Mandela’s task is much easier than that of his younger sibling as the only other player entered in the Under-19 draw is Jacob Gillezeau.

Nku is expected to run away with the Under-17 crown again, but he has seven challengers, including Chad Salandy, Christian Edghill and James Lanser, seeded second through fourth, respectively.

Despite the fact that two-time defending Caribbean Under-17 champion Charlotte Knaggs is now studying in the United States, there are still only two players—Talia Abdool and Angelique Jackson—in the girls’ Under-19 event.

Jackson’s sister Amanda is in a round-robin Under-17 field of four, along with relative newcomer Pascall Bell, Jamie Leigh Edghill and last year’s Under-15 champ Faith Gillezeau.

The boys’ equivalent event has a knockout draw with Jonathan Blanc seeded to win the title ahead of Nicholas Caddle, Dimitri Agostini and Carl Miller, respectively.

There are also eight players in the Under-13 draw, but Kobie Khan, son of 17-time national champ Rhea, is not expected to be seriously challenged.

Source: Express

Kalechstein has been a rock so far in the competition this year, holding off all contenders and making it look effortless. If Mc Leish gets the better of him on the uneven terrain on Sunday, this will put him one up on Lander Rodney and Curtis Cox, who have both won the CariFin Cross Country race four times.

Mc Leish seems to be ready for the race, saying, “We are going down Sevilla with running confidence as never before!”

In the female run, Wendy D’arbasie of CBTT will be looking to repeat as the champion.

“I will be putting my best foot forward, it is not an easy race, but with the present competition I expect to win.,” D’arbasie stated.

In the walking category, Deodath Harrikissoon and Cherylin Cadogan will be hoping to win the male and female walk, respectively. Harrikissoon and Cadogan both won their event at the Chancellor Challenge on May 8.

The female walk may be the most competitive event of the day, as team Jamaica will be participating. The two-time winner (2010 and 2011) Paulette Thompson will not be competing this year, as she was beaten by Catherine Stewart in Jamaica. Therefore, Stewart will be the new female walker to represent Jamaica.

Source: Guardian

Ahye stopped the clocked at 11.40 seconds, assisted by a +1.2 metres per second tailwind, at the Bird’s Nest Stadium. This was the first time the venue had hosted an international track meet since the 2008 Olympics.

The race was won by Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare in 11.04, while Mikele Barber (11.30; second) of the US and Ruddy Zang Milama (11.32; third) of Gabon took the other podium places. Fourth was Jamaican Aleen Bailey (11.36).

Another Jamaican sprinter, Sherone Simpson, was disqualified from the race.

And at the Ponce Grand Prix in Puerto Rico, T&T’s Ayanna Alexander picked up silver in the women’s triple jump event. At Francisco “Paquito” Montaner Stadium in Ponce, Alexander leapt 13.51 metres on her final try, but could not catch eventual winner Luvia Maria Saldivar of Cuba, whose best effort disturbed the sand at 13.66m, also on her last jump.

The previous round Saldivar registered a 13.59m mark to head proceedings. Before that, Alexander and Saldivar both had best efforts of 13.50m.

Third was US athlete Crystal Manning (13.11m).

This year is the first time the event was held as part of the IAAF World Challenge series

Source: Express

Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Rogatkin said he was elated to be in Trinidad for the very first time and described the country as pleasantly unlike any he has visited before.

“Everything here is cool, the weather is warm and the place is different from anywhere I’ve ever been,” the American freestyle rider said.

Rogatkin, who recently took part in the Festival International Sports extreme (FISE) in Montpellier, France, revealed that he is looking forward to seeing the local riders in action.

He noted that he met Trevlon Hall, organiser of the Monster Energy Exams, a couple years ago and has maintained contact with him throughout.

Other international riders who were expected to arrive late last night were 2013 X Games Brazil silver medallist Pat Casey, David Peroza, Jesse Puente (Americans) and Hungary’s Adam Kun.

The pro riders will begin showcasing their extreme talent from today with their first stop being the Maloney Government Primary around 12.30pm. They will then shift their show to the Trincity Mall where shoppers will be treated to an exhibition at 3pm.

