Summary of the Final Results:

U16 Male Team Champion: Team A- Gillette MVP: Christian Gillette Top Goalie: Kiev Alleyne All Stars: Nabeel Hosein Akeen Valentine Jivan Chee Foon Female Team Champion: Team A- [...]]]>

Click here to download this Event’s Schedule and the Final Results (PDF Document)

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Click here to download this event’s schedule
and the current standings.

Rules:

Participants must enter [...]]]>

Rules:

• Participants must enter as individuals. A draft will be conducted after all entries have been received during which teams will be formed. Captains (to be selected by Technical Director) will be responsible for selecting team members.

• Tournament is open to all interested persons. Participants should have some measure of swimming / water polo experience (to be assessed by Technical Director if necessary).

• 4 Divisions – Female (Open), Male (15 & Under), Male (16 & Over), Male and Female Combined (40 & Over)

• 7 players per roster

• 5v5 in the field of play

• 2×20 minute periods, running clock

• 2 minute halftime

• 1 timeout per team

• 20 meter field of play

• Tournament Format – Round Robin followed by knock out style championship on Dec 11

Entry Form:

If you would like to enter, please fill out the following information and submit to James Robertson (jamesrobertson.tt@gmail.com) before November 19th:

Fatima drew first blood, Krystien Sharpe scoring with a scorching shot early in the match. But the “Saints” rebounded to equalise through [...]]]> St Mary’s College’s junior water polo team reached the First Citizens National Secondary Schools Water Polo League final with a 4-1 whipping of rivals Fatima College, at Marlins swimming pool in Westmoorings, recently.

Fatima drew first blood, Krystien Sharpe scoring with a scorching shot early in the match. But the “Saints” rebounded to equalise through Shaquille Gokool before the end of the first quarter.
Joshua Gonsalves rifled one past the Fatima defence in the second period for a 2-1 lead, after which Fatima struggled and were unable to get back into the match.

The final blows came from James Gillette, who struck back-to-back items in the fourth quarter.
In the other semifinal, St Dominic’s Trade School beat QRC 13-3.

In girls action, St Joseph’s Convent Port of Spain hammered Holy Name Convent 21-1.
And in the Open Boys division, St Mary’s were successful against QRC, this time after a much more gruelling contest that needed a penalty shootout to decide the outcome. The teams were locked at 7-7 at the end of regulation play and after two periods of extra time they were inseparable at 9-9. The “Saints” won the shootout 4-2.

(Abstract from the Trinidad and Tobago Express)

THERE are not many places in this world where you could hear jointpop jamming one night and have lunch with the President the next day. But that’s what happens in Trinidad…Port of Spain, to be exact, where the mayor of the capital city wants us all to go to bed early and [...]]]> By Marlon Miller

THERE are not many places in this world where you could hear jointpop jamming one night and have lunch with the President the next day. But that’s what happens in Trinidad…Port of Spain, to be exact, where the mayor of the capital city wants us all to go to bed early and sober.

For those of you who, like me, don’t get around much, jointpop is the best unknown band in the Western Hemisphere and last Tuesday they had their annual “office party” at Nex Dor Pub on Ariapita Avenue, where the entrance fee was $40, plus a Christmas present which will go to underprivileged children.
And what a show it was. The music was so infectious that not even the Mighty Shadow, who was performing further up the Avenue, could pull me away, especially as it was the first time I was hearing jointpop live and alive with their island-flavoured rock ‘n roll.

I’m shame to say I don’t know the names of the other band members but I could claim that singer and songwriter Gary Hector is a friend of mine, a sports fanatic and patriot who I would quicker associate with passionately supporting the Soca Warriors, West Indies and Manchester United rather than penning thought-provoking lyrics and playing a mean guitar.

He and his band mates take their craft seriously, including taking their show on the road and flying the red, white and black on cold, wintry nights in far-flung places like Walsall, England, and someday soon they’ll get the break they deserve and hit the big times. Even though I feel Gary would much prefer continuing to play for his die-hard fans at cosy little gigs like at Nex Dor.
Wednesday was a little more sedate and, of course, everyone knows President George Maxwell Richards, who along with his charming wife hosted the media at a Christmas luncheon in an annex of one of the country’s few remaining colonial relics, Knowsley.

Except for screwing up the selection of members of the Integrity Commission sometime last year, Max is a good boy and has served his country well. And after all, how many heads of state you know religiously play mas every year and never miss a beat during the Carnival season.
You think you could see Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, or Charles and Camilla, chipping around Hyde Park during Notting Hill carnival?

