Foreword

WELCOME

Pamela Hiles

Sporting Barbados Editor

Welcome to the 25th anniversary edition of Sporting Barbados! One year delayed due to Covid, but back - bigger and better than ever.

My husband came up with the idea of Sporting Barbados. He visited Barbados from Northern Ireland in 1984 - before the days of the ‘world wide web’ - on a cricket tour. He was ‘bowled’ over by the friendliness and hospitality found in our island, and how much there was to offer a sporting visitor. He arrived with 30 friends, and at least a quarter of them have returned multiple times since, bringing family, friends, and falling in love with Barbados one trip at a time. Some have even bought property!

If you think about it, one cricket tour from one place has done so very much to promote Barbados. How much better could it be if ALL sports had the same result? Sports tourism can be a massive boost to any economy, just do the math. And of course, on his visit my husband also met me... and the rest is history.

In time, the Sporting Barbados brand was born and it has been phenomenally successful in showing Barbados in a unique and special light. Somewhere which has glorious sun, sea and sand - but this is NOT the only thing it has going for it. A place where you can bring family and friends, meet locals, partake in sport, or watch from the sidelines.

Sporting Barbados has grown from a hard copy magazine to an excellent, upto-date website (www.sportingbarbados. com), where you can explore what’s happening in sport on the island month by month. And of course we’re also all over social media, where you can get real time updates.

Bajans have a lot to be proud of. Our island may be small, but for our limited population and resources we have made our name around the world. Few places have as many special cricketers who have been recognised and Knighted. In this year alone, both Sada Williams and Shane Brathwaithe clinched medals in the Commonwealth Games - a Gold for Sada in the 400m a Silver for Shane in the 110m hurdles, and. Sada also won Bronze in the World Championships. We have Zane Maloney excelling in Formula 3 racing, just doing great things, and Karen Meakins won a gold medal for the Over 50s and Mark Sealy a bronze for the over 60s at the 2022 WSF World Masters Squash Championships in Poland. Bajan Jockeys are rocking it all over Canadian racecourses and continuing to pass the post first. Kudos to Matthew Wright for his gold medal finish at the Triathalon in Aquaba.

And the list continues to grow...

Innovation is rife here, with our people striving everyday to give our sporting visitors the best experiences. We look forward to welcoming the new Apes Hill Golf Resort and Community this year, and to the return of the Sandy Lane Gold Cup in March. There are plans in place to upgrade the National Stadium, and all of these improvements are much needed and most welcome.

Sporting Barbados would never have happened without the support and help of so many people. First and foremost, our designer Neil Barnard who has been with us the entire journey and now his wife Kim heading up the social media side. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to them both for their talent and stellar work over the past 25 years. To our printers in Northern Ireland, our photographers especially Peter Marshall, our contributors, the BTMI, The TDC and of course our extremely loyal advertisers. None of it would have been possible without you. A huge thank you to you all for keeping this unique and very special marketing brand alive.

You may choose Barbados for a diving holiday, a golf excursion, or to hike across the East Coast. You may be part of the Barmy Army, or have come to drive our roads for a motor sport event. No matter your sporting passion, there is something for all in Barbados, set on a backdrop of incredible restaurants, duty free shopping and great attractions.

Our doors are open - it really doesn’t get much better than Barbados.

Elite Barbados atheletes from left to right: Shane Brathwaite, Amber Joseph & Sada Williams