00:00Young swimmers and water polo athletes deeply engaged in a session meant to sharpen their insight into the possibilities available
00:07to them through communication.
00:09Media representative of the Aquatic Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Jason Wickham, was able to explain the idea behind
00:16the initiative.
00:17The course has been good so far and many of our athletes, we wanted them to be more media ready
00:24and this course enabled them to give them skills and tools in order to communicate better with the media.
00:32It's one of the projects we identified in 2026 under the Olympic Athlete Support Programme from World of Politics and
00:40as I thought it would have been a great opportunity for the athletes to get this exposure.
00:45Communications consultant Liesel Douglas Wickham guided the athletes through the lectures, ensuring they had an understanding of the objectives set
00:53forth for them.
00:55The objectives are already being realized and we're seeing it in action in the room.
00:59One, for the athletes to understand media, understand the rule of media, not just from their perspective in terms of
01:05giving interviews, but also from the media side of it so they understand how it works.
01:09Two, for them to develop or start to develop and think about their individual athlete story, their brand story and
01:16how they can expand on that as they move through the discipline and their sports and really start to think
01:21of themselves as a brand.
01:23And three, understanding how the media can benefit them in their career and for the sport overall.
01:29The students soaked up the information and explained how it should benefit them.
01:33I think most of the people that scout you out and sponsors and stuff, they don't just look at the
01:38medals you win or the tournaments you play in.
01:41I think it's your personal being and your personality and how you display yourself as an athlete.
01:48But today's session I found it very beneficial because I learned a lot.
01:52It was way better than I expected it to be.
01:55I expected it to be more paperwork but it was actually very practical and enjoying and easy to learn because
02:01of our great teachers.
02:03I think I did gain a great awareness because of how much we covered and I think we should also
02:10have a follow-up session.
02:11The media course is part of a drive in September by ASAT which will also be providing training for meet
02:17managers and social media training for clubs.
02:20Sergio Dufour, TV6 Sport.
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