A New Era of Bobsleigh for Trinidad and Tobago
A lot has happened in the 2021 bobsleigh off-season, with perhaps nothing more notable than the introduction of an entire new team to the international race circuit.
Axel Brown's move to compete for Trinidad & Tobago from Great Britain has been lingering in the background for some time, but has finally come to fruition. Though there isnt much time if the team are to qualify for the Olympics in February, they have their minds set on it, and now have a federation and structure under which to compete.
Trinidad & TobagoThe first hurdle for the move was for Axel to gain his passport through his mother having been born in T&T. On June 17th Axel and his mother went to the high commission and started the process. Since then, there has been a seemingly never-ending list of things that needed to happen, all in an agonisingly short period of time. The deadline for an athlete to change nation, and for a new federation to be recognised was the 30th September, the same day Axel flew to T&T. meaning that there was just 3 short months to remotely manifest an entire bobsleigh federation, its structure, its policies, its staff, and file all the relevant paperwork with the international federation.
In an effort to not bore you with the details, we did it. But it came right down to the wire with the last parts being submitted the night of the 30th! However, even then, the job was far from done. Though there now existed a team to have athletes compete under, there wasn’t a team! Axel therefore began a two-week recruitment trip in T&T trying to find athletes (more on them later), as well as meeting the amazing legal team in Port of Spain, without whom none of this would have been remotely possible.
What on the surface looked like a fun two week break in the Caribbean was in fact full of 12-hour days dealing with everything from athlete recruitment, TV and radio appearances, to meetings with ministers, and a mountain of admin which still needed to be completed for the IBSF (International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation). All of which was conducted in 35-degree heat, the absolute antithesis of a bobsleigh environment!
Since the inception of the idea of competing for T&T, the situation of the push athletes has been a tricky one. How do you recruit athletes for a sport they have never had any exposure to, and do all of that remotely across the Atlantic with a travel ban in place? The answer, with extreme difficulty!
The plan was to have two British athletes change nation along with Axel, in order to keep the team progressing from where we left off last season, whilst also allowing the new Trini athletes time to learn the sport and catch up. But again, this wasn’t without incident. Firstly, it would require the British athletes Tom Harris and Adam Hames to forgo their eligibility for Team GB Olympic selection, as well as fulfilling the criteria for the IBSF to allow them to compete for a country they don’t have a passport for. Under international bobsleigh rules, an athlete can compete for any nation at every event except the Olympics. The nation of the sled is just defined by the pilot. It speaks to the character of Adam and Tom that they would stick with the Axe Racing team, and value teamwork and finishing what we started above their own individual success.
Then, to the important matter of the Trini athletes. The best brakemen often come from fast, powerful track and field athletes. Of which, T&T has an abundance. The first place to start therefore was at the local athletics team, and at the national track and field stadium. Again, turning up at a training session with a set of timing clocks and saying to people “want to try-out for a bobsleigh team” met with a lot of mixed reactions!
Though reception across the islands to there being a bobsleigh team was resoundingly positive, and the number of eager participants a lot more than anticipated, there were still a lot of hurdles to cross.
The recruitment pool soon whittled down. So far in fact that there was just one athlete able to meet all the criteria for the first stint in Lake Placid! Enter, Shakeel John. Shakeel and his brother Shomari are both track athletes, that met the physical standard as well as being eager and excited to get on board. Though Shomari didn’t have a US visa in time, he will be joining the team later in the season.
So, with a slight sense of trepidation, Axel and Shakeel boarded their flight to the USA to begin the season proper. For Shakeel it was a large step into the unknown. A new sport, a new team, a new part of the world… a much colder part of the world! For Axel, a return to a world he knows well, but with a whole new context, responsibility, and purpose.
For a man that has never seen snow, nor dealt with the cold, Shak took to the sport like a duck to water. He took on the push coaching incredibly quickly and was able to lean on his raw speed and athleticism to adapt to a new range of skills. In just a matter of three practice push sessions his technique was promising, and his leg speed unrivalled in the IBSF small nations training camp we were taking part in.
The second week of the camp saw the team finally do some bobsleigh. An idea that almost seemed novel at this point. Swimming through a mountain of bureaucracy all summer long, the idea of actually doing the sport had almost become a second thought. Though the team’s sled had been shipped directly to the location of the first race, the team were able to rent a sled to slide in for the first week. It was sufficient for Axel to get his eye back in for driving, and for Shak to earn his stripes as a brakeman.
The sliding went off without a hitch. Driving down what is widely regarded as the hardest track in the world, the fledgling Trini team impressed and finished the week on the top of all the small nations at the camp. Partly down to Axel’s experience here from two seasons prior, but also due to an unrivalled team camaraderie. Though new, Shak fit in well and it was as though the team unit had never been separated from last season.
The next stop is Whistler, where the team will have their first races of the season, and learn the fastest track in the world! Although, due to visa and vaccination reasons no native Trinidad & Tobago athletes are allowed to enter Canada, Axel, Adam, Tom, and team support Lewis Prentice will carry the torch until we return to the USA and can reunite with the Trinis!