| Team TCI gains experience at Commonwealth Games | | Print | |
| Thursday, 21 October 2010 11:50 | |||
 Even though Team TCI did not medal in New Dehli, their participation in the 19th Commonwealth Games was a learning experience with international exposure and a chance to view techniques and training programmes of several high-ranking athletes. “These games provided exceptional, international experience and exposure for our athletes, lending motivation to our current team and hopefully stimulating potential athletes at home on what they could achieve in future competitions,” said TCI Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) President Rita Gardiner. One bright spot for the team came when 16-year-old Delano Williams — TCI star sprinter and flag bearer in the opening ceremony — was added to the prestigious list of nominees vying for the title of “Outstanding Young Achiever” in the 29th Annual Commonwealth Sports Awards. He is expected to be present for the Award Ceremony in Birmingham, England, between Nov. 6-11. “But we have done more than simply watch the games,” Gardiner said. “We have actively solicited support in every sphere of the sports world for our athletes.” Gardiner, along with by CGA Secretary-General Cheryl-Ann Shand and Director of Tourism Ralph Higgs, attended many meetings and functions, including an invitation to the British High Commission. There they spoke with U.K. Minister of Sports Hugh Robinson and the British High Commissioner to India about the TCI’s status in the International Olympic Committee. Gardiner said the TCI is one of the few Overseas Territories not included in the Olympic Movement, disenfranchising the country’s athletes and leaving their funding to local sponsors, which is not paying off in these tough economic times. Robinson said he would help in seeking financial assistance for sports development in the TCI. At a meeting of the General Assembly on Oct. 2, TCI officials learned that the TCI was one of four countries nominated and approved to receive support of a Canadian Sports Development Programme Intern who will be on island for a period of at least 12 to 18 months. The CGA intends to identify persons to be a “trainer of trainers” to work as an understudy with the intern so that the programs implemented will be sustainable and the work will be continuous and a well-rounded effort for the growth and development of a diverse sporting program in the country. Team TCI was supported and accompanied to India by well-wishers including Edith Cox, representing the team’s premier sponsor, Graceway IGA; her son, Myles Hanchell; Allison Higgs; and Lester Forman of the CGA. In addition to Graceway IGA, sponsors for the team were Royal Bank of Canada, FirstCaribbean International Bank and the TCI Tourist Board. The Commonwealth Games are held every four years between independent sovereign states and dependencies spread over every continent representing 2 billion people — one-third of the world’s population. This is only the second time in the history the games have been held in Asia.
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