Bajan slammers thrash New Yorkers

Barbados’ dominoes dominance over their counterparts from the Bajan-American Dominoes League of New York was maintained over the weekend with the local boys grabbing the top spots at the awards ceremony held at the Green Floor Bar, The Ivy, on Tuesday night.The Barbados side of Peace and Love, led by national player Suzette Hinds, shared some fighting six-loves in capturing the overall title, with the singing Norman “Itchy” White being the lone male in that squad. Second place went to Demolition while Team USA had to settle for the third spot.   All Stars ended fourth, Unity fifth and Allied Forces snared the sixth postion.In addressing the large group of domestic and overseas players, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy praised the organising committee headed by Sharon Hunte, who is also the second vice president of the Barbados Dominoes, Hearts & Whist Association, in playing a key role in helping Barbados to become one of the top sports tourism destinations in the region.The Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) and Government had shown their appreciation for the role which dominoes plays in tourism in the island when it honoured president of the New York Dominoes League, Lionel Blackman, over the weekend.  Blackman has been visiting the island every year for the past 25 years, bringing  hundreds of first-time visitors to Barbados.Sealy indicated that dominoes was quickly joining some of the other sports like cricket, golf, polo and sailing in encouraging first-time and repeat visitors to Barbados which translated into much needed foreign exchange for the country.The awards ceremony was also attended by Erskine King, Director of Sports at the National Sports Council, and Hugh Foster, sports tourism consultant with the BTA.