THA Sponsors Parents for CARIFTA
Wayne « Wasp » Clarke, Secretary of Community Development, Youth Development and Sport, energized supporters at a recent Tobago People’s Party (TPP) meeting in Lambeau with details of a policy directly benefiting the families of national athletes. Speaking to his district ahead of the January 12 THA elections, Clarke shared the origin of an initiative that ensures parents can witness their children compete on the regional stage without financial burden.
The policy was born from a conversation with a distressed parent who, after exhausting their savings on expensive athletic gear, admitted they could not afford to travel to the CARIFTA Games to watch their child perform. Recognizing the importance of parental support, Clarke immediately brought the matter to the Chief Secretary, advocating for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to intervene.
The response was decisive: the THA approved full sponsorship of airfare for one parent of each child selected for the national team. Clarke reported that in the program’s inaugural year, the Assembly sent 10 parents to the CARIFTA Games in Jamaica. The initiative continued to expand the following year, with the THA flying 15 parents to the Bahamas to support the growing number of qualifying athletes.
Clarke emphasized that this policy removes the financial barriers that often prevent families from sharing in these pivotal moments of youth achievement, reinforcing the administration’s commitment to holistic sport development.
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