Tomorrow, students at Maple Leaf International School will get a chance to see the BMX display at 10am while the action shifts on Saturday to Gulf City Mall in San Fernando at 4pm.

Source: Newsday

Leading the winner’s row was former national cyclist and former San Fernando mayor Ian Atherly, who was the fastest motorcyclist at the competition held at the base at Vieux Fort, St Lucia.

Atherly, currently the chairman at the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Limited (PLIPDECO), was also the oldest competitor at the event and won the nine second category.

Rawle Mahabir, of Auto Sports Promotions Ltd, said the T&T team was hit by mechanical challenges at the event, but “they were able to come out as the top performers in the competition.”

Mahabir said Atherly was riding a Kawasaki Ninja 1000cc racing bike which emerged as the overall fastest bike at the event registering a time of 9.378 seconds over the quarter-mile distance.

“He (Atherly), as the most mature competitor at the event, and he was able to show that with his experience and age he can be among the fastest at the event. T&T also provided the winner of the open class category who was also the fastest car at the event, Wazeer Khan, driving his Nissan Silvia S14 turbo,” Mahabir said.

Marlon Roopnarinesingh, with his Toyota MK4 Supra, also emerged victorious in the nine-second category.

Atherly said he was not surprised by his victory.

“Competition has been in my blood from teenage days and I know how to compose myself and do what is required when you reach at that level of competition from my cycling days. I have always had a passion for (motorcycles.) I was a licensed motorcycle rider since I was 18 and I rode motorcycles during my cycling career,” he said.

He said April was his second attempt at the drag wars.

“I was third in a lower category (in 2012) and I do not give up,” he said.

Atherly revealed that during his tenure as San Fernando mayor he continued to ride his motorcycle.

He said the last year when there was limited racing at Camden airstrip in Couva he was preparing for this big event trying different techniques and he encountered tremendous mechanical problems which were corrected and “I saw the results I was looking for in St Lucia in 2013.”

While he pleased with his win, Atherly said he was a disappointed man, since many drag racing enthusiasts do not have a venue to race.

“The motor sport industry here and worldwide is a trillion dollar business and there is not one track available here to harness and cultivate young people who are willing and interested in participating in a safe and secure environment with respect to motor racing,” Atherly said.

He said in the absence of a secure venue many motorcycle enthusiasts and competitive racers have taken “to our streets and we employ measures like cameras and not speaking on cellphone (which are) all the wrong initiatives.”

Atherly suggested that a facility be built or leased for auto sports and “40 per cent of road fatalities can be avoided. I have chosen to take mine on the track so as to encourage others, like myself, to do it right way to enjoy speed.”

Source: Guardian

However, prior to getting to the $100,000 winner-take-all final which will be increased by a percentage of the gate receipts, both W Connection, previous winners in 2004 and 2007 with Charles-Fevrier at the helm, and Stars, will have to get past tough opponents in title-holder Defence Force and debutants Central FC, respectively, in the semifinals at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, tomorrow.

Last Friday in the second match of a quarterfinal double-header at Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, W Connection, also runner-up in 2005, 2006 and 2011, whipped last year’s beaten finalist and 2008 winner Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA 3-1.

For the “Savonetta Boys,” Andrei Pacheco scored a ninth-minute penalty while Neil Benjamin made it 2-0 four minutes into the second half before Aubrey David pulled a goal back for Caledonia, only for Hashim Arcia to seal his team’s last-four spot with a 79th minute strike.

Reflecting on the win, the St Lucian-born Charles-Fevrier, who has been at the helm of the team for each of its top two finishes in the tournament, said the win was expected as the team has been playing very well in recent times.

He added, “Over the past two months, we have been more consistent as a unit and this has transformed into a better team spirit among the players and into our results as well.”

Looking ahead to the semifinal showdown with Defence Force, Charles-Fevrier, who guided his team to the recent Lucozade Sport Goal Shield title as well as qualification to the main draw of the Concacaf Champions League said his team will be up for the challenge against the reigning Pro Bowl champions.

“It’s a semifinal and we know which ever team we come up against it’s never going to be easy. Added to the fact that, we will be facing the Digicel Pro League champions Defence Force who we beat 4-0 in a recent encounter in the league on May 6.

