King: ‘Tap into the NCF’

The National Cultural Foundation, the biggest event planner in Barbados, should not be seen as the organising body for just NIFCA and Crop Over but an entity that could be utilised by national sporting federations in the island. 

Minister of Sport, Culture and Creative Economy John King expressed this view during a media conference held today by the Barbados Amateur Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation, after questions were raised about the standard of the annual schoolboy bodybuilding and schoolgirl body fitness competition organised by the National Sports Council.

There were queries about whether the sound system would be improved for this year’s competitions scheduled for November 15 and about the late entries of competitors that often forced the show towards a 10.p.m. finish. 

“I sit and often wonder on the sidelines of sport and working outside of this job why a lot of government entities and sports council and federations would not use the National Cultural Foundation as part and parcel of being able to help them to organise a lot of stuff that they do. If you talk about creating a new culture or a healthy lifestyle – that is culture. So, I will implore you to seek out the National Cultural Foundation and see if their events planning department can help you with these things. Because it cannot be that all we see the NCF as doing is NIFCA and Crop Over. It cannot be. There is a lot more that we can do if we just begin to reach across borders and work with each other.

“I don’t see why you should even have a problem with sound systems and all these kinds of things. Not when you have a National Cultural Foundation sitting down there which is responsible for all of these things. So, I am saying to you reach out to the NCF or reach out to the ministry itself and if we have to give the instructions from there to make it happen we are willing to do that, “ King said.

Meanwhile, assistant director at the National Sports Council Mona Alleyne in response to those questions said screening would be done this year. She also added that even though there was no sponsor at this point in time for the bodybuilding and fitness competition, the NSC would ensure that competitors from first to sixth place got prizes for their participation. 

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb