Course on track and field commentating praised

By Morissa Lindsay

Barbados now has a group of persons who are certified in track and field announcing and many of them spoke highly about the three-day course conducted by notable commentator and event presenter Captain Michael Jules.

The course which concluded this past Sunday at the National Stadium attracted about ten participants who said the theoretical and practical material taught was educational and opened their eyes to a lot of things that normally take place during sporting events.

Several of the participants took the time to speak with Barbados TODAY about their experiences and among those was Shoy Thompson who explained that he gained a lot of confidence being part of the course.

“I am not specialised in track and field but I know a lot about sports and there is a lot to learn from this course.

“I have gathered a lot of knowledge about the historyof track and field and a lot of things we take for granted in terms of announcing. I have gained a lot of confidence from doing this course, particularly in the area of public speaking.

“Some of the things that stood out to me in this course are diction, pronunciation, thinking before you speak in terms of what you want to say and I can say that those things are very vital for announcing.

“I would encourage others to join the course because not only do you gain experience in announcing but you can gain confidence and have interaction with different people. I can say it is a very educational course,” he said.

Cayle Francis-Thornhill revealed that he decided to join because of his interest in broadcasting and announcing and he credited the work of Captain Jules.

“This course was very enlightening and refreshing in terms of announcing because sports is very dynamic, it is a very exciting field and the range of skills and techniques you have the better.

“There are lots of opportunities out there in broadcasting and the standard in Barbados is still not where we need to be and the ability to learn will help us along in that regard.”

No stranger to track and field, Wayne Waltress, a certified race starter, also took the time to gain some knowledge and shared how he benefited from the course.

“It was a very intense program and one of the reasons why I am here basically is because of my field in event management. I have a tendency of not presenting myself properly in terms of the presentation, so I felt a program like this would help in that aspect of event management presentation. For me, I am a very fluent speech writer and I can produce a good speech and speak from it but sometimes I have a challenge speaking otherwise,” Waltress added.

It was a fairly evenly balanced group of men and women and for Sandrena Small, getting involved proved interactive.

“While it was a lot of information to take in she explained that it all made sense to her. She also revealed that the course was designed to help with confidence building and how to plan properly for an event.

“The experience for me was engaging, I enjoyed it thoroughly for the full sessions; did not want to stop, did not feel tired. I was learning so much and although it was three days it was compact and informative.

“There were lots of interesting moments learning about World Athletics, event presentations, and the different interlink areas between the presenter and the ompetition director.

“It was just loads of information that made sense. If there are three things I can take away from this course it would be to read, assimilate and then speak,” Small expressed.

Meanwhile, fellow female participant Phalicia Jessamy wants Jules to consider opening up the course to international persons

“This course was awesome. I actually was interested in doing it a few years back but I was unavailable when approached, so when it came around again there were a few hiccups but I believe I was supposed to be this time around and it worked. But overall, the course was very interactive and by extension proactive because we get to apply a lot
of what we learned especially in track and field.

“You get to learn about your history and pass on that knowledge to others and as someone who has been in track and field for a long time having represented Springer Memorial School, these things can be taught to generations coming up. I also think that this is a course that can be offered to international participants who can sign up online.” morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb