Female basketball players in Barbados need a lot more exposure says Ontario University’s Athletic Player of the Year, Keneca Pingue-Giles.
She made the comments during a recent interview, following the championship match for the second annual People Youth Charity Basketball Tournament.
The 25-year-old Pingue-Giles who returned home to spend time with her grandparents during the Christmas holiday said she watched some of the games and was impressed with what she saw.
From left, organiser of the People’s Youth Charity Basketball Tournament Patrick Tannis with Canadian basketballer Keneca Pingue- Giles.
However, she emphasized the need for more female tournaments, similarly to how the males have numerous competitions during the year. By doing this, Pingue- Giles strongly believes it will afford more Barbadian female players the opportunity to gain more exposure and possibly secure scholarships.
“I said they need to have the People’s tournament and have a female division in it to include some of the female talents, because female talent also needs to be developed and created into something that could be good for the Barbados national team as well. And you could pick up scholarship opportunities like that abroad,” she pointed out.
“So it is important to make sure the females get their opportunities to play when they can in tournaments like this, not just during the school season. I understand they don’t get to play as many games either, so they need to get as many games as they can under their belt.”
An avid basketball supporter, Pingue-Giles who is currently studying law at York University, explained that after watching the final of the People Youth Charity Basketball Tournament she was pleased to see a lot of good skills, tenacity and urgency from the players.
Despite being unable to see what some of the country’s best female players had to offer, the Canadian guard said she had the opportunity to speak with them and intends on sharing her knowledge once on the island.
“It is good to have role models because you can’t be what you can’t see and if you know that there is somebody out there who uses basketball as a vehicle to further their academics, I think that is important if you have that talent it is good to utilise it,” she said.
morissalindsay@barbadostody.bb
