BOY, we got tuh big up we young athletes, doh. Duh really made Barbados proud at the CARIFTA Games in The Bahamas this past week. In all, Barbados got 20 medals. Four gold, 14 silver and two bronze. Fantastic! I ain’t care wha the rest do; all I know is dat the performances was outstanding enough tuh put we in fourth position.
I woulda love tuh see more, but the truth is dat I didn’t get tuh watch all the events dat Barbados took part in but I gine tell ya: the li’l bit dat I see made me feel real proud o’ dem young people, hear? I only hope and pray dat the Athletic Association, the various clubs, the Government and any and evahbody else who is responsible fuh working wid and training young athletes would get the necessary resources they need tuh develop dem, so dat in years tuh come we could have world-class athletes who could stand up tuh the big guns like Jamaica and Bahamas.
Evahbody know and expected Jamaica tuh do real good in the medals ’cause ya know dat Jamaica like duh does train duh athletes from small. Just like how Venezuela, Brazil and dem countries so does manufacture beauty queens, grooming dem fuh years tuh become Miss World or Miss Universe, Jamaica does do the same thing in athletics.
Dem does got a cycle going so dat the younger ones does learn from the more seasoned, mature, successful ones. One set does pull along the younger ones: fuh example, look at Bolt, Blake and the other young fellas, and at what happened at the last Olympics in London and how successful Jamaica was.
The Bahamas athletes is another set ya does have tuh watch ’cause, doan fear, dem is a force tuh be reckoned wid. Dem doan give up nor give in suh easy, so ya expected Bahamas tuh be high up in the medals.
Ovah the years Bahamas has produced some outstanding athletes and duh certainly wasn’t going tuh roll ovah and let Jamaica come in tuh dem home territory and take ovah. Duh give Jamaica a run fuh duh money. I think duh say Jamaica come away wid 68 medals and The Bahamas get 31.
I read there dat Barbados even doing great in swimming wid the young fella Luis Sebastian Weekes bringing in gold and setting a new record in the 400 metre individual medley at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Jamaica. The story said dat it was his second individual gold of the meet and his third overall after day two, taking Barbados haul up tuh 17 in all. Duh say it is now seven gold medals, four silver and six bronze.
Look, we young people doing real good, hear? I was going through the sports pages o’ The NATION newspaper and realize dat we doing real good, too, at the 2013 Pan American Scholastic Chess Championships in Trinidad.
The story say dat we doing best in the Under-15 section, where Allon Richards of Foundation School is in the lead wid four and a half points from the top-rated junior – something like dat. I really ain’t know too much ’bout chess but, hey, winning is winning and as far as I am concerned, dat is all dat matters tuh me.
The young cricketers ain’t doing too bad duh selves – I think dem in St Kitts. So the young people shining all round and it makes me feel good. It is assurance dat all o’ the young people ain’t the same; all o’ duh ain’t out there just doing nothing. Duh shining in every single area of sports all ovah the Caribbean. Dat is why we have tuh stand behind dem and encourage and help dem tuh excel and shine.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
