media_artricles :: 2017

Sports Ministry defends lack of funding support claims

The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs yesterday used a release to elaborate on its Elite Athlete Assistance Policy (EAAP) which has been the topic of conversation over the past two weeks, particularly among some of T&T's leading track and field athletes.

On Tuesday, Olympic triple medallist Richard Thompson chastised the Sport Ministry for not being financially supportive of all the athletes.

He was quoted as saying on twitter: "The Ministry has a system in place that is intended to help and facilitate athletes representing the country, but instead we feel as though they are against us and have become directly vindictive in the process of trying to stiff arm us."

The Ministry did not taking his comments lightly and responded saying: "The Ministry finds it regrettable that some athletes have decided to take to social media to air their concerns instead of seeking more details about how they can ensure compliance with the process to access elite funding, which has not changed since its inception."

In the release it was stated that T&T's success at the international level, particularly in track and field, was one of the motivations behind the EAAP in 2006. The Cabinet-approved policy led to a formal mechanism, using a tiered system, to contribute to the preparation and continued improvement of the country's multisport Games medallists and world-ranked athletes. The applications of teams and of athletes in non-Olympic sports are considered on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the financial support is available to a wide range of athletes who meet the criteria and have the potential to attain world-ranking or other benchmarks in their sport. There are currently 33 athletes in eight disciplines on the EAAP roster, who have received funding for the last fiscal year 2015/16.

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