THERE is nothing like the power of sport to lift our sagging spirits and remind us of the endless possibilities that can be attained through hard work and commitment.

The Office of the Prime Minister has given over $1 million to Bishops High School, Mt Marie to help fund a $4 million state-of-the-art sports field, which is expected to be completed by September.

MEN’S CHAMPION Richer Perez of Cuba will return to defend his Tobago International Sea to Sea Marathon title on May 20. Other elite runners expected include Mexican-based George Towett, a four-time UWI SPEC champion, and his wife Caroline Kiptoo, a two-time UWI SPEC champion.

Over 50 local athletes, coaches and administrators are now better equipped to tackle some of the challenges of modern sport after the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) Athlete Branding and Sponsorship Workshop on March 9^th  2018.

Brian Lewis, president of the T&T Olympic Committee has welcomed government’s National Sports Policy (NSP) which was laid in Parliament on Friday and outlined the government’s intention to improve sport locally, from development to rewarding the country’s achievers.

T&T sportsmen and women will no longer be competing just for glory of victory after government yesterday gave approval for monetary rewards through the adoption of the National Policy on Sport (NPS) 2017-2027.

The policy was laid in Parliament by Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith due to the fact that T&T has been without a national sport policy since the expiration of the 2002 National Sport Policy in 2012.

Emanating from the policy is the institution of a formal documented Incentives and Rewards Framework for national athletes who medal at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Cup and/or World Championships in identified sporting disciplines and thereby bring international recognition to T&T.

This Framework, which also received Cabinet’s favourable consideration, will see athletes medalling at the Olympic Games being awarded TT$1,000,000 for gold medal,TT$500,000 for silver medal and TT$250,000 for bronze medal achievements.

Athletes medalling at World Cup/World Championships will be awarded $500,000 for gold medal achievements, $250,000 for silver medal achievements and $125,000 for bronze medal achievements.

This means that national athletes will no longer have to wonder what they will receive for their successes in sport on the international stage.

The new policy 2017-2027 was systematically developed through document reviews, public consultations, stakeholder interviews and a combination of electronic and other survey methods. The Policy embraces two overarching themes, namely, ‘Development of Sport’ and ‘Sport for Development’, which in turn are underpinned by 13 broad objective areas, focused on achieving the policy vision of the establishment of clear pathways towards holistic sport development and sporting achievement.