Meakins stresses importance of sponsorship for sports

By Morissa Lindsay

Sponsorship and support whether financial or otherwise can go a long way in the development of national athletes and it is for that reason the newly crowned World Champion Karen Meakins has expressed gratitude to six Barbadian companies who have supported her.

Meakins who captured the Over-50 title at the 2022 Betard WSF World Masters Squash Championships played at the Hasta La Vista Club in Wrocław, Poland, said when she decided to enter this tournament at the last minute these companies – PhotoFinish, Little Arches Boutique Hotel, Consumers’ Guarantee Insurance (CGI), Ocean Fisheries Ltd, Fortress Fund Managers and Moorjani Caribbean (Barbados) Limited stepped in and supported her immensely.

“I would really like to thank the companies listed who all stepped in at the last minute to offer me sponsorship for the World Masters in Poland. Most of these companies have also sponsored me at previous World Masters events. I would also like to thank my friends and family who donated towards the tournament.

“Usually, I send out sponsorship request letters at the beginning of the year when there is a World Masters Event. However due to making such a last-minute decision to enter this year’s tournament, I only sent out letters about a month before. I am extremely grateful to these six companies who responded at such short notice and agreed to offer me sponsorship,” Meakins said.

She added: “The cost of playing in this year’s World Masters was expensive and without sponsorship there is no way I could have gone to this tournament. As an older athlete it is especially difficult to get financial assistance which is why this support is so important and without it I wouldn’t be World Champion.

“This year has been an outstanding year for Barbados in sport and as a small island we have truly punched above our weight. The only way this can continue and grow is if Corporate Barbados as well as the government continues to support athletes financially. I think most people have no idea how expensive being an athlete is.”

The 50-year-old who has had a stellar playing career and continues to fly the Barbadian flag with pride noted that being an athlete is a full-time job in the bigger countries and for a small island like Barbados more financial support is needed if athletes are to reach that level someday.

Meakins also admitted that she would love to play in more Masters Tournament but due to the high costs of flights it is not financially possible for her.

“In bigger countries being an athlete is a full time job however in smaller countries like ours lack of financial support means that athletes have full time jobs and train in their spare time. Imagine how successful Barbados could be if there was the financial support in place which allowed athletes to fully focus on their sport. A lot of overseas athletes use Barbados as a training venue during the off season in their home countries. Our island is the perfect place for sports tourism and I would love to see this developed further,” said the former 15-time Barbados squash champion. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb