International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has joined International Rugby Board President Bernard Lapasset and the global Rugby family in hailing the inaugural Youth Olympic Games Rugby Sevens event.

Bach was joined by a host of IOC and NOC members at a packed venue in Nanjing to see the newest Olympic sport and witness a compelling, exciting tournament with boys and girls teams from around the globe competing for the first Olympic Rugby gold medals to be awarded in 90 years.

With the festival atmosphere making the Rugby Sevens one of the must-see events in Nanjing, Australia’s girls and France’s boys made history by claiming the inaugural gold medals. China’s girls delighted the home crowd to take bronze and Fiji claimed a first-ever Olympic medal with bronze in the boys’ competition.

Bach said: “It's a great competition, you can see how dynamic and fascinating Rugby Sevens can be and is, and we are looking forward to a great tournament in Rio. It is always critical to get it right at a big event like the Youth Olympics Games or Olympic Games.”

It was an historic and emotional occasion for Lapasset, who is now looking forward to ensuring a successful and spectacular Rugby Sevens debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“It was a very special, emotional and historic occasion for the global Rugby family and the players and the competition was exciting and played in the shared values of the Youth Olympics and Rugby,” said Lapasset.

“The future is certainly bright for global Rugby and we can now look forward to delivering a Rugby Sevens event at the Rio Games that is great for the Olympics, great for Rugby and great for Brazil.”

Embraced by the host nation, the IRB has worked in partnership with the IOC and the local organising committee to deliver its Get Into Rugby participation programme. Centred on participation and enjoyment, the Get Into Rugby activity in Nanjing featured team visits and coaching clinics to local schools during the Games, capping a programme that has introduced more than 3,000 local boys and girls to Rugby in the last three years.

Double Winter Olympic Games gold medallist and Rugby Canada player Heather Moyse was on hand to assist in her capacity as an IOC Athlete Role Model.

“There is no doubt that Rugby Sevens will be a hit at Rio. We have witnessed a great competition that has captivated the locals, provided our young players with an incredible experience on and off the field and showcased Rugby and its character-building values to the world.”

“Rio is going to be a great event. It will be massive for Rugby’s growth and there is no doubt that our top players are looking forward to it.”

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The IOC President, Thomas Bach, gave a very positive assessment of the second summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing when talking at the closing press conference today. The YOG close tonight after 12 days of exciting competition, and educational and cultural activities.

In line with the vision of the YOG to use existing venues, President Bach started by commending the organisers, “We have an organising committee that was not only an efficient one, but also a very sustainable one. I congratulate them on making excellent use of existing venues and facilities from the 2005 Chinese National Games and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.”

A popular addition to the Games has been the brand new Nanjing 2014 Sports Lab concept, where roller sports, skateboarding, sport climbing and wushu were showcased in one space attracting some 3,000 visitors per day.  “We are very happy about the success of the ‘Sports Lab’, and we are already are thinking about its future and what role it can play in the Youth Olympic Games,” said President Bach.

Nanjing also witnessed the resounding success of new events such as 5-a-side hockey and an 8x100m relay in athletics; new sports – golf and rugby; and confirmation of the extraordinary appeal of the mixed team and mixed country events. As the IOC President affirmed, “These have been Youth Olympic Games of innovation.”

Social media played a unprecedented role in Nanjing to engage with the young athletes. The #YOGselfie campaign reached over 400 million people in the first 24 hours after the IOC President mentioned it at the Opening Ceremony. In China alone, 56 million people have posted #YOGselfie and 147 million #nanjing2014. Some 600,000 interactions were also registered via YOGGER, a key given to each participant to share contacts.

The athletes were also given the opportunity to take part in a number of fun and educational activities that will not only help them better understand important issues such as leading healthy lifestyles and the dangers of doping, but will also teach them about the meaning of the Olympic values and what it means to behave in a socially responsible manner. The Culture and Education Programme in Nanjing attracted a record number of 100,000 participations and aims to help those taking part in their future careers.

President Bach finally commended the seamless organisation and the efficiency of the Chinese hosts, and praised the volunteer programme, which will be one of the many strong legacies of these Games.

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It is imperative that the TTOC, NSOs, the Minister of Sport , Ministry of Sport and Sport company of Trinidad and Tobago have a shared vision and consensus on the way forward.

Change brings with it uncertain , doubt ,confusion and a loss of confidence.

Knowing what are our shared  priorities , getting them right and following  them will be a critical success factor if local sport is to overcome the perceived crisis it has fond itself in. We can't  act as if all is well. It is not. Its not business as usual.

When times are good there is a margin for error.

With Rio 2016 on the horizon there is no margin for error.

There are issues that must be addressed .

We can't allow red tape and bureaucracy to become an insurmountable obstacle.

We have a duty and responsibility to approach the current situation with a sense of urgency. We don't have the luxury of time.

The journey to achieve Olympic and World level sporting success is a long and difficult one  we are almost  to Rio 2016 . We can't afford to slip up.

We run the risk of 8 to 12 years of planning  going down the drain.

The planning for 2020 and beyond is already in train.

There will always be setbacks and detours but how we react will determine if we remain on course for success or not.

Top local women’s beach volleyball pair, Ayana Dyette and Nancy Joseph sealed a ticket to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games scheduled for Mexico, in November when they won their best-of-two series against Elki Phillip and Pauline Woodroffe at Saith Park, Chaguanas, Beach Volleyball Facility, on Sunday.

The tournament was expected to be a four-team one, but with Malika Davidson and Chelsi Ward at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games in China, and Apphia Glasgow and La Teisha Joseph absent, the second-leg of the qualifiers was a two-team affair between Dyette and Joseph, and main rivals, Phillip and Woodroffe.

And despite only playing one match, Dyette and Joseph did not have things all their way though as they needed to come from a first set deficit to earn their victory, 12-21, 21-13, 15-13 to stretch their unbeaten run to nine tournaments locally for the season.

Last month, Dyette and Joseph took the bold step towards earning the lone ticket to represent T&T in the women’s competition in Mexico when they played unbeaten in the first of three, four-team round-robin qualifiers at Chaguanas.

The experienced duo, who have been T&T’s lone women’s representatives on the Norceca Beach Volleyball Circuit this season, outplayed FIVB World Under-21 Championships participants Ward and Davidson 21-11, 21-17 before powering past Phillip and Woodroffe 21-9, 21-13, and Glasgow and Joseph 21-16, 21-8 to end with a 3-0 record.

Phillip and Woodroffe took second spot with a 2-1 mark after beating Glasgow and Joseph 21-10, 21-16, and Davidson and Ward 17-21, 21-14, 21-19 while Glasgow and Joseph defeated Chelsi Ward and Malika Davidson 15-21, 21-14, 15-11 for third.

So far this season, Dyette and Joseph were 12th in the fifth leg on the sand courts of Huixquilucan, Toluca, Mexico, in June after starting off with an 11th-placed finish in the Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands followed by 12th in Guatemala City and a best so far of seventh, in Antigua, Guatemala, during the third leg.

After missing out on the sixth and seventh legs of the tour in North Bay, Canada (July 9-14) and Varadero, Cuba (August 20-25), the local women will return to the tour for the eighth leg in Puerto Rico from September 17 - 22.

The remaining legs will then take place in Chula, Vista, California, USA, (October 1-6); Vera Cruz, Mexico, (October 15-20), Costa Rica, (October 22-27) and the final leg for a third straight year, in T&T, Pigeon Point to be exact, from November 12-17.

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T&T “Calypso Girls” were out for revenge last night when they came up against regional rival Barbados in their final match of the 14th edition of the International Netball Federation (INF) Americas Regional Qualifying Tournament for the INF Netball World Cup at SAIT Polytechnic, Alberta, Canada.

This after both teams won for the fifth straight time on Sunday night to improve to identical 5-0 records in the seven-team tournament. The top two teams, T&T and Barbados have already earned the two available spots to Australia ahead of the final round of matches.

