'A Sign of Great Things to Come'

Tonight we are celebrating excellence in full knowledge that it is a moving target and its pursuit is a never ending goal.

However, over the last few weeks we have seen a resurgence of West Indies cricket. It is too early to celebrate but the commitment in the middle, the sense of purpose and dedication are inescapable. I believe it is a sign of great things to come. Let us applaud both teams for entertaining cricket.

Tonight, I am pleased to say we now have in place a platform that is firmer than any that has been in place before. This year we laid the foundation for the unity of players, purpose and performance that will take us back to the top of World Cricket where we belong. After 30 years of existence, WIPA has finally been able to sign a collective agreement with the WICB that recognizes and accepts that we are the sole and exclusive bargaining unit for the players.

This means that our players can focus on the game while WIPA and the WICB put our energies together to create and maintain an environment that unleashes the creativity and genius that is associated with the people of the Caribbean. We now await the final contracts and expect that the WICB will have them available to the players soon.

We have in place a Memorandum of Understanding between the WICB and WIPA. We have agreed on a Code of Conduct which accepts that WIPA will be involved in the process, not just to protect the rights of the players, but to ensure that the discipline that was demonstrated by our winning teams in the past is once more so evident, so much a part of our present and future teams that it will never have to be enforced.

We have achieved retainer contracts which ensure that players who have achieved a plateau of high performance can now reach the peaks of perfection. The contracts are not just about security for the players but allow the WICB to use these players for commercial benefits which, hopefully, will help to give the game in the region financial stability and sustainability.

For those players who are on the way up and who have not yet demonstrated the level of performance on which the retainer contracts would be based, we have now rationalized the process and criteria for match tour contracts. This does not mean that the players have given up all their rights. They can continue to have individual sponsorship deals but within a better defined legal framework. This was the critical issue that saw radical surgery in the team without the benefit of an anesthetic.

We should not forget the contribution of Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the team?s performance. However, in looking back at that troubling period in West Indies cricket it is important to note that Lara was Captain then and is back as Captain now. However, I cannot help but speculate on how much further we would have progressed if the deep division in the team had not taken place. We cannot change the past but can only learn from it, and ensure that history does not repeat itself.

As in any relationship, this one will take some tolerance on both sides. In any matter involving a 78-year old and a 31-year old organization, we have to blend the experience of one with the enthusiasm and energy of the other. Hopefully, neither party will be consumed in the ?consummation? and we will see the birth of new hope for West Indies cricket.

The true beneficiaries of these agreements are the fans and the game itself. We will have an environment that encourages our players to be the best they can be.

It will be one that will delight the fans and enhance and elevate the game of cricket to which we West Indians have added our unique personalities and style.

Using the well known belief now common in the private sector that you have to retreat to advance, we have organized, with support from the private sector, particularly ?bptt?, retreats and workshops that have helped the players with self development and teamwork. What has been extremely encouraging for us is the response from the private sector generally - the regional private sector and the Trinidad and Tobago business community.

Tonight we have First Citizens Bank and b-mobile. In fact, we have received overwhelming response from fans to the texting facility made available to them to nominate their choices for the different awards.

Our other sponsors here tonight participating in our celebration of excellence are Supreme Ventures Ltd., the TCL Group, KFC and TGIF, Carib, CLICO. I also must mention Toyota and Media 21 for their continued support of our association.

We are also grateful to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, particularly the Minister of Sports, for their continuous support.

Let me, at the same time, ask you to give a round of applause to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Team, the Soca Warriors, who represent the Caribbean in Germany next month.

Friends and supporters, players and sponsors here tonight, even as WIPA celebrates excellence we continue to pursue it. WIPA has in place a new Executive Committee that is actively engaged in developing a strategy for the far future. I want to publicly acknowledge the work of this committee as well as the many experts who have willingly and freely given of their time and talents to the organization.

Foremost among these experts is the team that negotiated on behalf of the organization. They spent many long hours ensuring that the players interests were always well represented, and that the game and the fans would be ones who would enjoy the ultimate reward. We see it in place now- the best players on the best team representing the West Indies. Gentlemen, on behalf of the Executive of WIPA, and more importantly the players, I thank you.

The Awards Function would not have the credibility it has enjoyed over the last three years, and the full support of the players, were it not for the integrity of the judging process. I have to thank the judges, Joey Carew, Chairperson, Gordon Greenidge, Clyde Butts, Roddy Estwick and Gayle Daniel-Worrell. Again my thanks on behalf of WIPA.

Our big project now is to take cricket back into the communities of the Caribbean.

Using past and present players we hope to inspire and identify the future players, those who will carry our banner into distant lands with distinction, discipline and defiance. WIPA is committed to the glorious cause of restoring the pride in West Indies cricket and we invite everyone who can add value to this process to join us.

My final word is for the fans. You are our inspiration. You carry the game in your emotions and your encouragement. We in WIPA know that cricket in the Caribbean is not a game. It is deeply embedded in our culture, in who we are as a people. In cricket there is unity.

We are one people with one dream, taking cricket back to the top of the world. Tonight?s celebration is dedicated to you.