Olympian tells corporate Barbados do more than congratulate

By Kimberley Cummins

As the country continues to bask in the excitement of the successes of Barbadian athletes at the just concluded Commonwealth Games, at least one former athlete has challenged corporate Barbados to demonstrate real support for local sports people beyond congratulatory social media posts.

In fact, Freida Nicholls, who became the first female to compete for Barbados at an Olympic Games in Munich 1972, did not mince words regarding her belief that companies have to get serious about this support if such performances are to be sustained. That’s because, as she maintained, athletes need support not only when they reach the podium.

“Companies have to seriously sit down and include in their budgets and their strategic plans which sports they are going to support, what they’re going to do in terms of that support, which means they have to understand the particular sport they are supporting. It can’t be just ‘we are going to give them $10,000’. . . . I would like to see all companies now, starting to promote, recognise, identify the sports people that are in their companies – you can start there,” she told Barbados TODAY.

“Getting to the gold medal, to the podium is not an overnight affair. Listen to the stories; usually, it takes about ten years. Sada [Williams], Jonathan [Jones], Shane [Brathwaite], and [Nathan] Crawford-Wallis didn’t start when they went to university or Commonwealth, they started in primary, secondary school, some right out of secondary school. It is a tough road, they had to take the steps, the adjustments, (maybe some setbacks) and all of that has to be discussed in the boardroom. And if management is not sure, there are several people across the length and breadth of Barbados who they could call and say ‘come in and talk to my board, come in and talk to my management team’. It doesn’t have to be me only, there are other people out there, let us understand what is involved in getting to this and to the next level,” she added.

During a wide-ranging interview with Barbados TODAY, Nicholls described as amazing the winning performances of the star athletes in the Games that were staged in Birmingham, England. In particular, she highlighted 24-year-old Williams who created history by capturing Barbados’ first-ever gold in the 400 metres and becoming the first woman to win the event in under 50 seconds in 49.90 seconds, beating the previous championship record of 50.10 seconds.

The sports administrator contended that their performances convey that Barbadians can achieve at the highest level of sports and that hard work, commitment, dedication, and handling disappointments can breed success. But it also highlights the importance of first-class and specialist coaching and support systems for our athletes. Nicholls noted that while success on the track is evident, focus appears to be lacking in the growth and development of athletes in field events.

She said: “Akela Jones is the last outstanding long jump female that we’ve had but I don’t see many other field event persons coming through the ranks. Perhaps we need to start thinking strategically. I am sure there are young people looking at doing field events but then they look around and they can’t see a Sada, a Jonathan or a Shane. They would be seeing now a Crawford-Wallis but you need to see success to motivate younger athletes to, first of all, pursue the particular event and go towards success. . . . Every coach cannot coach an elite athlete and sometimes a coach has to know what his or her limits are. If you are a coach that you basically coach sprinters and you have in your club or group someone who is doing field events, connect to the field event coach that can coach your athlete. It doesn’t matter if that person is in your group or not, perhaps pull a field event specialist into your group. I know that is easier said than done but that is the way it is done.”

Nicholls stressed the need to celebrate now but emphasized it was equally important for a major reset in Barbados’ sports. It will mean a serious enquiry about what is required what in terms of a strategic plan, implementation and execution of such to move the sector forward in a sustained way.

This includes examining the role of government in the development of sport, how it is going to design a policy that will assist in developing sports, the role of the Barbados Olympic Association, the role of the National Sports Council; the role of all these players; Corporate Barbados, and Barbadians generally, she said.

“By resetting we identify the roles of all the players which would be the schools, principals, teachers, and coaches. Then you look at the particular federations, what are they doing? How are they working? Hear from them. You also have to Include Barbadians. I am seeing a resurgence in spectators. The Road Tennis Association people are coming out, local cricket people are coming out again, so that whole reset pulls all those particular players together.

We need to stop, think and
start getting serious,” Nicholls added.