Playing in their penultimate match of the tournament on Sunday, the Calypso Girls, ranked tenth in the world raced into a 24-6 lead over Grenada before coasting to an 82-31 blowout victory.

T&T also led 41-14 at the half and extended its advantage to 63-23 by the end of the third quarter before cruising through the final period.

The win for the Wesley “Pepe” Gomes-coached T&T women followed an emphatic 116-11 demolition of Argentina the night before, the largest margin of victory by the national team since it crushed Guyana 104-13 at the 2012 edition of the tournament held at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo.

Back then, the host which won the tournament in 2010 ended third after losing to eventual champions Jamaica (40-60) and runner-up Barbados (48-59) in their head-to-head meetings.

However, T&T defeated Barbados in their last two meetings, 35-33 in a Tri-Nation encounter on home soil in February and 38-37 at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and last night, Gomes and his team was hoping for a third straight triumph.

Also on Sunday, the world ninth ranked Barbadians warmed up for their meeting with T&T by sweeping past 20th rated host Canada 62-37 after being ahead 13-5, 29-14 and 44-29 at the end of the first three quarters while Cayman Islands overcame Argentina 55-27.

In Saturday’s other two matches, Barbados defeated Grenada 76-23 and USA blasted Cayman Islands 50-19.

By qualifying to the World Cup, Gomes and his T&T team made a big step towards overcoming a disappointing showing in Glasgow, Scotland, where the former world champions won only one of six matches.

After edging out the Barbadians, T&T was then beaten by South Africa (40-56), Wales (31-50), Australia (34-69), England (24-70) and Scotland, 28-46 in their ninth placed playoff .

The teams already qualified for the World Cup to date are ten-time champions and reigning holders Australia, New Zealand, England, the top three teams in the world along with Jamaica, South Africa, Wales, Scotland, Fiji and Samoa.

Results

2014 AFNA

Championship results:

Saturday

T&T 116 bt Argentina 11

USA 50 bt Cayman Islands 19

Barbados 76 bt Grenada 23

Sunday

T&T 82 bt Grenada 31

Barbados 62 bt Canada 37

Cayman Islands 55 bt Argentina 27

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Trinidad and Tobago's Akanni Hislop placed fourth in the Men's 200m A final when the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games continued at the Nanjing Olympic Sport Centre Stadium yesterday.

The T&T athlete clocked 21.57 seconds out of lane two as USA's Noah Lyles powered away for the victory in 20.80. Jamaica's Chad Walker, who was second across the finish line in 21.19 seconds,  was disqualified and that promoted Botswana's Boboloki Thebe to silver (21.20) and Chinese Taipei's Chun-Han Yang (21.31) to the bronze medal position in a race in which Italy's Filippo Tortu did not start. Hislop, who was fifth across the line,  also benefitted to move up one spot to fourth.

On Saturday his T&T teammate, female hurdler Jeminise Parris finished fifth in the A finals of the Women's 100m hurdles.

Parris completed her race in 13.76 seconds, after she had qualified in  a personal  best time of 13.62 from Wednesday's  preliminaries.
Also yesterday,  Anduwelle Wright leaped to 7.21 metres to win the B finals of the Men's Long Jump. He improved 29 centimeters from his preliminary jump to take the B finals victory.
In beach volleyball action at the Youth Olympic Sport Park, the T & T pair of Chelsi Ward and Malika Davidson put up a fighting effort but did not advance past the round of 24 when they lost in two straight sets to Argentina 21-13, 21-13.
And in sailing, after three straight days of no racing because of a lack of wind, 15-year-old Abigail Affoo placed 17th in today's race at Jinniu Lake which was run in five knots of wind and heavy fog. Affoo finished 28th overall in the Women's One Person Dinghy.
T&T's YOG silver and bronze medalist Dylan Carter left the camp Saturday as his departure was pre-arranged for him to return in time for school at the University of Southern California in  Los Angeles.