August 15, 2016: The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago wish to clarify the circumstances surrounding the removal of gymnastics equipment from the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena on the morning of Monday August 15, 2016.
The Ministry has been in communication with the operators of Teamwork Gymnastics Club since 2015 about their infringing use of one portion of the Indoor Arena in Tacarigua. Due to their longstanding relationship with Teamwork, the Ministry has been very accommodating to them notwithstanding their repeated non-compliance with various deadlines given by the Ministry to clear certain parts of the facility. Many national teams, regional associations, local sporting stakeholders and other bodies have been regularly displaced by Teamwork’s failure to properly remove and store their equipment to allow other users and paying clients fair and equitable use of the arena.
The Ministry wishes to emphasize that the Teamwork Gymnastics Club does not have exclusive possession of the arena. It is a shared facility. Their most recent act of non-compliance caused a delay to the start of the Sports Company’s annual August Youth Sport camps despite Teamwork having received eight full days notice to clear their equipment. It was yet another deadline that was not respected, causing Teamwork to again become trespassers on the Ministry’s property.
Nevertheless, the Ministry is willing to have Teamwork return to the facility at the end of the camps to continue their gymnastics practice, although it has been communicated to them that the return of their equipment is conditional upon the Ministry’s prior consent.
The Ministry applauds Teamwork’s contribution to sport in Trinidad and Tobago and looks forward to their future compliance and co-operation for the benefit of this country’s young athletes.
-END-
For more information please contact:
Communications Unit
Ministry of Sport & Youth Affairs
12 Abercromby Street
Port-of-Spain
Tel: (868) 623-0574 Ext 5025