Barbados team named for 2022 Commonwealth Games

There will be a strong contingent of athletes representing Barbados at the XXII Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held between July 28 and August 8, 2022.

Commonwealth Games Barbados has announced a 65-member squad of 42 females and 23 males, slated to compete in 12 disciplines, including athletics, boxing, cricket and netball, in Birmingham, England.

Barbados will be among 72 teams from the nations and territories of the Commonwealth competing at the multisport event. Women’s cricket will be played for the first time at Birmingham 2022 in the T20 format, and Commonwealth Games Barbados has named a 15-member team that will make history when it competes. The team, expected to be under the leadership of West Indies batting-allrounder Hayley Matthews, has a number of international players in the ranks, and some who are on the fringes of West Indies Women’s selection. Also included in the squad is Barbados Under-19 captain Trishan Holder who recently led the Bajan young women in the regional Rising Stars Cricket Tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.

President of Commonwealth Games Barbados Sandra Osborne stated: “We have a long history of competing in the Commonwealth Games, dating back to 1954, and we look forward to our athletes showcasing their prowess in their various disciplines. We are especially excited to see Women’s Cricket on the schedule of sports this year, and look forward to seeing our female cricketers bowl and bat when T20 makes its debut.”

Several coaches, managers and trainers will accompany Chef de Mission Cyril Burke, Assistant Chef de Mission Craig Archer and General Team Manager Paula Jarvis to Birmingham. A six-member medical team will also travel with the athletes. The medical team comprises Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ingrid Burrowes, Dr. Carl Ward, physiotherapists Marita Marshall and Alicia Brewster and massage therapists Rondell Griffith and Sharon Coppin.

Chef de Mission Burke added: “It is an honour to lead the Barbados Squad to Birmingham 2022 and we look forward to competing and making our nation proud. These Commonwealth Games will be challenging, with four villages rather than the usual one village. Despite this, our management team is experienced enough to meet these challenges head on, and will do all that is necessary to create an environment that lends to successful performances from our athletes.”

The boxers heading off to England will be the outstanding trio of Kimberley Gittens, Jabali Breedy and Charles Cox. Though robbed of consistent opportunities to see ring action because of the Covid-19 restrictions over the past two years, they still benefitted from a training camp in Washington DC last year. Gittens is one of the finest amateur female boxers in the Caribbean.

Also making the trip to Birmingham will be elite cyclist Amber Joseph. In recent times Joseph has gained additional experience from living and training in Spain under coach Cesar Neira Perez. Joseph has previously been a silver medallist at the Junior Pan-American Track Championships and is the first Barbadian female cyclist to compete at the Junior World Track Championships and the World Road Championships.

A number of those making the trip to England would have recently benefited from their participation in the inaugural Caribbean Games held in Guadeloupe from June 29 to July 3.

The total number of athletes and officials headed to Birmingham 2022 is 99.

The Barbados team is as follows: Aquatics – Luis Sebastian Weekes, Jack Kirby, Danielle Titus, Danielle Treasure, Adara Stoddard; Athletics – Kyle Gale, Shane Brathwaite, Nathan Crawford-Wallis, Rasheeme Griffith, Jonathan Jones, Rivaldo Leacock, Miguel Nicholas, Hannah Connell, Sada Williams; Badminton – Kennie King, Shae Martin, Tamisha Williams, Sabrina Scott; Boxing – Kimberly Gittens, Charles Cox, Jabali Breedy; Cricket – Aaliyah A Alleyne, Shanika Bruce, Shai Carrington, Shaunte Carrington, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Keila Elliott, Trishan Holder, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Alisa Scantlebury, Shakera Selman, Tiffany Thorpe, Aaliyah Williams; Cycling – Jamol Eastmond, Amber Joseph; Gymnastics – Erin Pinder; Judo – Asa Weithers; Netball – Faye Agard, Shonette Azore-Bruce, Latonia Blackman, Vanessa Bobb, Samantha Browne, Brianna Holder, Zakiya Kirton, Tonisha Rock-Yaw, Stephian Shepherd, Sabreena Smith, Akeena Stoute, Shonica Wharton; Squash – Amanda Haywood, Meagan Best, Jada Smith-Padmore, Shawn Simpson, Khamal Cumberbatch; Table Tennis – Tre Riley, Tyrese Knight

Ramon Maxwell, Kevin Farley; Triathlon – Matthew Wright, Niel Skinner, Zahra Gaskin, Chara Hinds. (PR/WG)