“They (Defence Force) will no doubt be keen to avenge that defeat, but at the same time we are also confident that we have the quality in our squad to go all the way to the title.”

In its quarterfinal at Mucurapo, Defence Force was a comfortable 5-0 winner over T&TEC in its quarterfinal at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, with national winger Kevon Carter scoring a hat-trick (68th, 70th, 83rd) and Rodell Elcock (63rd) and Ross Russell Jr (78th) adding the others.

Stars also enjoyed a relatively easy passage to the semifinal round via a 3-0 shutout of St Ann’s Rangers in the second match at Mucurapo with Kennedy Hinkson, Marcus Gomez and Kareem Moses the scorers against St Ann’s Rangers as it hunts its first lien on the Pro Bowl.

Following the win, Stars coach Angus Eve, a past Pro Bowl winner in 2005 and 2006 as an assistant coach to Terry Fenwick at San Juan Jabloteh, said he was very pleased with the professional performance and was keenly looking towards the semifinal meeting with Fenwick’s Central FC in tomorrow’s first semifinal from 6 pm.

“Our aim going into the match was to get the required result to get to the semifinal stage of the competition and we were able to achieve that and also maintain our good defensive record by not conceding a goal,“ stated Eve.

“We are now focusing on Central FC and having played them four times already this season we know we can expect another tough, closely-fought contest.”

He noted that when you hear people say that Central FC is a new team in the league it’s a kind of misleading fact, because most of the players on their roster have the experience of playing in the Pro League before.

“In our meetings so far, they have been very competitive in each match and we expect nothing less from them come Friday as both teams will be playing for a spot in the winner-take-all $100,000 final.”

Central FC, creditable fifth-placed finishers in the league in its debut season, got a 61st-minute strike from Antigua and Barbuda forward Peter Byers to beat Police 1-0 in their quarterfinal at Couva.

In addition to the winner’s prize there are individual awards for “Top Scorer,” “Most Valuable Player” and “Most Outstanding Coach” of $2,000, $2,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Tomorrow’s semifinals

Venue: Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya

North East Stars vs Central FC, 6 pm

Defence Force vs W Connection, 8 pm

Final: May 29

Venue: Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, 8 pm

Source: Guardian

Seon Power, now based with Thailand Premier League club Chainat FC, and Hughtun Hector of Vietnam club Song Lan Nghai will be joining the team in London next week before journeying to Bucharest for the first friendly on June 4.

The 29-year-old Power, T&T’s ‘MVP’ at the Caribbean Cup Finals in Antigua in December, particularly wants to make a good impression ahead of the Concacaf Gold Cup in July.

“I’m very anxious to join the boys again. I’ve missed playing for the national team as I haven’t done so since the Caribbean Cup last year. The experience in Thailand has been pretty good so far. I’ve been playing regularly and the standard of the football is relatively good. I think I’ve definitely benefited from the experience so far,” said Power.

“The focus, obviously now, is trying to get myself back into the rhythm with the national team and giving my best in these two games and take into the Gold Cup.”

Hector is also looking ahead with high anticipation

“Vietnam has been quite good so far but I’ve missed a lot of things about Trinidad and Tobago so when I team up with the squad at the end of the month, it will feel a lot like if I’m actually back home even though we’ll still be far from it,” Hector said.

“For me personally, it’s a great opportunity to settle back into the team and, hopefully, I can make a good enough impression and help the team to produce a good display as we get ready for the big one which is the Gold Cup. I’d really love to see us put on a good show and get positive results at the Gold Cup,” Hector added.

T&T also plays Estonia on June 7th in Tallinn before returning home to continue training ahead of their Gold Cup opener against El Salvador in New Jersey on July 8th.

Samuel enjoys title success in Iran

T&T defender Jlloyd Samuel proudly held the national flag in front of the cameras as he made his way to the podium to collect his winning medal as Esteghlal celebrated their success in the Iranian Professional League earlier this month.

Samuel, formerly of Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers, was an integral member of the club that booked its place in next year’s Asian Champions League by winning the Iran League with a 1-0 win over fourth-placed Foola in its penultimate game of the season.

Samuel’s team then defeated Al Shabab 4-2 in the first leg of the current Asian Champions League knockout stage last Wednesday with the player netting in the 55th minute to level the scores at 1-1.

