Alex Jordan delivering her keynote address at the NSC Awards in Barbados on Friday.
‘Creating Identity Through Sport’ was the topic of the keynote address given by international cricket broadcaster and former Sportsmax Zone host, Alex Jordan, at Barbados’ 39th annual National Sports Council (NSC) Awards ceremony on Friday.
In the presence of a number of the country’s sporting icons, past and present, Jordan made the point of just how storied the history of sport is in the country with a population of just 282,158.
“Barbados has long had a sporting identity of course. The three Ws, Sir Garfield Sobers, Greenidge and Haynes, need I go on?” she said before adding that sport “is a powerful tool that builds both self and community.”
A Bajan national youth breaststroke champion in her own right, Jordan gave a moving address outlining how sport has formed a major part of how she identifies herself today.
“The potential for sport does not start and finish with being the best athlete, there’s the driver, the coach, the chef, the physio, the statistician, the parent; we’re all forging an identity through sport,” she said.
“We have to cement who we are into our consciousness. We say we understand how rich of a history it is and how successful it is in developing our youth and our nation but we don’t focus nearly enough on it as a livelihood. This right now is a watershed moment for Barbados, a wonderful opportunity to really define modern Bajan sporting identity,” she added.
With that in mind, she is advocating that the stories of more Barbadian sporting icons be told. She mentioned methods such as documentaries and the formation of a visual hall of fame as ways this can be done.
“I want to plead to our nation to tell more of our stories. In order for us to really respect ourselves and feel pride in ourselves, we have to know ourselves. How can we know ourselves if we don’t tell our stories?” she said.
Two athletes Jordan mentioned by name that should be highlighted were seven-time champion jockey Patrick Husbands and Olympic swimmer Antonio Boyle, who is currently the Senior Vice President for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs at Delaware State University.
The son of a jockey, Husbands began riding as a young boy, turning professional in his home country where he rode successfully until emigrating to Toronto, Ontario in 1994.
In 1990 he became the youngest jockey to win the prestigious Barbados Gold Cup at just 16 years, 9 months on his mount Vardar.
Racing out of Woodbine Racetrack, in 2003 Husbands won the Canadian Triple Crown aboard the colt Wando and that year became his breakout year. Among his other notable wins, he rode Numerous Times to victory in the $1 million 2001 Woodbine Mile and Exciting Story in that same year's Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in New York. He rode Arch Hall to three straight wins between 2004 and 2006 in the Sir Barton Stakes. In 2007, he was the regular rider on Canadian Horse of the Year, Sealy Hill.
On October 4, 2009 Patrick Husbands earned his 2,000th career victory at Woodbine Racetrack and on June 18, 2016, he brought up his 3,000th career victory at the venue.
Boyle had the distinction of competing as part of the Barbados Swim Team in the 1987 Pan American Games and the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
From 1994 to 2014, Mr. Boyle held enrollment management leadership posts at Kentucky State University, South Carolina State University, Florida A&M University and Alabama A&M University.
He was the vice president of Enrollment Management for Wiley College in Marshall, Texas from March 2016 to present. Prior to that, from November 2014 to March 2016 at Wilberforce University in Ohio, he served in a similar position initially and then was elevated to senior vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Services.
He has been at Delaware State since 2018.
“We need to tell their stories and we need to put it in schools. We need to establish a visual hall of fame. Can you imagine showing documentaries in school about Pat Husbands or the amount of horsing talent in Harts gap. What about Antonio Boyle? From St. James Secondary to senior VP in Delaware State University. He was the first generation of black working-class swimmers in this country,” she said.
“What do you think swimming and his success did to his sense of self? He was unstoppable in that pool as a teenager and he has been unstoppable in the field of academic administration ever since. It’s a massive story and we should tell it,” she added.
Jordan concluded her address by asking “what are we the best at but don’t yet realize?”
“Together, we can cement our sporting identity and use it to propel us forward so that we as a nation can keep punching above our weight,” she added.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
McCalla claims Men’s Physique title at Roger Boyce Classic in Barbados
Wayne McCalla is Jamaica’s newest IFBB Pro after capturing the men’s short class physique title at the Roger Boyce Classic in Barbados on May 11.
McCalla, who was named Jamaica’s male bodybuilder of the year at the RJR/Gleaner Sports Foundation’s National Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year awards in January, beat out competition from Barbados’s Kevon Carter and Suriname’s Raphael Kromokarijo for the crown.
Haiti’s Jean Jahnsen took the title in the medium category ahead of Jamaica’s Rayon Henry and Barbados’ Julian Belgrave.
Haiti also took top spot in the tall class through Marc Louis who won ahead of Barbados’ Bukkiah Providence and Jamaica’s Jevaughn Rosewell.
In men’s lightweight bodybuilding, Suriname’s Rudolph Getrow took top spot ahead of Barbados’ Curtis Kirby and Timon Howard.
At middleweight, the Dominican Republic’s Jeifry Richardson won gold ahead of Barbados’ Sanaj Lewis and Mexico’s Juan Galvan.
Guyana’s Nicholas Albert tool gold in the light heavyweight division ahead of Grenada’s Andrew Hyacinth and Suriname’s Anthony Nekrui while Barbados’ Nicholas Harris won the heavyweight crown ahead of Guyana’s Julio Sinclaire and Aruba’s Albert Kelly.