Unfortunately, with that previous irreverent referral to His Excellency, I might have lost the admiration of one long-serving member of the Public Service who I had the pleasure of meeting at the President’s function.

The goodly lady, who works in the Office of the President, warned me not to write about her and even though I’m very tempted to call her name, I respect her too much to go against her orders.
Suffice to say that she mentioned something about “holding the centre”, which had me appreciating her contribution to proper protocol in Trinidad and Tobago, how impartial public servants like her work tirelessly behind the scenes for the good of the country, no matter the government in power.

These unsung nationalists keep things in order while certain politicians drag the good name of T&T through the mud, stringing along fawning prime ministers and princes for their own selfish purposes, leaving the rest of us to dodge the flak generated by their conniving methods.

And there’s the infamous former project manager who did everything possible to spend every single cent the country ever earned, building concrete edifices to propagate his presence, but not putting aside anything to repair another historic site, President’s House, which collapsed around Mr Richards’s ears, sending him and his staff to seek shelter at Knowsley, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to be accommodated elsewhere.

The less said about that self-seeker the better, for this isn’t the time of year to regurgitate a sad chapter of our history, when heartless chairmen of state companies and flighty spiritual advisers called the shots and left us all the poorer for it.
Not that we have replaced a disgraced leader and his spineless lackeys with the perfect administration, far from it, but this is the month when we should herald the efforts of the good people still around in Trinidad and Tobago.

Like my new found lady friend at the Office of the President; jointpop and their collection of gifts to give to those who have nothing to get at Christmas; the people at the Western Division Police Youth Club who put on a treat for the children last Wednesday evening; and the members of Marlins water polo section who will host the less fortunate from St Dominic’s Home next week.
They and the countless other charitable citizens who take time out for those in need deserve our commendation and kudos for making T&T still worth calling our home.

Season’s Greetings.
* Marlon Miller is Sports Editor of the Trinidad and Tobago Express

And water polo is not a pastime for “mambee pambees”, it’s like liquid rugby, a rough and tumble exercise that requires its participants [...]]]>

T&T TALENT: Players and officials of the three Trinidad and Tobago water polo teams who competed at the 2010 Caribbean Islands Swimming and Water Polo Championships (CISC) last month in Havana, Cuba, where T&T were crowned overall champions. Since then, the national men's team finished fifth at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico and this week the under-19 boys and girls teams are in Florida, USA for the Junior Pan American Cup, which starts tomorrow

WATER POLO is looked upon as the poor relation of swimming, its outside child. Maybe that’s why everyone involved in the sport–from players to coaches to supporters–tries harder to excel…a lot harder.

And water polo is not a pastime for “mambee pambees”, it’s like liquid rugby, a rough and tumble exercise that requires its participants to be exceedingly fit, otherwise there would be no way they could cope with the intensity of the game.

That’s why it could be a rude awakening for those who have never been exposed to competitive water polo, like a supposedly-knowledgeable sporting aficionado who was a parent of one of the rookie members of the Trinidad and Tobago girls 16-and-under team at last month’s Caribbean Islands Swimming (and Water Polo) Championships (CISC), held in Havana, Cuba.

After waiting throughout the first game–a close-fought contest which the T&T girls only lost in overtime after giving as good as they got from their boisterous hostesses–the Johnnie-come-lately father finally got to see his daughter in action early in the second match of the best-of-five series against the Cuban lasses.

But after jumping into the fray and taking up a position near the opponents’ goal, the Trini dad realised that the apple of his eye wasn’t getting involved in the action. As a matter of fact, she was stuck in one spot, treading furiously to keep her head above water.

Then he realised that, under the surface, his daughter’s Cuban marker was almost wrenching off her right arm to keep her from going after the ball. And Daddy snapped.

“Cuff her in her head, Lauren!” he shouted down from his vantage point in the bleachers above the pool, immediately realising the folly of his ways and looking around sheepishly.

Luckily, not many, if any, of those nearby heard his unsportsmanlike refrain, for despite all the fouls and dirty tactics inflicted upon the girls–including a few elbows to face, a vicious bite and one of them even being knocked unconscious–the Trinidad and Tobago players–in keeping with national teams representing the red, white and black in all sporting disciplines since time immemorial–never responded in kind and kept it clean, maintaining their composure and discipline.

But the reason no one caught the father’s plaintive wail for retaliation was the fact that the T&T Water Polo Posse were in full cry, banging out their support, led by Glenn Wilkes, a former national water polo player in his youth, and his son Simon, on sick leave from the under-19 team, backed up by Ava, Michelle, Marsha, Shelly, Fran and the other parents on tour.