Samuel and Bolivia’s Vicente Arze are two current internationals in the Tehran-based team. In 1970, Esteghlal became the first Iranian football club to win the Asian Cup. Tehran-based Esteghlal is one of the highest supported teams in Iranian football with an estimated count of more than 30 million fans.

Yorke: Sir Alex kept United door open for me

Dwight Yorke, in the midst of the news of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager of Manchester United, revealed this week that the Scotsman assured him that the club would always leave its doors open to him.

Today, Yorke is an ambassador for the Old Trafford club and represents them in exhibition Legend games throughout the globe.

Recalling the moment when he was told he could leave United in 2002, Yorke said: “I remember him calling me into the office and telling me that he felt it was best for the football club that I moved on.

“Obviously, I was devastated. But then he said to me: ‘This club will never forget what you have done for it and the door here will always be open to you’.”

Yorke went on to join Blackburn Rovers after scoring 48 goals in 96 matches for the “Red Devils.” He recalled also the dressing room celebrations after United beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final, describing Ferguson’s reactions as a fond memory.

“It was incredible in that dressing room, he was like a kid. He was running around, jumping on people, drinking champagne. He doesn’t let his guard down often but that night was something different. For him he had achieved the ultimate—the treble—and got us that European Cup. It was like a mixture of joy, satisfaction and relief all coming out in one. To see him like that will always stay in my mind.”

Yorke said Ferguson was Manchester United’s main motivator.

“He just gave you so much belief and confidence. The closer we got to winning the treble, the more he made us realise what we were on the brink of doing. That we could make history, that we should not let this opportunity pass. He made us give our all every time we went out on the football pitch. I remember at half-time in the Nou Camp when things were not going well. He told us that if we didn’t grasp this opportunity we would be walking past that famous trophy and not be able to touch it. It was the drive and belief he gave us that made sure it didn’t.”

Peltier delighted with Slovak Cup success

Lester Peltier joined the list of Trinbagonians celebrating domestic titles this month when he scored to help Slovan Bratislava defeat MSK Zilina 2-0 in the Slovakian FA Cup final.

Peltier put his team 2-0 ahead in the 49th minute after Igor Zofcak put the current league leaders ahead in the 27th.

The win meant Slovan was lifting the Cup for the sixth time since 1993.

“It’s a great feeling to score in the final and help Slovan to the Cup title,” said Peltier.

“We’ve worked hard all season and personally for me it felt wonderful to be able to help the club realise its ambitions of winning the Cup. It’s been a difficult season but we’ve done pretty well. We are top of the league table and now to win the Cup is great achievement,” Peltier added.

Peltier joins Khaleem Hyland (Racing Genk), Jlloyd Samuel (Esteghlal, Iran League) and assistant coach Dennis Lawrence (Wigan Athletic, England) on the list of those winning titles outside of T&T this season.

n Shaun Fuentes is the media officer for the Soca Warriors/TTFF—shaunfuentes@yahoo.com

Source: Guardian

The duo were speaking after the media conference on Monday, at the VIP Lounge, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, where the settlement was announced to the general public.

“It’s a big relief for the players,” said Jack, the ex-TT goalkeeper. “I feel it’s a new chapter now in Trinidad and Tobago’s football. It’s all positive right now and we hope that the new Federation can lead us to where we (were) back in 2006.”

Commenting on TTFF president Raymond Tim Kee’s invitation for the “Warriors” to give back their expertise towards the future generation of TT players, Jack noted, “of course.”

“We have that experience of playing at the highest level and there are many players who are doing their coaching badges, who want to come back and contribute to Trinidad and Tobago football,” he said. “As long as we’re given the opportunity, and I think Mr Tim Kee is true to his word, it’s something we’re willing to do and we look forward to it.”

At the moment, Jack stated, “I’m doing my coaching badges, just finished my Level Two Coaching and, in July, I’m hoping, fingers crossed, I’ll be doing my UEFA “B” Licence.

“For me, the natural progression was from my playing career for a job in football management, as a manager whether here in Trinidad or over in England.”

