News that a host city  will be selected for the inaugural  2017 ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committee) World Beach Games at the organisation's General Assembly in Washington D.C. in October, , with the historic event set to feature 15 sports.
Is excellent news for the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee  (TTOC ).

TTOC president Brian Lewis announced earlier this year that he is proposing that the national Olympic Committee will hold the inaugural TTOC National Beach Games in 2017.
The intention is for Trinidad and Tobago to be the Beach Games capital of the region.
Lewis has been holding discussions  with interested organisations in Trinidad and Tobago and will accelerate further discussions on his return from the Pan Am Games.
The TTOC will participate and enter a team in the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games.
Confirmation by ANOC that significant progress has been made and a host city will be announced at the upcoming ANOC General Assembly in Washington DC in October will give the TTOC National Beach Games project added impetus.
" Its great news. The Olympic Movement can't stand still. The Movement under the current IOC and ANOC presidents is heading in the right direction.  Bold and innovative actions are required to ensure the Olympic Movement is relevant and fit for purpose and sustainable given the context of contemporary society . "

A host will be selected for the 2017 ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committee) World Beach Games at the organisation's General Assembly in Washington D.C. in October, it was revealed here today, with the inaugural event set to feature 15 sports.

Discussions on the event at last month's ANOC Executive Council meeting in Lausanne were based predominantly around conceptual discussions, with no decision of sports and location thought imminent and the Games believed likely to be held only at some stage between 2017 and 2019.

But following that meeting, a Working Group chaired by Hong Kong's Timothy Fok was set up to speed up preparations and a meeting took place on June 29.

Since then, letters have been sent out to all National Olympic Committees inviting applications to host the event ahead of a deadline of July 31, with an Evaluation Process to then take place ahead of the meeting in the United States capital scheduled for October 29 and 30.

This was revealed by ANOC secretary general Gunilla Lindberg today during an ANOC update here as part of the Pan American Sports Organization General Assembly.

Of the 15 sports set to appear in the first edition, 13 will be chosen by ANOC with the remaining two to be selected by the host city.

All will be non-Olympic sports and disciplines, it was announced, although the Swede revealed to insidethegames afterwards how this can include beach varieties of sports on the programme, such as beach handball and basketball 3x3.

insidethegames understands that letters were sent by ANOC to selected sports today, with surfing among those to have received one.

The event will be known as the ANOC World Beach Games, Lindberg added.

The World Beach Games title had already been trademarked by SportAccord when awarding its ill-fated event to Sochi in April.

This will no longer take place following confirmation last month that Russia had pulled out of a deal with SportAccord to host next year's SportAccord Convention and other events following the conflict between the organisation and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which culminated in the resignation of the former body's President, Marius Vizer.

Lindberg, who is also a member of the IOC Executive Board and was speaking today in the absence of ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, highlighted the IOC's support for the ANOC version, which is seeking to become the third biggest event in sport.

Meanwhile, the Swede also announced that this year's second ANOC Gala Awards Ceremony, to be held during the General Assembly in Washington, will feature new awards recognising the best male and best female athletes from the various Continental Games.

Athletes' Commissions from each continental federation will propose a shortlist which will then be whittled down by an ANOC jury.

As well as the Pan American Games starting here on Friday (July 10) and the Pacific Games currently taking place in Port Moresby, this is also expected to include last year's Asian Games in Incheon, last month's European Games in Baku and the All Africa Games, due to take place in Brazzaville in September.

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Pan Am athletes to be rewarded for success in Canada

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC), in an effort to give its athletes extra motivation to perform at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada, has announced medal bonuses which will form part of the TTOC's 10 or more Olympic gold medals athlete welfare and preparation programme.

TTOC president Brian Lewis set a national objective to achieve eight more Olympic gold medals by the 2024 Summer Games and for the first time in its history the TTOC will have a medal bonus which will see athletes getting US$3,000 for winning a gold medal, US$2,000 for a silver and US$1,000 for bronze in individual competition at the Toronto Games which start on Friday.

In the relay events, teams will get US$9,000 for gold, US$6,000 for silver and US$3,000 for bronze.

