Friday 26 July 2024, Balmain, Couva
I CHOOSE SPORT ‘Summer of Sports’
The Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT) has kicked-off its I Choose Sport Summer of Sports. Residents of Point Fortin and La Horquetta were first up to be treated to a full day of sport, fun and novelty activities recently. The initiative continues with a series of community sporting activities throughout July and August which build on the success of I Choose Sport (ICS) in schools.
Head of Community Sports at SporTT Lyndell Hoyte-Sanchez said thousands of students have already benefited from ICS this year.
“We’ve had tremendous success re-introducing sport, physical activity and the benefits across primary and secondary schools nationwide,” Hoyte-Sanchez stated.
“Since February we’ve engaged with over 15,000 students, introducing them to new sports, facilitating sign-ups and teaching them the fundamentals of physical activity through the Sports in Schools programme. The objective over the July-August holiday is the same—with the Summer of Sports, we’re going into the communities to give persons of all ages the opportunity to get active, and to sign-up for and explore new sports through collaboration with National Governing Bodies (NGBs) for sport and community sporting clubs.”
Officially launched in February of this year, the I Choose Sport programme has impacted 142 schools, introducing students to over 20 new sporting disciplines and careers. It has also facilitated more than 500 sign-ups for a new sport.
The Summer of Sports activities are building on the momentum. They have been specifically developed to ensure that members of the public, particularly young persons, have access to sport and physical activity. The initiatives across SporTT and the Ministry of Sport and Community Development include community sport activations, youth sport camps and targeted initiatives for women and girls.
Hoyte-Sanchez said sport and youth development are the ultimate goals of these programmes.
“What we are doing with our community sport interventions is deliberate. We want to revitalise a love for sport and invest in sport development, but we’re packaging it in a way that is fun and engaging.”
Joining the community sporting activation in his constituency, Member of Parliament for La Horquetta/Talparo, The Honorable Foster Cummings gave I Choose Sport high commendation.
“I Choose Sport is an excellent initiative of SporTT and the Ministry of Sport and Community Development. This activity is really mobilising the community in a positive way – it’s taking people away from the negative influences in the community, giving them an opportunity to come forward and take part in various sporting activities.”
Mrs. Hoyte-Sanchez elaborated on the I Choose Sport model for communities.
“The clubs, the NGBs, the elite athletes and the young talent are all there—I Choose Sport is simply creating the framework for the connections,” she explained. “The initiative in La Horquetta was a partnership with the La Horquetta Foundation for Empowerment. They started off with a football tournament and I Choose Sport invested to extend the event to include basketball, netball, volleyball, cricket and the participation of the community clubs and NGBs. These partnerships are critical as we continue to develop sports in communities.”
SporTT’s move to embed I Choose Sport within the community is strategic and aimed at restoring sports as a grassroots movement. It is strengthening the connection between sports in schools and communities and encouraging greater participation by leveraging community spirit. The initiative introduces at least one new sporting discipline to each community and provides a platform for new and existing community-based clubs to gain visibility and attract new members.
Summer of Sport community events are planned for Tobago (3rd August), Port-of-Spain (11th August), Diego Martin (17th August) and Carenage (24th August). For more on the schedule, interested persons can visit I Choose Sport on social media.
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Photos courtesy I Choose Sport
