media_artricles :: 2015

Lewis: Economy hindering 10 Olympic gold charge

Due to the drastic reduction in the price of oil globally, Brian Lewis, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) and the brainchild behind his organisation’s “10 or more Olympic gold medals by 2024 Athlete and Welfare Preparation Fund” has now questioned whether such a feat is indeed achievable amidst these unforeseen financial hiccups.

Speaking alongside the Minister of Sport, Darryl Smith, at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday, Lewis admitted that the falling price of oil has impacted sport just as much as the TT’s business and economic sectors.

He noted that proper funding is required for the full preparation and training of athletes ahead of major international meets. But, with TT’s biggest revenue earner less than half of what it previously was, Lewis kept it real and stated that his projection may now be a bit tougher to achieve than first predicted. “Good governance now becomes extremely important,” said the TTOC boss.

“We have made the bold prediction from an Olympic perspective to achieve 10 or more Olympic gold medals by 2024 and there is enough reason for me to now question my sanity. The bottom line is you can’t achieve excellence and battle against the big guns without financial resources. But I do believe we are creative and innovative people and I’m tremendously confident that once we work together we will be able to do it. Sport can lead the way and is a net foreign exchange earner.” Even though the TTOC received its first tranche of sponsorship ($50,000) towards this cause from the National Lotteries Control Board earlier this week, this figure is just a drop in the bucket for the long list of athletes working towards Olympic qualification.

However, Lewis remains confident and upbeat that TT will prevail amidst the economic downturn and be able to still achieve the goal of 10 gold medals by 2024.

“Oil is US$37 per barrel benchmark crude and if you look at the internet, it is predicted to go down to US$20. I don’t know what will happen with Trinidad and Tobago if this happens. There just won’t be that much money to go around (to NSO’s). How we cope in sport will require, in my view, collective goodwill. It is only by listening to each other and working together, we will all be able to make the necessary sacrifices.

Hard decisions will have to be made.” With this in mind, the TTOC and Ministry of Sport also intend to host programmes specifically designed to assist NSO’s in proper marketing strategies to successfully sell their sport and generate their own income.

This, according to Smith, will take the burden off the government and fraternities will begin to sponsor themselves and stay afloat during these rough global financial times.

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