They have become a welcome fixture alongside Trinidad and Tobago water polo teams competing at regional tournaments, including the 2010 Carifta Games in Jamaica and CCCAN in Venezuela last year, when T&T confirmed their re-emergence in the sport after several years in the doldrums.

And the national squads maintained their upward spike in Cuba against one of the game’s powerhouses, who had taken advantage of their close association with Russia throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s–with their players undergoing high-level coaching and training in the then Soviet Union–to climb up the world rankings, until the Cubans were among the top ten in the sport.

So after the spunky T&T girls suffered a narrow 11-10 defeat in the opening game of the CISC competition, there was a momentous occasion in the next match-up that Tuesday morning at the end of June when the well-conditioned 16-and-under boys from Trinidad and Tobago scored a resounding victory over their hosts, 17-15, in another overtime thriller.

“Good game, 16s!” shouted team manager Peter Gillette as the players walked around the pool after a post-game huddle.

“That was Allan’s wet dream…to beat Cuba,” said Wilkes, paying tribute to the team’s hard-driving coach, Allan Too-A-Foo, to which Gillette added: “To beat Cuba at home!”

Later that day, a rain storm blew through the open-air facility, leaving only a few die-hard supporters to take the weather alongside the resilient Wilkes, who never missed a beat as the T&T delegation enjoyed another spectacular success with the under-19 boys–like the 16-and-under girls, coached by American import Kevin Foster–registering a convincing 12-5 victory over their recent nemesis, the Netherlands Antilles.

The next day, the 16-and-under girls and boys reversed roles, with the former winning easily and the latter going under to the Cubans, while the under-19s maintained their good form, holding off the brawny home team 13-12 in what was a brilliant game for Trinidad and Tobago.

During that see-saw encounter, with coach Foster exhorting: “Play defence, play defence!” as Cuba rallied late, “Coach Lotty” took up a seat close to the T&T Posse, taking notes as he looked on.

Hungarian Lotty, who has been based in the Bahamas since 2003 as head coach of their water polo set-up, said he was impressed with the improvement of Trinidad and Tobago teams over the years, singling out a higher level of “discipline” as the main factor in the good results.

“Discipline, that’s what they didn’t have,” he said.
And Lotty should know a thing or two about water polo, Hungary being to the sport what Brazil is to football, the Hungarians capturing nine Olympic water polo titles, including three on the trot (2000, 2004 and 2008).

He also knows the value of patriotic support.

“Good thing you have here,” said Lotty, referring to the Posse, as Ava cried: “Let’s go Trinidad,” and then they all took up the chant as the T&T under-19s scored again.

“A goal in de hole, a goal in de hole, a goal in de hole, and is Danny who score the goal!”
And then they sang a new chorus in keeping with the football World Cup which was being played at the time.
“Waka, waka, hey, hey, this time we beat Cuba!”

On the third day of the series, the Trinidad and Tobago 16-and-under boys were at their most dominant, jumping out to a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter.

“That’s impressive, whipping the Cubans like that. That’s impressive,” Lotty repeated as he watched the game.

“Four to five years ago that was impossible, beating the Cubans like that. It didn’t happen.”
Castro’s boys eventually woke up and actually got close at the end, 11-9 being the final
score.

“Nice game,” said Lotty.

And the national teams sustained their good play throughout the week in Cuba, T&T being crowned overall CISC champions, with the 16-and-under boys taking pride of place with their top-class play; the under-19 boys losing out on the gold medal to the Netherlands Antilles in the final, having beaten them, Jamaica and the home team in previous games; and the girls going under 3-1 to their tough-tackling Cuban rivals.
It was “quite an accomplishment” in the eyes of Jerry Chin Lee, manager of the T&T delegation in Cuba and who has played a crucial role in the revival of water polo since 2005, when he was asked by Marlins Swim Club to formulate a programme for the sport.

“Water polo has come a very long way,” said Chin Lee, adding that they have “put certain standards in place”, with fitness and conditioning playing a huge part in the preparation of national teams.
He also commended the input of coach Foster from the USA and the “excellent job” done by T&T’s own Too-A-Foo, although admitting that the cost of keeping the American is “unsustainable”, but “talks are ongoing”.

And to maintain its rising curve, “the game needs two things,” said Chin Lee–coaches with international experience and a dedicated pool facility, national teams having to share the Marlins pool at Westmoorings with the swimmers.

He knows they have a challenge on their hands, but in keeping with the nature of the sport, they are prepared to tough it out and keep striving for improvement.

(Published By Marlon Miller in the Trinidad and Tobago Express on Aug 9, 2010 at 1:54 AM)