The curtains will come down today on the third annual Physical Education and Sports Conference (PESC) where feature speaker, Tyrone Marcus will deliver the topic ‘Legal Implications for Physical Education Teacher and Coach.’
This two-day event, which started yesterday, aimed to serve as a platform to champion excellence and practice-based standards in the areas of physical, sports and outdoor education. It is hosted by the Physical Education Teachers Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
The inaugural conference was first held in 2018. Last year’s was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Two times senior Sportswoman of the Year (1993 and 1999) Dr. Lesporis, who is also the Curriculum Officer in the Ministry of Education said that last year’s event was cancelled because of the protocols that was in place for social gathering, however, while this year organizers were under similar constraints, they were determine in not missing an opportunity to host the conference.
“We had some momentum from 2019 and we wanted to capitalize on that momentum; we also know that our teachers and coaches are teaching from home and some are coaching online, so we wanted to have this opportunity to bring everyone together in a professional setting,” she said.
Dr. Lesporis also represented Saint Lucia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. During her athletic career, she made several podium calls, one being winning the ladies 400 meters gold medal at the Caribbean and Central American (CAC) Championship in 1999. She is current assistant coach of Elite track and field club.
This year’s theme is ‘Resilience through physical activity and sports’, one Dr. Lesporis sees as “a very appropriate theme given the conditions we are under right now”.
There will be 20 sessions during the two days of the conference with 11 of these sessions already held. Today there will be nine sessions covering a range of topics that will be relevant to PE teachers, coaches and individuals involved in sports.
According to Dr. Lesporis, “One of the sessions that we have, is called” Voices from the Field’. It will give our coaches, teachers and sports administrators an opportunity to describe how they have managed through COVID-19 and how they will continue to manage”.
She continues, “Although we know it’s a pandemic and it’s affecting everybody around the world, sometimes we believe we are the only ones going through it. The voices from the field session will allow our coaches and our colleagues in Saint Lucia and from the region to describe how they are managing the pandemic”.
Dr. Lesporis noted that the sessions each day will deal with topics relevant to persons who are dealing with students/athletes in Grades K – Six and 7 – 11.
In teams of selecting the facilitators for the two-day event, Dr. Lesporis said, “Every year we send a call for presentations, which is usually in September. Persons look at the topics we have for presentation and submit a presentation. We look at the presentations that are presented then we make a determination on who meets the criteria that we have”.
Yesterday, following the opening ceremony at 10.00 a.m., guest speaker, Senator Fortuna Belrose, who is also President of the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee, delivered on the topic: ‘Resilience through physical activity and sports.’
Belrose was followed by three general sessions which included: The Psychological Impact of COVID-19; Voices from the Field and Physical Activity Break to bring an end to the morning session.
Following lunch, Ezi Hall delivered on two topics: A Template for Developing School Sports Programme and Song as a Strategy in PE. Sabbatus Hunte also delivered two topics, Technology and Sports Performance followed by Periodization of Training.
Germain Anthony delivered on: Utilizing Virtual Platforms to Teach Physical Education with Jonathan Chalon delivering on Social and Emotional Learning in Physical Education and Sports.
Today, several PE teachers, coaches, and even parents will be listening closely to feature speaker, Tyrone Marcus, Guyanese born who now resides in Trinidad and Tobago. Marcus will deliver on the topic: ‘Legal Implications for Physical Education Teacher and Coach.’
“That’s a very important topic and its one of the topics I will be looking forward to as it is one of the main areas that need to be addressed in our PE sports Programme,” Dr Lesporis said.
She added, “Marcus is trained in court law and has written a couple of books on Sports Law in Trinidad and Tobago and is very well versed in the topic”.
Tyrone Marcus will be followed by Lesporis who will speak on the topic: ‘Differentiating Instruction in Physical Education and Coaching.’
Former Saint Lucia Basketball Association President (SLBF), Anthony Lamontagne will deliver on Managing Physical Activity and Sports during Covid-19.
A representative from the Saint Lucia Sports Academy will deliver on ‘Saint Lucia Sports Academy (SLSA) and some of the programmed they are offering. The SLSA, the Place to be’. Former Tennis Coach at the National Tennis Centre, Ricardo Bowe will speak on the topic: Sourcing Opportunities for Athletes. The USA Collegiate System.
To bring the curtains down on the two-day event, the various participants will be engaged in a Panel Discussion at 2.05 p.m. The topic: Resilience through Physical Activity and Sport.
