Chinese delegation paid a courtesy call on Trinidad Sport Minister

The General Administration of Sport of the People’s Republic of China paid a courtesy call on Sport Minister Dr Rupert Griffith, Minister of Sport, and his Executive team from the Ministry of Sport and Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago. A part of this visit also includes a tour of the following mega sporting facilities which are being constructed by SporTT, namely the National Aquatic Centre, National Cycle Centre and National Tennis Centre. 

The delegation, headed by Jin Hua Sheng, General Director, Human Resources Development Centre, General Administration of Sport, are here in Trinidad on an exchange visit to discuss bilateral exchanges and cooperation in sport and other areas. 

The Ministry of Sport will participate in an exchange and cooperation programme with the People’s Republic of China, to strengthen collaboration in sporting excellence, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Sport and the General Administration of Sport of the People’s Republic of China. 

This (MOU) was signed in China, in February 2014. The objective of this initiative is to raise the standard of performance of Athletes, while maximising Athlete and Coach Development Programmes in specific sporting disciplines. It is also anticipated that through this MOU, there will be increased opportunities to more nationals, as the Ministry strives to promote ‘Sport for All’.

In this regard, the Ministry of Sport will recruit 24 Chinese coaches in the first quarter of 2015 in exchange for 24 scholarships offered by the People’s Republic of China in the area of Sports Science. These Coaches will be qualified in the area of development and high performance in the following disciplines: table tennis, archery, gymnastics (rhythmic), badminton, shooting, swimming, synchronised Swimming and diving.

Scholarships, student and athlete exchange programmes will also target the differently-abled for the specialised training of nationals in Sport for Development, Physical Education and Sport, Sport Science and Sport Medicine. 

The Scholarship Allocation includes: Sport for Development (three scholarships), physical education and sport (five scholarships), sport science (six scholarships) and sport medicine (10 scholarships). 

Some of the sub-speciality areas for the above-mentioned programmes are sport facility management, sport tourism, physical education and sports training, sport and exercise nutrition, biomechanics/performance analysis, sport and exercise science – physiology, sport and exercise medicine, rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy and applied sport psychology.

Minister Griffith indicated that “he was excited about the whole bilateral agreement and is happy that as a country, we have reached this stage.”
He further stated that he “has taken note of the amount of countries that the General Administration of Sport of the People’s Republic of China have assisted and are convinced that the benefit will be great to Trinidad and Tobago in the whole collaborative effort.”