One hundred teachers in Trinidad & T obago read for a Bachelor of E ducation in Physical Education – Secondary! Physical Education is currently an examinable subject at the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) level for graduating secondary and high school students throughout the region. This means that the various Ministries of Education in the Caribbean have the task of producing qualified teachers in this discipline.

Traditionally, we have very few qualified physical educators so that this means that hundreds of teachers now have to be generated to meet the demand of countless students. In Trinidad & Tobago alone, this calls for at least six hundred teachers. In Trinidad & Tobago, the Ministry of Education through its Secondary Education Modernization Programme (SEMP) and with the assistance of a major international grant has awarded this assignment to The University of the West Indies – St. Augustine Campus.

The degree programme would be offered by The University of the West Indies Sport & Physical Education Centre (UWI SPEC) under the aegis of the School of Education in the Faculty of Humanities & Education. A n initial cohort of one hundred teachers from all of the education districts in Trinidad & Tobago has been selected to be a part of this ground breaking event.

This follows on a SPEC tacular showing by UWI SPEC as host of the ICC Cricket World Cup warm up matches and practice in Trinidad & Tobago. In March 2007 World Cup Cricket came to the Caribbean and the University of the West Indies was at the forefront. At both the Cave Hill and St. Augustine campuses, practice venues for several international teams were developed and enhanced.

At the UWI SPEC in St. A ugustine, Trinidad & Tobago, four major teams were hosted for practice matches. These were Pakistan, South Africa, Ireland and Canada while several others including, India, Sir Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda were hosted for team practice. They all had the distinction of practicing and competing at this newly created first class international
cricket facility.

The Pakistan – South Africa match became the first ‘sold out’ practice match in ICC Cricket World Cup history with over 10,000 vociferous patrons experiencing a great South African victory. UWI SPEC has also continued to forge into different areas of sport. The highlight of this was the Rottweiler Club of Trinidad & Tobago Dog Show which was held in the indoor auditorium. There was a SPEC tacular display of different breeds and categories which held the interest of the many fans – most of them new to the idea of Dog Shows as sport.

The warm reception to our canine athletes, however, gave an indication that the wider public might just be ready to entertain and be entertained in this way. While Dog Shows have a long history in this twin island, they have been relegated to a small and exclusive sector of the population. The advent of this show at SPEC may be just the thing to change this.

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