Comparing TT football now to its heyday in 2006, Jack pointed out, “we’ve gone back quite a long way. I don’t think it’s a situation which cannot be retrieved. I think it’s a situation (whereby) we can recover from it because there is talent here.

“As long as, from the top, everything is organised and we have good coaches in place who can improve our technical and tactical awareness as players, I think there is a chance. It’s going to be difficult but it’s not something that’s impossible, as 2006 demonstrated to the country.”

Charles, the ex-TT defender, admitted, “it’s a relieved day for me actually. Happiness comes when we see that football would actually get back to the level that we know it could get.”

While willing to assist in the growth of TT football, he was quick to state the stressful times as the Warriors battled the TTFF for payment of bonus funds promised to them during the 2006 World Cup.

“We’ll share different sentiments,” said Charles. “It’s not about celebration because it saddens me that it could come to this point. My vision, as well as the other guys’ vision, is to actually bring football to a level that the First World countries are at.

“We took a drastic fall and what we can do is try to make that effort where we can help the young athletes that are in the game right now, to actually mentor them and try to see if they can get to the level that we know that they could get to, especially as a country.”

Source: Newsday

However, in terms of worldwide figures, we now have a reliable idea based on the recent survey commissioned by AGON, the FIDE World Championship partner, and conducted by the authoritative polling organisation YouGov.

While the international popularity which chess has achieved over several decades is now well known, the actual survey findings are still rather startling. Among its revelations, for example, is the fact that more people in the United States play chess than tennis and golf combined! Outside the glare of the media spotlight, chess players now make up “one of the largest communities in the world” the survey claims, with some 605 million adults playing the game regularly.

The authoritative poll taken across varied national demographic profiles in the US, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and India shows a surprisingly stable 70 per cent of the adult population has played chess at some point during their lives. “Even if they played as children but left it behind as they grew up, they still retain a deep admiration for the game,” the poll findings indicated.

As far as the percentage of adults who currently play chess, either weekly, monthly or during the past year, the survey found the figures surprising: 12 per cent in the UK, 15 per cent in the US, 23 per cent in Germany and 43 per cent in Russia. In raw numbers: over 6,000,000 in UK, 35,000,000 in US, 16,000,000 in Germany, 50,000,000 in Russia, 85,000,000 in India. And more than half of these chess-playing multitudes are within the 18 to 34 age bracket. The massive Indian participation, of course, is largely the result of the heroic impact that World Champion Vishy Anand has had on his own people since he won the supreme title seven years ago.

The AGON study adds: “Across the board, chess players and non-players alike rank chess significantly higher than any other game or sport for attributes such as intelligence, sophistication, strategy, perfection and complexity, confirming top branding agency Pentagram’s view that chess is about thinking and winning.”

Last year when Enrique Pena became the new president of Mexico, the New York Times attributed his success to “the same attention to strategy he applies while playing chess.” And when US stock trader Boaz Weinstein cleaned up after JPMorgan Alost $1.8 billion, the same newspaper explained, “he is a chess master.”

The survey also finds that chess “remains ubiquitous in popular culture as a metaphor for conflict and power.” In fact, Steve Martin, CEO of M&C Saatchi Sports, sees the royal game as “the sleeping giant of the sports/entertainment world.”

AGON, which holds the rights to the World Chess Championship Cycle, commissioned this survey as part of its “social responsibility.” Chess, the commercial enterprise says, is not a “casual” game. Unlike other sports, chess content remains vital and engaging long after a game is over and the results are known. “As with many hobbies, chess enthusiasts make significant investment of time and energy without expectation of compensation, except in kind.”

AGON’s survey also recognises the unique social value of chess. “Unlike other games,” it notes, “chess has an educational value recognised by governments in dozens of countries, including the European Union, to improve test scores and fight against Attention Deficit Disorder, and is now commonly included in school curricula.” As a gesture endorsing this role, the world championship organiser announced that during the cycle, 200 children will be invited to participate in tournaments and instruction each morning before the competrition begins.

In this regard, DR can only hope that the current problems being experienced in the T&T Chess Association will not affect efforts to get a chess-in-schools programme going in the country. It seems that only an effort of such magnitude among our young people would produce the kind of great leap forward in chess participation our country needs to reap the manifold benefits of this great game.

Source: Guardian