Community meets blessing in disguise: Babb

The Athletics Association of Barbados community-based meets could be a blessing in disguise as more people within various parishes are getting a close-up opportunity to see  young talented athletes compete, says veteran national coach Alwyn Babb.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the AAB has been unable to host nationals and with the unavailability of the National Stadium they have been forced to host events on a small scale around the island.

“I think the AAB made a big effort to get some track and field going at the start of the season by going into various communities and so far, it has been very successful. I think the meets at various grounds whet the appetite of those sports-loving spectators,” Babb said.

“We have seen moving sports into the community tend to bring more spectators to meet than at the national stadium. This could be a blessing in disguise where we get a chance to move track and field around Barbados.”

He added: “This should maintain the interest and give athletes an opportunity to display their skills which would bring more appreciation for what these children are capable of doing.”

The recently concluded Rivaldo Leacock track and field championship he said should be an indication of what needs to be done going forward.

In particular the hosting of competitions such as the Barbados Secondary Schools Athletics Championship.

“Let me just first say that the Rivaldo Leacock Championship organised was more about showing the possibility of what can happen in COVID restricted environment,” Babb explained.

“It was more about participation and getting athletes out there. Especially those who were not given the opportunity to compete during (COVID) because the lockdown came.

“Based on what we have seen with NAPSAC, BSSAC can happen. The organisers would have to look carefully at how they structure the event. BSSAC with the number of secondary schools participating can be much bigger and the events are much more.

“I am hoping we had some positive feedback and going into the new year the athletes who were very disappointed would have some kind of competition. We can’t go two years without a championship (BSSAC),” he added.

Sharing how they managed to put together the Rivaldo Leacock event, Babb said, “When the idea was first thought about by Dorian Best, the organiser. I think that he reached out to schools, I don’t know how many responded but the four schools that participated are the ones who responded positively.

“The four schools that agreed to participate was in an effort to have a competition with numbers that we could easily control.

“Having four schools with two athletes per school condensed into three divisions allowed the meet to happen successfully. Where each event had no more than eight competitors on the track.”

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb