Barbados in line for a Sports Policy

Barbados maybe finally getting a Sports Policy.

 

Speaking at the closing ceremony for the Barbados Olympic Association’s (BOA) national Multi-sport games, Minister of Sport Stephen Lashley said that the Ministry of Sports is putting together a draft national policy which will inform the development of sports for the next 10-15 years.

 

“A lot has gone into it (Sports Policy) in terms of consultation, we believe sports has to be seen through a different pair of eyes and we have to get our country following a path that is cohesive and one that is sustainable.”

 

Lashley said that it was time that “We as administrators and policy makers must buy into that that seeks to catapult sports as one of the first and preferred engines in which all aspect of our development rest.”

 

He said that action is needed as “we now have to begin at all levels to back our aspirations and our thoughts with some solid actions and some solid plans.”

 

Though not giving a timeframe or date for the policy to be put in place or the draft to be brought forward, Lashley said that every component that is required to develop strong and competitive athletes will be put in place.

 

With the eyes already turning towards the next Olympics, Lashley believes that Barbados has within its grasp what it takes to propel the growth of sports to new frontiers.

 

“We have just finished the games in Rio Games and we have supported our athletes. Within a very short time we will be looking to the games in Japan, they will happen very quickly, so the work that we have to put in must be put in now.”

 

Speaking about the Multi-sports games Lashley said that “even as we have fun that they can be a meaningful event that we can spot talent and we can put in place what is required to develop our athletes in a way that make them regionally, locally and internationally more competitive.”

 

“I hope that as we plan the next edition of these games that we see it as an opportunity to have some introspection,” and he noted that Barbados can gain a boost from having all the major disciplines as active sports on the island.

 

He hopes that at some point that Barbados can say the  we have the best “facilities, ensuring we have the finest coaches and best programmes once we buy into that ideal... Government, private sector and of course our sporting brothers and sisters, then I believe we would have gone to that point. Having celebrated 50 years of independence to say to our young champions that we have come of age as a nation.”