Barbados NOC News
11 October 2024 - Find here the latest news from the National Olympic Committee: events, courses, general assemblies and elections, trophies and much more.
11 October 2024 - Barbados football coach Kerry Trotman has been awarded an Olympic Solidarity scholarship to follow the International Coaching Course (ICC) training through the Hungarian University of Sports Sciences (HUSS) in Budapest, Hungary. Organised by the HUSS in collaboration with the IOC and supported by Olympic Solidarity, the programme is running from 30 September to 29 November 2024 and offers high-level, performance-focused training in sports sciences and sport-specific methodologies. A former member of the Barbados Women's Football National Team, she holds a FIFA/CONCACAF Coaching Educators' certification, and is currently a Senior Coach for Technique Football Club (U15). More details at www.olympic.org.bb.
20 September 2024 - Cherise Slocombe and Tremayne Griffith will represent Barbados at the International Olympic Academy (IOA)’s 65th International Session for Young Olympic Ambassadors in Olympia, Greece, next year. Slocombe, a tennis player, has served for the past two-and-a-half years as an administrative assistant at the Barbados Tennis Association, and she has completed her International Tennis Federation (ITF) Level 2 coaching certificate. Griffith holds a first-class honours degree in sports sciences from the University of the West Indies, as well as Level 1 World Athletics and Badminton World Federation coaching certifications.
Slocombe and Griffith were chosen based on their performance and involvement at the 4th National Session for Young Participants (NSYP), held by the National Olympic Academy of Barbados in August with the theme “The Athlete in Modern Society: Inspiring and Fostering Unity”. As part of its collaboration with the IOA, Olympic Solidarity offers partial financial assistance towards the participation of candidates in this International Session.
More details here. In addition, the BOA recently announced the appointment of educator and sports administrator Janelle Denny as the NOA's new director. She succeeds Vaneisha Cadogan after the latter’s five years of dedicated service. Details here.
04 September 2023 - Physical education teacher and coach Jesse King is participating in the Executive Master’s in Sports Organisation Management (MEMOS) XXVI programme, which started on 15 August and will run until September 2024. King, who was recommended by the BOA for an Olympic Solidarity scholarship to take the course, has a lifelong passion for sport and has been involved in various roles throughout his career. In recent years, he has worked closely with the Barbados Amateur Weightlifting Association (BAWA) as a technical official. Full info here.
16 June 2023 - The BOA has announced that Jessica Derrell and Solomon West will represent Barbados at the International Olympic Academy’s 63rd International Session for Young Olympic Ambassadors in Olympia, Greece. The main topic of this Session is: “Innovating physical education and Olympic values education to build a better world”. Derrell has played and coached rugby and led fundraising drives to augment the federation’s efforts. In addition to being an athlete, West has a background in community sports, and has been involved in sporting projects as a coach and youth worker. More info here. The BOA also announced that Olympian Hadley Hinds, OLY died at the age of 76 at the beginning of May. Hadley was a member of the historic Barbados Olympic team at Mexico City in 1968. This was the first time that Barbados competed at the Olympic Games, with Hinds competing in the 200m. More info here.
14 october 2022 - The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) has announced that Tyrese Beckles (see photo), a water polo coach, has been awarded an Olympic Solidarity scholarship to attend the International Coaching Course (ICC) from 3 October to 9 December 2022 in Budapest (Hungary). The ICC is delivered by the Hungarian University of Sports Science. The BOA nominated Beckles for the scholarship on the recommendation of the Barbados Aquatic Sports Association. More info at www.olympic.org.bb.
29 july 2022 - Barbadian Julia Broome (photo) has been selected for the 25 th edition of the Executive Masters in Sports Organisation Management (MEMOS) Programme, which will run from August 2022 to September 2023. The Barbados Olympic Association recommended her for both the MEMOS Programme and the accompanying Olympic Solidarity Scholarship. Broome’s 25 years of experience in sport and sports management made her an excellent candidate for the programme. As Chair of the Youth and Junior Commission, she is responsible for the development of volleyball for young children. She is also the Barbados Female Youth Volleyball team manager. She has been an executive member of the Barbados Volleyball Association since 2019, when she was elected as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer. Regarding her MEMOS project, Broome’s goal is to explore the use of technology to enhance the management of sports and national teams in Barbados. More info at www.olympic.org.bb .
06 July 2022 - This year, the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) organised four events to celebrate Olympic Day. From 20 to 25 June, the activities included a Virtual Week-Long Walk, a Twitter Space Discussion on the topic “E-Sport: Is it Sport?”, and a physical activity event dubbed #Move For Peace held on 23 June. Meanwhile, the celebration culminated on 25 June with an Olympic Day 2K Fun Run & Fun Evening, with activities such as a basketball shooting competition, hula hoop and roller race. Full details here.
20 June 2022 - The Barbados Olympic Association has announced that Rohansonn Waithe, Treasurer of the Barbados Chess Federation, is attending the 62nd IOA International Session for Young Olympic Ambassadors in Olympia (Greece). Waithe was one of two participants selected to represent the Association at a shortened 2021 Session, which was held virtually on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time this year, there was a requirement that participants submit a plan with no fewer than three initiatives that they would undertake after the Session. One of Waithe’s proposed actions is to show how chess may be used to improve mental health and mental excellence in sport. More info at www.olympic.org.bb.
