Feb 20, 2005 – When the Teens on the Green International Golf Tournament World Series was wrapping up at Carambola Golf Course the first weekend of November, there were smiles on many of the faces of the 100 or so young golfers as a camera crew moved about capturing images.
The plans were for the teens tournament to be broadcast by CBS immediately preceding a PGA tournament on CBS this spring.
Those plans are now in jeopardy, and the organizers are blaming Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards.
Calls to the Tourism Department concerning Teens on the Green were referred to the attorney general's office. Reportedly the contract between Teens on the Green and Tourism is now under legal review.
Rennie Roker, CEO of Teens On The Green, was at the Senate Housing, Veterans Affairs and Sports Committee hearing on Thursday asking for the $250, 000 needed to pay for the broadcast.
A press release from Teens On The Green on Wednesday attributed actions to Richards that could not be confirmed because phone calls to her office were not returned. The release said, "Commissioner Richards stated that she would not pay for a 1 hour Network special on the CBS Network, and that she does not understand why the network will not broadcast the event for free."
The press release then argued that paying for these types of sports programs is standard practice.
The teen golfers came from countries such as Thailand, India, the United Kingdom, Ecuador and the United States where they had competed in qualifying events. This was the fifth year for the tournament and the third year it has been played at Carambola.
The release said that the golfers and their families took all the rooms at the Carambola Resort for two and a half weeks, and also rooms in additional hotels. Yet, the release stated that Richards did not think the event resulted in enough "heads in beds."
Roker predicts that in 2005 golfers from more than 70 countries and 44 U.S. states will compete for the Teens On The Green World Championship. The press release stated, "Roker has held off more than eight countries and 20 U.S. locations requesting the finale that Commissioner Richards feels is not good enough for St. Croix."
Roker also did not return phone calls Friday and Saturday.
Questions remain whether paying for the broadcast was part of the original agreement between the Tourism Department and also why commercial time cannot be sold to pay for the broadcast.
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