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WILLARD HARRIS, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board (TTHB), said the senior men’s hockey team will depart next Monday or Tuesday for the February 3-9 FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup that flicks off in Croatia, as the TTHB was finalising arrangements with airlines.
Harris was elected unopposed to the post when the TTHB observed its elections at its 27th annual council meeting on November 26. Harris replaced the former president Roger St Rose who resigned last May.
Contacted Wednesday, Harris said the TTHB was working with airlines to secure tickets so that the 18-member team coached by Raphael Govia could be out by January 27 or 28.
“We are going through the airlines seeing how we can make arrangements in terms of getting the best routes, the fastest routes so that the team can settle long before January 31,” said Harris, “ We have to be in Croatia by the 31st.”
After a validation process by the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT) of the final TTHB budget for the Croatian tour, Harris said the funds had been approved and released for the tournament.
The TTHB had submitted its proposed budget for this tournament several months in advance as per Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT) requirements.
But SporTT also required documented and detailed information from the organisers that is sometimes not provided in a timely manner by the organisers themselves
As a current member for the FIH competition committee and a former chairman, and now as the president of a national governing body, Harris said he understood the challenges of both sides of the equation.
“It takes some time. It is a process. Effectively, you are submitting a revised final budget which has to be supported by documentation…then SporTT has to go through their process before securing the relevant approvals,” Harris explained, “
He continued: “Personally, I have been on both sides of the coin. There are challenges in terms of organising the tournament…I know the situations and stuff you have to go through. On the other side now, where I have to get this team – and other teams because we have Under 21s who have to travel in March – going. It is a process.”
Harris acknowledged the process of securing funding and sponsorship could be better facilitated and streamlined by the more timely receipt of information from tournament organisers.
“I would like to see more tímely delivery of concrete and pertinent information, recognising there are things that do in fact cause delays,” said Harris.
He said team sports were also acutely affected by delays because of the size of the contingent as opposed to individual sports where arrangements could be more flexible at a late stage.
“So it is a mix of things…The Board would always like a smoother process at each level but every entity has to do what they have to do,” said Harris.
Asked about the preparation and expectations for a team that did most of their training domestically, Harris said the Board would always want to ensure an improved warm-up period and more intense training preparation.
But he said the experienced coach Govia and his charges were going into their third World Cup fairly confident, despite all their troubles
“For a team from Trinidad and Tobago with limited resources to achieve what they have achieved so far, is noteworthy,” said Harris. “Our guys are very talented and we have learned from our previous two World Cup outings, so that I think based on the coaching and talent we have, they will do fairly well. The expectation is for them to firstly make it out of the group and then make it into the top three or four.”
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