EDITORIAL: Barbados sports, athletes and the Olympics
The next Olympics event is scheduled for July this year. Since 1968, Barbados has participated in this global event except for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Throughout the years, our athletes proudly represented our country and while it has been two decades since Barbados has won an Olympic medal, there are still triumphs. But the road to the Olympics is a rocky one from the point of view of the inadequate sports infrastructure in Barbados. Are we investing enough in our athletes?
Let’s listen to our great athlete
Jim Wedderburn who was the first Barbadian to win an Olympic medal has spoken out about sports, specifically track and field in Barbados. His view was that young athletes needed a longer training season especially outside of peak time for regional/international games.
Barbados has sent athletes from track and field, shooting, swimming, cycling, weightlifting and while most of them have a junior competition component, the reality is there are not a lot of secure, well equipped sporting facilities in Barbados to train young athletes. From the astroturf to the National Stadium, poor maintenance and wear and tear have resulted in the deterioration of these facilities. In addition to training facilities, there is a need to invest in the boy or girl who wants to become a professional athlete.
Professional athletics require big investment
According to research by Forbes magazine, the estimated cost of preparing a child to reach the Olympics by adulthood is about US $120,000. Parents have to also consider the cost to meet a child’s expenses, healthcare, education etc and this amount can be twice as much. How many people are willing to invest the equivalent of about one million dollars in a career in sports?
Breaking cultural barriers
In this region, whether consciously or subconsciously, there are beliefs that playing sports is not a viable career in the region. Except for cricket, sports, like arts are seen as an exception, not a choice. The idea to be successful means to follow a traditional path of law, accounting, medicine, education or management. There is also an idea of our size and the thought of winning against bigger territories – are we good enough? Jamaica as an English speaking island is leading the way through track and field. But what about boxing, cycling, gymnastics, diving and swimming?
Make our athletes heroes
People want to become those who are great. In the USA, the boxing world had Muhammad Ali. In Barbados, there is cricket legend, Sir Garfield Sobers. We as an island have to remove the colonial mentality which continues to define who we are and who we become. Barbadians are built for greatness but we have to train, we have to educate, we have to mould and condition the youth to believe in their own and not only idolise European and American sportsmen and sportswomen.
The CARICOM states stand as twenty, fifteen member states and five Associate Member States. This may be the time to prove our collective identity through investing in more facilities, personnel, education and resources for our athletes. There will always be challenges to sending our best to international sporting events. But we must reimagine how we get there. For far too long we have been jogging in a race when everyone else is riding to the finish line. The region must do more to recognise our sports. In Barbados, it could start with indigenous road tennis, our athletes, creating scholarships and grants from the primary level. Those seeds need to be nurtured from an early stage. Sports education could be taught at a secondary level, with regional examinations included. To succeed, the modern athlete needs more than just raw talent to reach the international podium.