TRACK and field is at a crossroad.
So says veteran coach Dr Ian Hypolite, who spearheads an 11-member slate for the November 27 National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) elections.
Hypolite will challenge incumbent George Commissiong for the presidential post while his candidates - Sherwin Joseph (first vice-president), Michelle Allyene-Pennie (second vice-president), Bevon Lord (general secretary), Damian Gopee (assistant treasurer), Aaisha Martin (treasurer), Arlon Morrison, Anna-Lee Walcott, Kairon Serrette, Peter Campbell and Soren Bishop (directors) – vie for the remaining positions.
Commissiong was appointed NAAA president in February after long-standing NAAA president Ephraim Serrette resigned.
He is now seeking a full term in office and will contest the presidential race alongside Hypolite; the only two confirmed nominations for this post thus far. The deadline for nominations is Saturday.
Hypolite however, seeks change with a fresh slate of administrators.
“We have a new slate which is very judicial blend of experience and youthful exuberance. We have a lot of young, qualified people.
“Everyone in the group has had prior administrative experience in one sport or another and at different levels in track and field. We bring a very fresh team poised with new ideas,” he said.
Hypolite’s team built their plan on four pillars; performance, leadership, marketing and support.
Regarding performance, Hypolite wants to return TT track and field to the “prominence it used to occupy”. He pointed out that his team has several initiatives geared towards this goal.
On the second pillar, he said, “We’re trying to bring a new brand of leadership; a transparent form of leadership because we believe that transparency is lacking. One that is sensitive to communicating constantly with our general council and member clubs.”
For marketing, Hypolite wants to revisit the current strategy but take a different and more enhanced approach to promoting the sport. He added that this remains integral since the NAAA recently lost a couple of sponsors.
Concerning support, Hypolite said that they will pay particular attention to data management, upgrading the NAAA website and seriously engaging all major stakeholders.
“The first aim is to engage the stakeholders; athletes, coaches and officials and the Ministry of Sport and Ministry of Health.
“We feel we want to engage them in a way to understand clearly what our position is in terms of track and field resumption.
“We don’t think the position has been clearly represented before and we want to make a difference now. Track and field is at a crossroad.
“Things have not gone well for us recently and this new team is one with a new vision. It’s poised to take us in the right direction,” he said.
He also introduced a few of his candidates like Gopee, Kairon Serrette and Campbell, who he believes bring immense knowledge and experience to the hopeful NAAA executive.
Hypolite dubbed them “the new cadre of administrators”.
Gopee is well known in
