Henderson elected as first female TTOC President

By Sports Desk May 03, 2022

Experienced sports administrator Diane Henderson became the first female and eleventh President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) at the historic first virtual election held on April 30th, 2022.

The election of officers took place after the conclusion of the 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Ms. Henderson won by a margin of 24 votes to 10 over the other contender Rowena Williams, with 70 percent of the vote.

“Thank you to the general council for entrusting me in leading the TTOC and taking on this new mantle. I am stoked and thrilled in demonstrating my leadership abilities to carry the organization into the new world of sport, innovation and commercialism,” she said.

“It would be remiss of me not to mention my predecessor, Mr. Brian Lewis, for his unstinting dedication and commitment to the TTOC/TTCGA/TTSBGA. Nothing has gone unnoticed. Thanks also to everyone who supported me throughout my sporting and other careers leading to this occasion. I look forward to working with each and every one of you, especially the new Executive Board” she added.

President Henderson has contributed significantly to sports governance, athlete welfare, strategic planning and sports mediation.

As Chair of Women in Sport Commission, she has been a key proponent for the continued push for Education in Sport in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ms. Henderson has a demonstrated history of working in sports management, being the first female on the executive board of the NAAA’s leaving a line of female executive members who contributed to its progress and has been an integral member and very instrumental in several aspects of development at the TTOC.

She is also the current Chairperson of the Trinidad and Tobago Marathon Committee where she has been responsible for the final decision-making on event coordination, developing race portals, social media upkeep, website coordination and private sector fundraising.

Ms. Henderson, who attained both an Associate’s and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTATT), has four decades of proven leadership at both Colfire and Angostura, where she left a legacy of health and wellness in their respective industries.

President Henderson will also serve as President of the Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association (TTCGA) and the Trinidad and Tobago Sand and Beach Games Association (TTSBGA).

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    Over 100 participants completed the workshop series, which included both indoor educational sessions and outdoor practical events. The events were led by senior officials of Cricket West Indies (CWI).

    Winston Reid, the Lead Curator for the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), lauded the initiative, which he hopes will continue beyond the World Cup.

    Reid, who is based at Kensington Oval in Barbados, the venue that will host the June 29 World Cup final, had a hugely successful cricket career when he played over 100 matches at the regional level for Barbados. He joined the staff at the historic venue in 2005, ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007.

    “This was a very good initiative by the ICC [International Cricket Council], CWI [Cricket West Indies] and the BCA [Barbados Cricket Association]. This is something that should be encouraged, and I know the staff here benefited tremendously. It was a wonderful eye-opener, an education in many ways it was enlightening and interactive and the responses I got from the others who participated, said to me it was clear they too benefitted in a meaningful way,” Reid said.

    “The reason behind the workshop was to improve in every way we can and to do better at our jobs. We are gearing up towards the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be the biggest event we have ever hosted. We will be staging the final here, at this magnificent venue, so we want to make sure everyone is fully equipped.

    “Not only for Kensington, but for curatorship at all the other venues around the island and the region. We want to see better pitches and fields and playing conditions for our players to show their skills and also to entertain the fans in the stands. So, this was a very timely workshop series which augurs well for the game in the West Indies going forward," he added.

    Roland Holder, CWI Manager of Cricket Operations and Head of Cricket for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, outlined the reasons behind the series of workshops. He said the series was crafted by CWI and designed to upskill existing curators across the region by exposing them to international best practices for pitch preparation and applicable maintenance, while simultaneously expanding the cadre of curators by identifying new talent with the appropriate combination of theoretical knowledge and practical exposure, to lend further expertise to match venues to deliver a world-class event in June.

    A CWI Curators Manual was also produced in the lead up to the workshop and will be disseminated to the curators.

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    “I’m pumped about it because we have some wonderful talent, new and old,” he added.

    Head Coach Caudell McNab also expressed confidence about the prospects for his Bahamian team, as expectations are high that they will perform at a high level at the Easter Weekend spectacle.

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    Emily Campbell believes giving back to the community that supported her Olympic dreams is more important than winning another medal in Paris.

    The 29-year-old became Britain’s first female Olympic medallist in weightlifting when she claimed silver in the +87 kilograms category in Tokyo in 2021.

    She will bid for more success in Paris this summer, but Campbell is just as excited about the new ChangeMaker initiative, which will see Olympic and Paralympic stars get involved in local community causes in the two weeks after their respective Games.

     

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    The programme is a partnership between The National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport, and Campbell told the PA news agency: “We’re going to use the amazing momentum and excitement and buzz from the Games to motivate athletes to go back into their community and to do anything that they’re really passionate about.

     

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    Silver and bronze medals have followed at world level while she has won the European title for four years in a row and Commonwealth gold on home soil in Birmingham in 2022.

     

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    “You are seeing now a lot more of an inclusive space within the fitness industry. Brands are starting to do the right thing. This all filters back down to what our young people see. They want to see people that represent them, that look like them, and that encourages them to get involved.

    “It’s always going to be an ongoing battle and, as long as I’ve got a voice and people can hear me, I’m going to shout about it.”

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    “The amount of people that have said they’ve started lifting, or they’ve lost X amount of weight or they’ve started doing a certain dance class, or they’ve just done something that they feel has made a positive impact on their life.

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