sport Company of T&T (SPORTT) but from the Minister of Sport because Campbell is special.
The progressiveness of women in sport is remarkable and speaks volumes for achieving both gender equality and social justice in T&T. Well done to our ladies.
Happy Easter, T&T!
Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the views of any organisation of which he is a stakeholder.