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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
left: Brittney Bien-Aime; top right: Alexander Bryan; and bottom right: Patrice Senior and Brittney Bien-Aime
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PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands – Three Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) representatives attended the recently held CONCACAF U15 Girls Championships that took place in the Cayman Islands. Attending on behalf of the Football Association were Patrice Senior, Alexander Bryan and Brittney Bien-Aime.
The inaugural competition featured teams from 16 countries throughout the CONCACAF confederation. Of the championship, it was the team from Canada that won after playing a hard-hitting game against Haiti. The event follows on the heels of last year’s inaugural the Boys’ Under-15 tournament, which was also hosted by the Cayman Islands and was won by Honduras.
Patrice Senior, selected by the regional Head of Refereeing, from amongst a group of referees who attended the FUTURO III Refereeing Course for Instructors back in April - attended as a Referee Inspector. Her responsibility was to ensure that as much as possible was provided to the refereeing team to perform at their highest level on match day. Each match saw Patrice assigned to a different team. She would sit in on preparation meetings, and on match day she would ensure dress code and departure time from the hotel was maintained. “I also ensured that my team for the day had all the necessary equipment depending on their role, by double checking with them,” said Patrice.
She went on to add that: “During the assessment for each match, I had to make notes of positives areas and areas for improvement for the referee, assistant referee 1 & 2 and fourth official. To this regard, I assessed eight games in total including quarter’s finals, and semi finals. I also acted as a liaison officer between the refereeing team and the assigned Match Commissioner.” Following on from the game, she would have to debrief the entire refereeing group, which consisted of 26 persons - of the previous match.
Of her experience, Patrice said: “It was a tremendous learning experience and a wonderful opportunity to represent my referee colleagues and TCIFA and TCI family. I would like to say thank you to our President, Mrs Sonia Bien-Aime; Mr. Alfredo Whittaker, Head of Referee (CONCACAF); and the refereeing family for 2014 U-15 Girls Championship. I look forward to working and sharing my knowledge and experience to improve our CONCACAF referees in any way in can.”
This is the second tournament that Alexander Bryan was appointed to, last year the U15 Boys being his first. Alex, as he is familiarly known - stated that for the first week he was stationed in Cayman Brac where the championship group matches consisted teams from Canada, Haiti, Cuba and Puerto Rico. There, he was responsible for inventory and storage as well as daily planning of meetings.
In Grand Cayman for the final leg of the tournament, Alex was also in charge of storage and the pre-set up of locker rooms, signage and documents. To this regard, he said he got to be general coordinator for the match for third place - where he was handed the opportunity to walk the teams out and start the game.
“I enjoyed my experience and learned a lot about competitions and how hands on this job is where you're involved with all departments such as referees, match commissioners, coaches and players,” said Alex, adding: “It's not just about organizing but how quickly you can respond to problems that may arise.”
Selected to intern by CONCACAF's Competition's Department after an interview in July, Brittney Bien-Aime’s responsibilities entailed administrative tasks such as stapling papers, filing papers and preparing envelopes, However, she noted with a smile - that due to – “As I've been told, my advance level of understanding and maturity, I was given more complex responsibilities similar to that of an Assisting General Coordinator (AGC).” In this role, Brittney was responsible for preparing meeting halls, designing power-point presentations, greeting teams, taking part in team arrival meeting duties setting up the stadium for games and being trophy girl.
“My experience during this championship was one of a kind. I got to see first hand all the hard work and sweat that goes into the well presented games we watch, but also gained the opportunity to learn many new skills and information about ‘behind the scenes football’, that, along with meeting many influential and kind people,” said Brittney.
Bien-Amie went on to add that, “The work was intense and demanding, and sometimes you barely had time for yourself; but I appreciated this because like everyone that works in the sport said, ‘Once you've worked in football, you're fit to work in any field’. It has truly prepared me for the working world, and I'd love to work with them again!”
Sonia Bien-Aime, President of the TCIFA said, “This was a great opportunity for the trio, who have demonstrated a high level of maturity and expertise in their respective roles during the tournament. In addition to the many positive feedback received, I have had the privilege of observing all three of them in action during the Semifinals and Finals of the tournament. I felt really proud to see them represent us at the Confederation's inaugural tournament in such a professional manner. They have certainly contributed to raising the profile of the TCIFA.”
Bien-Aime went on to add that, “It is hoped that Patrice will return home and share all of the knowledge and experience as a Referee Inspector with referees in the TCIFA's Referees Development Programme, and likewise young Alex and Brittney will be able to demonstrate and share what they have learnt with organizers at our very own tournaments. This is no doubt the first of many opportunities to come for stakeholders involved in our development programs.”
ABOUT Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association - The Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) is a non-for-profit organization in the business of football development throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands. The TCIFA has been in operation since 1996, and a member of FIFA, since 1998.
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