In respect of team sports, US$1,500 will be rewarded per athlete for a gold, US$1,000 for silver and US$750 for bronze.

The TTOC is determined to take the necessary steps and decisions in its effort to create the environment that will assist

the athletes in striving to achieve medal winning objectives.

TTOC vice-president Dr Ian Hypolite feels that the introduction of the medal bonuses could be a very worthwhile initiative.

He said that while athletes are already motivated to do well, the incentives will let them know their efforts are appreciated and will be like the icing on the cake.

“Anything that serves to incentivise our athletes is obviously welcome,” Hypolite told the Express. “It is a bold initiative and principle in the cause in an attempt to incorporate corporate Trinidad in the process.”

“There are a lot of expectations surrounding our athletes but I think the public needs to understand that athletic success is not a give and that support is always vital. The incentives are one thing but what the TTOC is really calling upon is for corporate Trinidad and Tobago to support our athletes,” he explained.

“Motivation is a complex thing. Many athletes are already intrinsically motivated however some extrinsic motivation in the form of a reward can always be like the icing on the cake so to speak,” Hypolite added.

“I don't think there are any athletes who are going to say they are going to run for the money. They are already motivated to do well but I think the rewards will be an indication of some level of appreciation for the athletes' commitment towards Trinidad and Tobago and I think that is also a major consideration,” he said.

According to a TTOC press release, “the introduction of medal bonuses is an essential component of the 10 or more Olympic Gold medals athlete welfare and preparation programme.

“In pursuit of its strategic goals and objectives the TTOC acknowledges the support of its corporate partners: bpTT, Guardian Group, Scotiabank, Adidas, Lisa Communications and NLCB. It is an exciting time for the TTOC. Rio 2016 is just around the corner. Pan Am Toronto will get underway this week. Lots of challenges but it's exciting,” the release stated.

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...Sancho’s intervention saves day for footballers

‘Clash of Queens’ fund-raiser delivers

The clash between the ?Calypso Girls? and the ?Women Warriors? exceeded expectations yesterday at the Jean Pierre Complex. The charity event, dubbed "Clash of the Queens", was an attempt to raise funds for the Trinidad and Tobago netball team, who will be embarking upon their World Cup adventure next month in Sydney, Australia, from the 7-16.

The national senior netballers have been busy in the build-up for the World Cup, which they qualified for after they won the 2014 AFNA Championships in Canada. In Australia, they will face the hosts, who are ten-time world champions, as well as New Zealand, who have won the World Championships on four occasions. They are the top-two ranked teams in the world at the moment. T&T's other opponent in that group will be Barbados. Where the match was concerned, the footballers, whose attack was led by none other than their inspirational captain Maylee Attin-Johnson, made a gamely attempt at posing a challenge to their more experienced opponents. It wasn't enough to stop the Calypso Girls from storming to a 58-9 blowout at the final buzzer. There was a good crowd in the Complex as there was a sizeable turnout to support the women's cause.

According to Ian Haywood, co-ordinator with A-Class Group of Companies, the concept was to bring awareness to the plight of the athletes of the two teams, and also for corporate Trinidad and Tobago to offer sponsorship separate from the auspices of the Ministry of Sport.

The funds allocated from the event yesterday was split 50/50 between the two teams. The Calypso Girls will be using their share to facilitate their World Cup endeavours, while the Women Warriors will utilise their funds to help prepare adequately with less need for subventions.

?The fundraiser was both the idea of Maylee Attin-Johnson and vice-captain Ayanna Russell in order to engage women national players across the board,? he said. ?We will have a ?round two' with the football after.?

The A-Class group is also planning to arrange a return leg in the same event after the Netball World Cup, where the Netballers will take on the Warriors in a football match at a venue yet to be determined. ?The next game, we expect to have more people and more hype, and it will also be split equally between the two teams,? Haywood said.

The event has the potential to be the springboard for something better where local women's sports are concerned, particularly netball. ?There are brighter days ahead,? said national netball skipper Joelisa Cooper. ?This event can show people that despite not being where we were in 1979, we can return to those glory days with proper development,? said Cooper.

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