The first-ever Sports Science Society through the Faculty of Sport and Academy of Sport based at University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus was officially launched last night at the Usain Bolt, Sports Complex.
Minister of Sport, Culture, and the Creative Economy John King as the featured speaker, spoke about the importance of Sport Development to small island states. He acknowledged that this was the beginning of something historic considering there was a time in Barbados when sport and culture could not tangle with academics.
The historic occasion saw Taahir Bulbulia inducted as the first-ever president of the Sports Science Society for the 2019 to 2020 academic year along with committee members, vice-president Kavir Gaymes, secretary Tia Mitchell, public relations officer Najee Moore, sports event coordinator Jevander Richards and special advisor Dr Rudolph Alleyne.
King said that the Government of Barbados recognised sport as a pillar of national identity, social development and economic prosperity. Therefore, he urged the committee not to restrict the sports science society to just the Cave Hill campus but to reach out to the broader Barbadian community to develop sports holistically.
(From left) Special advisor Dr. Rudolph Alleyne, vice-president Kavir Gaymes, secretary Tia Mitchell, Minister of Sport John King, head of the Academy of Sport Amanda Reifer, president of the Sports Science Society Taahir Bulbulia, public relations officer Najee Moore, sports event coordinator Jevander Richards and Johann Lashley. (Picture by Morissa Lindsay)
“There was a time in this country when you talk about sports and culture in this country, the two could not mesh with academics. People believe you either have to be one or the other which meant that for us to even envision that having a faculty of sport at UWI would have been in my time unbelievable. We came out of an era where if you were a sportsman it meant you had to be a sportsman because you weren’t academically inclined and if you wanted to be – God forbid – a musician or even work as a calypsonian, it meant you were further down the ladder in terms of being seen as someone who could achieve academically.
“I want to thank you Mr Bulbulia and your group for envisioning this and putting yourselves in a position that the contribution that you are going to make not only to Barbados but the entire Caribbean is going to live long after you guys have been placed in the grave. It is important to me that you guys begin to form a relationship with the Ministry of Sport, the national sport council with all of the sporting bodies, the federations in Barbados, because it is not going to work if we don’t have that close relationship where your expertise and knowledge can be translated and used with our athletes. And not just from the top-level because often when we have these conversations, people speak only of putting elite athletes. I am saying development doesn’t only start with elite athletes, development starts with someone who wants to be an athlete,” King said.
During his address to committee members, Bulbulia said
the sports science society was new but urgently needed. He called on persons to view sports holistically and explained that UWI with the introduction of its Faculty of Sport has already taken that approach by offering bachelor and masters programmes.
Bulbulia praised the Government of Barbados for rewarding 12 scholarships to the master’s programme. Describing sports as a multibillion-dollar industry, Bulbulia said countries had invested heavily in sports development. However, the Caribbean he noted, had not bought on to sports development, and with UWI being the capital of regional integration he hoped that would change.
“In the Caribbean, unfortunately, we have not bought on to the idea of sports and sports development in a holistic manner. But we have pushed above our weight, with little resources produced world-class athletes, stars, and this has put the Caribbean on the world stage. Just imagine what sports can bring to the Caribbean if further developed and funded.
“Just this year, the English came to Barbados for cricket, and our economy was boosted by eighty million united states dollars… This is what sports does to a country and the economy if we cannot see that benefit in a holistic manner, we need to start now seeing this and start to develop sports, and this is what the faculty of sports has done,” Bulbulia said.
Academic coordinator for the sports science programmes at Cave Hill and special advisor to the sports science society Dr Alleyne said without a doubt sport was a science. Like Bulbulia he reiterated that sport was a multibillion-dollar industry and it was time people in the Caribbean started to see it. Alleyne made a promise to Minister King and those in attendance to ensure the committee worked hard to sustain the society.
“Sport is a science, don’t matter how you look at it and for those who don’t believe it, if you think nutrition, if you think sports phycology, if you think marketing, all of those things make up the science of sports. And until we understand that in the region and push it from that perspective we will never develop the industry that could be so important for us in the Caribbean,” Alleyne said.
Meanwhile the head of the Academy of Sport, Amanda Reifer, encouraged the committee members to let their light shine and not be afraid to express and share their ideas, as she spoke briefly on the history of the academy. She explained that what started as a sports department in student services a couple years ago had given birth to the Faculty of Sport formed in 2017.
President of the Cave Hill Students Guild Thacher Loutin expressed confidence in Bulbulia as a leader and said that there was no doubt the sports society would make a significant impact as an integrated tool amongst the student population. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
