Welcome

Pamela Hiles

Sporting Barbados Editor Cover Photo of Barbados’ Jason Holder by Randy Brooks

We are very happy to be bringing your Sporting Barbados 2022!

Who would have thought in early 2020 the whole world would literally stop? With very little sport, travel, socialising – life changed as we all knew it. This beautiful little island that depends so much on tourism, like many other places globally, suffered a huge blow. However, we are bouncing back again! Thankfully with the vaccine things are opening up and the wheels are turning again. We are excited to welcome England back to our shores with cricket spectators again – the Barmy Army will not be held back. Horse racing started with few spectators, but more spectators are now allowed in the stands. Members can play Polo only, as restrictions are still in place for visitors at this time. The Sol Barbados Rally is set to happen in early June and the response from overseas participants is very positive! Watersports and golf have been the least affected these days, but the Protocol is volatile and could change at any stage. However, we are moving away from Lockdown in Barbados and hopefully the world will respond in similar conditions. We are heavily indebted to all our contributors, advertisers and sports feature writers. After a one-year absence our ‘come back’ edition is very special for a variety of reasons, and although it is not feasible to cover every sport we hope it gives a taste of Barbados sport. Thank you to the Tourism Development Corporation, the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Minister Cummins, and all the loyal supporters who made this issue happen under such tough circumstances. Also a huge thank you to our designer Neil Barnard who created magic once again and to Kim Barnard and her team on the social media side. They keep you up to date on what’s happening on a daily basis. Our ace sports photographer Peter Marshall has not been as active during Lockdown, but will be in action during 2022. However, his work continues to shine in this edition as we feature the best of previous editions to highlight our sporting heroes. A huge thank you to Peter.

A huge thanks to Randy Brooks for magnificent cricket photos from the recent T20 Tour West Indies vs England. It was a splendid return to cricket at the Mecca, Kensington Oval and a thrilling final game where thanks to our own Jason Holder taking four wickets in four balls, West Indies clinched the series.

When bookings opened and flights returned, it became obvious that people were just waiting for that moment when they could once again experience what this island has to offer. A sporting holiday here, whether it’s participating in individual sports like golfing, diving, watersports et al, or team games, is a very special experience. Sports tourism is massive to our economy and will continue to grow now that sport is on track.

Thank you for keeping Barbados in your hearts and for returning to our shores.

Make sure you keep abreast of ‘what’s happening’ in Sporting Barbados from www.sportingbarbados.com and on our social media channels.