The newly proposed National Sports Policy seeks to develop a high performance system aimed at providing current and future athletes with the tools they need to succeed at international level.
Introducing the policy in Parliament on Tuesday, Minister of Sport Charles Griffith said year after year Barbadian athletes competed around the world on an unlevel playing field.
“Why do I say that? I don’t think on island that they (Barbadian athletes) are benefitting enough from the latest technology as it relates to sports, he began. “If we are to ensure that we have the best results, then it is absolutely necessary for us to remain on the cutting edge, that we train up our coaches to a level that they’re world class because it is impossible to have a world class athlete without a world class coach.”
The legislation would see the implementation of a Specialists’ SportsCentre, a national coaching structure and the recruitment and training of high-calibre sports personnel.
It is believed that this approach can be strengthened through a collaboration with the School of Sports, Cave Hill Campus as well as any other sport sciences and medical stakeholders. This is to ensure any performance issues are addressed through research, technology and innovation so that sports science is infused into local sporting disciplines.
It would also feature national development scholarships in key areas of sports with the goal being to build Barbados’ sports related expert capacity so that the island has a comparative advantage with respect to the global sporting community.
The Government of Barbados acknowledges that due to the limited resources available for local sports development, the National Sports Council, Barbados Olympic Association and other key stakeholders will have to collaborate towards optimising investment and resource allocation in order to support athletes achieve better performances. (JC)