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TTASA: Lack of facility destroyed motorsports
Kern De Freitas
Wednesday, May 12th 2010
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/nart?id=161660016
The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs (MSYA) is three years too late in coming to the rescue of the Trinidad and Tobago Automobile Sports Association (TTASA).
That is the view expressed by TTASA president Nizam Mohammed, in a strong response to the Ministry of Sports’ announcement of their move to find his association a home.
The ministry issued a press release last week stating they were in the midst of procuring consultants to conduct a feasibility study on 65 acres of land at Orange Valley in Waterloo, Carapichaima, to determine its suitability for a motorsport facility.
’The process is aimed at examining the viability of establishing a motorsport facility on the site and thoroughly (testing) whether the proposed project is practical in relation to the needs assessment, management options and the range of services to be offered,’ according to MSYA.
But Mohammed believes inaction has caused the motorsport ’industry’ to cave in.
broken promises: Gary Hunt
’That doesn’t say anything,’ Mohammed told the Express. ’We’re waiting three years now, so we’re not going to wait again. We can’t wait because the industry collapses. It is an industry that employs people and it collapsed. People have lost jobs, technicians, people who have parts places have been run down.
’The technicians here, they have not improved themselves,’ he continued, ’because there’s no place to practise. So we have lost all those things, so it really doesn’t mean much.’
The motorsports fraternity has been without a home to call their own since 2007. They were offered temporary respite at the Camden Airstrip in Couva, but that only lasted a year. Since then, motorsports in T&T has been largely dormant without a facility on which to race.
The Waterloo spot was designated as a permanent home for TTASA that same year, but those plans have seen little progress to date.
’We asked the minister to go start something because we had a facility, but they took it back after one year. They said no, they looking after it,’ Mohammed said. ’Since then, we have been in communication with them and only very recently, I was speaking to the minister (Gary Hunt) at a function, and he said they doing a feasibility study to organise a facility at Waterloo. They’re also looking at the possibility of separating the different disciplines.’
Mohammed said the motorsport industry has been ’destroyed’.
’I asked the minister what we can do in the interim. He said nothing; we can’t do anything. Camden is not available, Waterloo is not available, so I asked him what we have to do. He said we have to wait. We’ve been waiting three years now, so motorsport is something that is not only a sport. It’s an industry that has been destroyed.’
The TTASA head pointed out similar promises were made to his organisation during the same election period three years ago. He believes this latest development is similarly politically motivated.
In response, the ministry denied any ulterior motives in their move to develop the facility and, also, claimed TTASA was yet to submit a plan articulating their needs.
’The ministry is pressing on with our mandate to ensure development in sport in Trinidad and Tobago,’ Ministry of Sport communication manager Arlene Gorin-George stated, ’and that is our responsibility. It’s about developing sport and we’re quite happy about that, and we are going ahead with that’.
But Mohammed said the Government will not have the support of motorsport fans in the May 24 general election because of how the sport has been treated.
Members of TTASA are also preparing for a protest that ’will not be small by any means’ before the national polls.
Kern De Freitas
Wednesday, May 12th 2010
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/nart?id=161660016
The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs (MSYA) is three years too late in coming to the rescue of the Trinidad and Tobago Automobile Sports Association (TTASA).
That is the view expressed by TTASA president Nizam Mohammed, in a strong response to the Ministry of Sports’ announcement of their move to find his association a home.
The ministry issued a press release last week stating they were in the midst of procuring consultants to conduct a feasibility study on 65 acres of land at Orange Valley in Waterloo, Carapichaima, to determine its suitability for a motorsport facility.
’The process is aimed at examining the viability of establishing a motorsport facility on the site and thoroughly (testing) whether the proposed project is practical in relation to the needs assessment, management options and the range of services to be offered,’ according to MSYA.
But Mohammed believes inaction has caused the motorsport ’industry’ to cave in.
broken promises: Gary Hunt
’That doesn’t say anything,’ Mohammed told the Express. ’We’re waiting three years now, so we’re not going to wait again. We can’t wait because the industry collapses. It is an industry that employs people and it collapsed. People have lost jobs, technicians, people who have parts places have been run down.
’The technicians here, they have not improved themselves,’ he continued, ’because there’s no place to practise. So we have lost all those things, so it really doesn’t mean much.’
The motorsports fraternity has been without a home to call their own since 2007. They were offered temporary respite at the Camden Airstrip in Couva, but that only lasted a year. Since then, motorsports in T&T has been largely dormant without a facility on which to race.
The Waterloo spot was designated as a permanent home for TTASA that same year, but those plans have seen little progress to date.
’We asked the minister to go start something because we had a facility, but they took it back after one year. They said no, they looking after it,’ Mohammed said. ’Since then, we have been in communication with them and only very recently, I was speaking to the minister (Gary Hunt) at a function, and he said they doing a feasibility study to organise a facility at Waterloo. They’re also looking at the possibility of separating the different disciplines.’
Mohammed said the motorsport industry has been ’destroyed’.
’I asked the minister what we can do in the interim. He said nothing; we can’t do anything. Camden is not available, Waterloo is not available, so I asked him what we have to do. He said we have to wait. We’ve been waiting three years now, so motorsport is something that is not only a sport. It’s an industry that has been destroyed.’
The TTASA head pointed out similar promises were made to his organisation during the same election period three years ago. He believes this latest development is similarly politically motivated.
In response, the ministry denied any ulterior motives in their move to develop the facility and, also, claimed TTASA was yet to submit a plan articulating their needs.
’The ministry is pressing on with our mandate to ensure development in sport in Trinidad and Tobago,’ Ministry of Sport communication manager Arlene Gorin-George stated, ’and that is our responsibility. It’s about developing sport and we’re quite happy about that, and we are going ahead with that’.
But Mohammed said the Government will not have the support of motorsport fans in the May 24 general election because of how the sport has been treated.
Members of TTASA are also preparing for a protest that ’will not be small by any means’ before the national polls.
