Minister of Sport Senator Brent Sancho met with Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis on Friday at the Office of the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago .

Since coming into Office, it is the second meeting held between the Minister and the national Olympic committee.

The Minister was updated on the progress of the TTOC’s plans for the upcoming Pan Am Games scheduled to take place in Toronto, Canada in July.

The main item on the agenda were travel plans and arrangements for the national contingent for the Games.

“Minister Sancho has been very positive and proactive in ensuring that the Ministry’s support is in place. He has asked us (TTOC) to keep him updated as he wants to make sure there are no hiccups and that all arrangements are in place well in advance of the Pan Am Games,” Lewis stated in a press release yesterday.

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28 February- Port of Spain.

Minister of Sport Senator Brent Sancho met with Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee(TTOC) President Brian Lewis yesterday at the Office of the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago .

Since coming into Office It is the second meeting held between the Minister and the national Olympic committee.

The Minister was updated on the progress of the TTOC plans for the upcoming Pan Am Games scheduled for Toronto , Canada in July.

Main item on the agenda was Travel plans and arrangements for the Pan Am Games.

" Minister Sancho has been very positive and proactive in ensuring that the Ministry's support is in place . He has asked us(TTOC) to keep him updated as he wants to make sure there are no hiccups and that all arrangements are in place well in advance of the Pan Am Games. "

SportAccord Convention has signed up PwC as a Gold Partner for this year's World Sport and Business Summit in Sochi.

This latest deal marks the multinational professional services network's third year as a gold partner for the event and will see its cities and local Governments consulting global leader Hazem Galal deliver a keynote address on legacy - one of the summit's central themes.

"Our Gold Partnership with PwC continues to be of great value to us as an organisation and we are delighted to have PwC deliver the keynote address," said Nis Hatt, the managing director of SportAccord Convention.

"We are very pleased that the partnership is continuing and that we are able to provide a platform for PwC to meet its business objectives."

The PwC delegation set to travel to this year's Convention, which takes place at the Sochi ExpoCentre in the Russian city from April 19 to 24, includes officials from key territories across its global network, including from Switzerland, the Middle East, the United States and Russia.

"SportAccord Convention is important to us as a platform for connecting with sport industry decision makers and speaking with them about the issues critical to their success," said Robert Gruman, who heads PwC's global sports mega-events centre of excellence.

"It gives us a chance to engage with delegates in an open, constructive atmosphere.

"This year, we are proud that our colleague Hazem Galal, PwC's cities and local Governments consulting global leader, has been asked to deliver the keynote address on legacy.

"In connection with that, we also plan to carry out a Sporting Leaders Survey on legacy in partnership with the SportAccord Convention World Sport and Business Summit organisers."

PwC now joins Sport Event Denmark, the Combat and Strength Sports Confederation of Kazakhstan and the Macau Sport Development Board as other 2015 SportAccord Convention Gold Partners.

The six-day World Sport and Business Summit will allow key decision-makers in sport to engage with business leaders across more than 25 industry sectors.

It will feature a dynamic exhibition, LawAccord, City Forum, the SportAccord Convention Village and Sports Demo Zone, as well as hosting the annual general meetings of governing bodies of world sport.

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Trinidad and Tobago’s first ever cross-country skiing representative, Mark Rajack, made his brave World Ski Championships debut in Falun, Sweden, last week.

His competitive showing at this esteemed international event broke new ground for sport development in the twin-island republic, since Rajack became TT’s first ever representative in professional skiing (snow). At the Championships on February 19, Rajack finished 121st overall in the discipline of SP C qualification round, which was eventually his final result. One day prior, Rajack also earned a fair 59th place in the International Skiing Federation 10km F category. Altogether, the 33-year-old dual citizen of Canada amassed 482.04 points from his first result and bagged 8-7.76 more in the latter.

The promising athlete was introduced to cross-country skiing a few years ago while working for Fresh Air Experience Ottawa – a store that specialises in cross-country skis and bicycles. He is the lone member of the Trinidad and Tobago National Cross-Country Ski Team.

In a recent interview on Ski Trax.com prior to the start of Worlds last week, Mark, who migrated when he was six years old confessed that, “most people of Caribbean descent have a negative outlook on winter and there’s no way I would have imagined this happening.

“Part of being a new Canadian means you have to adapt or find ways to cope with the climate. For me, it was cross country skiing. And it’s come to the point now where I can’t live anywhere that doesn’t have snow,” he added

Rajack’s interest and dedication to the sport of cross-country skiing was recognised by XC Ottawa – the city’s premier racing team and home to some of Canada’s top skiers — which he eventually joined to develop his racing abilities. A Carleton University alum, Rajack also received a tremendous amount of coaching and training from members of Carleton’s Nordic ski team, where the head coach, Nic Clifford, said: “Even in the bitter cold, he’s often the most enthusiastic to be out skiing, and it really lifts everyone’s spirits on those tough days.”

His next goal is to represent TT in the 2018 Winter Olympics – a plan he never thought would be possible. Rajack returned to his home-base in Canada over the weekend and was back to work yesterday after his hectic World Championships campaign.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) has revealed its Good Sport Governance Code is edging closer to being launched in a bid to help the nation's sports organisations further improve standards.

The National Olympic Committee is in discussions with international and local experts as part of its commitment to introduce the code and guidelines, the plans for which were first unveiled last year.

TTOC President Brian Lewis highlighted the importance of "efficient, accountable, transparent and democratic" governance within national sporting bodies.

"Good governance of national sports organisations and national governing bodies is essential to ensuring the development of sport is in accordance with the ethics and values of sport," he said.

"Given the role of sport within society to inspire and influence, the transparency, democracy and integrity of national sport organisations and governing bodies, clubs and sport based organisations needs to be assured."

Lewis, who has been involved in sport administration for three decades, insisted that further improvements are vital in order to eliminate corruption and protect athletes' best interests.

"Be it by choice, inability or inadvertence poor governance leads to corruption and the misuse of resources with the consequent negative impact on the athletes in particular," he added.

Lewis stressed that the approach needs to be tailored for each organisation, as there is no "one size fits all panacea", but said his organisation is working hard to address this matter.

It also requires cooperation across the Trinidad and Tobago sport sector to ensure it is successfully implemented.

"It's a complex situation that requires consideration of the specificity of sport," Lewis said.

"Hence the intention of the TTOC/TTCGA (Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association) to work with a cross section of experts to ensure that the TTOC proposed Good Sport Governance code is credible and realistic."

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