Antigua & Barbuda’s Shaquelle Thomas won both the men’s open classic bodybuilding and classic physique titles.
Jamaica’s Aldaine Taylor and Thomas’ countryman Jameel Knight were second and third in the bodybuilding section while Barbados’ Jurad Mason and Taylor rounded out the top three in the physique division.
Barbados’ Rashida Belgrave beat out Venezuela’s Lisset Campos for the short women’s body fitness category while Venezuela’s Anyer Camacho won the medium category ahead of Jamaica’s Ashane Gordon-Morrison and Barbados’ Allison Gotip.
Trinidad & Tobago’s Angela Campbell was the only competitor in the women’s open physique competition.
The women’s fit model open title was won by Barbados’ Shanequa Allamby ahead of Slovakia’s Ester Viznerova.
St. Kitts & Nevis’ Toni Nisbett won the women’s short bikini title ahead of Italy’s Eva Leone and Jamaica’s Jolene Miller while Barbados’ Shanequa Allamby won the medium category ahead of countrywoman Danielle Gill and Mexico’s Angelina Aleksandrovych.
The short women’s wellness title went to Guyana’s Hannah Rampersaud ahead of Antigua & Barbuda’s Jeredith John-Jules while the medium section went to Venezuela’s Gil Delgado ahead of the UK’s Shanda Carr and Suriname’s Vanessa Henry-Forster.
The overall titles were distributed as follows: Men’s Physique-Jean Jahnsen, Wellness-Gil Delgado, Body Fitness-Rashida Belgrave, Bikini Fitness-Toni Nisbett, Bodybuilding-Nicholas Albert.
Barbados to welcome Oman early for preparation camp ahead of T20 World Cup
As the much-anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup draws closer, Barbados will welcome West Asian team Oman to the island for their pre-tournament camp ahead of the global showpiece to be hosted jointly in the Caribbean and United States.
While in Barbados, Oman’s camp, scheduled for May 14-24, will also include three T20 matches – two against a Barbados Select XI, and one match against University of the West Indies –as they fine tune preparations for the June 1-29 World Cup.
The camp is being organised by former England batsman and West Indies Senior Men’s Selector Roland Butcher, who saw it fit to assist Oman in getting acclimatised to the Eastern Caribbean Island, which will host a number of games throughout the tournament, including the final.
“It is great that the Oman team will be coming out to Barbados early for their pre-tournament camp. They will use the period to get acclimatised to the conditions, as quick as possible. We are delighted to have them in Barbados – this country is the ideal place to start their preparations,” Butcher said.
“We believe the time spent here will be hugely beneficial towards them putting on a good showing in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024,” he added.
Duleep Mendis, the former Sri Lanka captain and Oman’s Head Coach expressed his team’s delight and anticipation ahead of their arrival in Barbados.
“It is one of the cricket locations which we all dream of visiting and we want to make the most of our time as we prepare. We have high ambitions in this tournament, and we want to focus on our plans from the moment we touch down in a country which is known for its cricket culture and heroes,” Mendis shared.
Oman recently named their World Cup squad, which will be led by all-rounder Aqib Ilyas, who takes the reins from Zeeshan Maqsood. This year’s World Cup will mark Oman’s third appearance in the last four editions of the tournament, which underlines their success and consistency in performing at the global level.
Oman enjoyed a dazzling 2023 campaign, as they copped the Gulf Cricket Cup, followed by an unbeaten run in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia qualifiers, which secured their spot in the upcoming tournament. They were also runners-up in this year’s ACC Premier Cup.
The West Asian team, drawn in Group B alongside Australia, England, Scotland, and Namibia, will open their T20 World Cup campaign against the latter, in Barbados, on June 2.
Jamaica, Barbados engage partnership to enhance athletics in the Eastern Caribbean Island
If things go according to plans, then Jamaica and Barbados will execute a partnership with aimed at enhancing athletics training and coaching quality in Barbados.
This was revealed by Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, who pointed out that plans are currently in the pipeline for a collaborative effort between the two island nations, which will involve an exchange of coaching expertise to elevate the standard of sports training.
“There’s a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between Jamaica and us to exchange coaches to be able to work with them in terms of how we develop,” Griffiths revealed, adding that plans for the bilateral initiative was birthed by a similar partnership between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
“I was in Washington at a conference and had a sit-down with Minister [Olivia] Grange, Minister of Sports in Jamaica. They have worked with Trinidad in terms of developing the coaches there,” he noted.
Griffith acknowledged that there are concerns about the current coaching standards in Barbados and, as such, emphasized the necessity of having highly skilled coaches to match the calibre of world-class athletes.
“I won’t push it at this meeting, but I’m concerned with the level of coaches. I think that if you’re going to have a world-class athlete, you must match that athlete with a world-class coach,” he declared.
That said, Griffiths pointed out that upcoming infrastructural developments are in place to complement ongoing sporting initiatives within the country.
“I’m looking to see how we can have that marriage where we can fuse resources together in terms of working with Jamaica to develop the athletes on island. Hopefully by next week or the week after, you will see work starting on the old netball stadium to turn that into a multi-discipline facility for netball, basketball, and volleyball,” he shared.
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