02 May 2022 - The Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) Inc. has developed a new funding scheme to assist athletes, and is investing approximately USD 1.6 million in direct athlete funding for 2022. In addition, the Annual Athlete Funding Subsidy Programme will continue for the new 2021-2024 Olympic quadrennial. Full details here.
04 April 2022 - Sonia O’Neal is the 2022 recipient of the Esther Maynard Icon Award. She received her award during a ceremony hosted by the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA)’s Women in Sport Commission on 27 March. BOA President Sandra Osborne, Commission Chair Ytannia Wiggins and former BOA Director Esther Maynard gave speeches. The award recognises outstanding dedicated women pioneers who are working towards advancing gender equality in sport across the cross-cutting areas of participation, safe sport, portrayal, resource allocation and leadership. More info at www.olympic.org.bb
18 March 2022 - The National Olympic Academy of the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) has hosted an anti-doping webinar for junior athletes. Sasha Sutherland, Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO), conducted the webinar for the athletes and their parents as part of the RADO’s commitment to educating athletes about anti-doping before participating in competition. It had four objectives: to introduce junior athletes to the World Anti-Doping Code, the doping control process, anti-doping rule violations, and the Athletes’ Anti-Doping Rights Act. More details here. In addition, the BOA has announced that boxer Kimberly Gittens, a Central American and Caribbean Games medallist, has been awarded a Commonwealth Sport Women’s Leadership Programme Scholarship. More details here.
07 January 2022 - On 28 December, the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) hosted its first-ever virtual Annual Sports Awards Ceremony, to acknowledge and honour athletes, coaches, journalists, and sports administrators for resilience, performances and contributions over the past two years. For the first time, there was also a People’s Choice Award, for which people on social media were invited to vote on their choice for Athlete of the Year. The star of the ceremony was the national 400-metre record-holder, Sada Williams, who received the Female Athlete of the Year Award, the President's Award and the People’s Choice Award after her outstanding performances at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. During the ceremony, speeches were delivered by BOA President Sandra Osborne; Dwight Sutherland, the Minister of Youth, Sport and Community Empowerment; and IOC Vice-President Nicole Hoevertsz, who is also Secretary General of the Aruba Olympic Committee. More info at www.olympic.org.bb.
22 November 2021 - The Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) has announced that Jamal Grosvenor (photo), a coach with the Athletics Association of Barbados and a Physical Education teacher at the Lodge School, has been awarded an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to pursue a high-level coaching course offered by the International Support Programme to African and Caribbean Sport (PAISAC). PAISAC provides training in Applied Sports Sciences, with the goal of helping participants understand the various aspects of sports practice. The two-phase programme takes a hybrid approach. Phase 1, which is online, takes place from 1 November to 11 December 2021, while phase 2 will be face-to-face, and is scheduled to run from 2 to 30 May 2022 in Montreal, Canada. More info at www.olympic.org.bb.
17 September 2021 - The Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) has announced that Rohansonn Waithe (left in photo), Treasurer of the Barbados Chess Federation, and track and field athlete Ayanna Morgan (right) are taking part in the 61st International Session for Young Participants, hosted by the International Olympic Academy (IOA) held virtually from 17 to 23 September 2021. The 2021 International Session comes just one month after the BOA held the inaugural National Session for Young Participants, where the candidates had an opportunity to prepare for the annual IOA International Session. The main topic for the IOA Sessions this year is “Olympic Movement and the Pandemic”, while the special topic for the International Session is “Olympic Games and the Pandemic: Opportunities, Challenges and Changes”. More info at www.olympic.org.bb.
02 July 2021 - Over the course of a week, the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) organised several activities to commemorate Olympic Day. A tree-planting ceremony was held to raise environmental awareness and to highlight the importance of trees to health and combatting global warming. Held on the grounds of the Olympic Centre, the ceremony also paid tribute to the former BOA Vice-President, the late Ralph “Bruggadung” Johnson, who made an outstanding contribution to sport and who loved the environment. James Johnson, Ralph’s son, planted the olive tree at a ceremony attended by BOA officials – President Sandra Osborne, Secretary General Erskine Simmons and Vice-President Cameron Burke – and Public Relations Consultant of the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification Antoine Williams (see photo). The BOA intends to continue its tree-planting initiative, planting trees in honour of other outstanding sportspersons. More details here.
16 April 2021 - The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. celebrated the IDSP with a Zumba event broadcast live on 10 April. The Barbadians were asked to do the stay-at-home Zumba, while messages promoting sport and peace were conveyed throughout the programme. Full info here.
01 April 2021 - Regionally renowned sports administrator Kathy Harper Hall (photo) is the 2021 recipient of the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA)’s Women in Sport Icon of the Year Award. She received her award during a virtual ceremony hosted by the BOA’s Women in Sport Commission on 28 March. BOA President Sandra Osborne gave the opening address, followed by Commission Chair Ytannia Wiggins. The Award was first presented in 2020, to Esther Maynard, the first Chair of the Women in Sport Commission, and it is now named in her honour for her commitment to sport as a teacher and administrator spanning more than four decades, and her service to the BOA as a long-standing director of its board. Full info here.