The National Sport Council’s (NSC) Inter-Parish Road Tennis Championships has been spared from the current financial crisis.
Due to financial constraints, a decision was made to switch this weekend’s final from the Dover court to the indoor facility at the Springer Memorial School.
Dover has hosted every final since the tournament’s inception four years ago, but according to Deputy Director of the NSC, Neil Murrell, the move was forced due to budget constraints.
“The change was necessitated by finance. Of course we would have had to rent a 60 x 120 tent and that cost was a bit expensive, so the board at the NSC felt we needed to look for a cheaper alternative in light of the current economic crisis,” he told NATION SPORT in an interview while attending the semifinals of the competition at the Barbados Defense Force on Saturday night.
“Last year we had tremendous final at Dover with the 60 x 120 tent and the facility at Springer gives the effect of having a large tent, so I don’t think it will have a detrimental effect to the overall standard of the game and the environment of the play,” he added.
However, Murrell did admit that the location was probably not the best.
He noted that with the finals being held at Dover, it allowed tourists who frequented the nearby St Lawerence Gap an opportunity to take in some of the action.
“We will have a loss in that area. I think that during the week we will have some effective communication where we will be encouraging all citizens including tourists to come to Springer School.
“The atmosphere at Dover was a ready atmosphere in terms of a central location where it afforded accessibility for tourists to come and view the game,” he explained.
“But we will have to offset that by having greater communication in the area, and invite people from that tourist area to come to Springer School.”
Murrell revealed they would be embarking on an advertising campaign during the week, such as the use of flyers and other forms of promotions.
Despite the harsh economic climate, Murrell gave his assurance that the highly anticipated final on Friday and Saturday would continue to be aired live on CBC Channel 8.
In addition, he confirmed that it would also be streamed live on the internet.
“The tournament will most definitely still be viewed live on CBC. As a matter of fact that contract has already been signed,” he said.
“We feel that allowing it to be viewed on CBC will not only give those at home and the general public an opportunity to watch road tennis at the highest level but by streaming the event it will also give those persons from across the region and internationally the chance to view our indigenous sport.”
