PEOPLE GO TO WORK every day and many of them know that they should engage in physical exercise but they rarely have time for it.
The people Street Beat is featuring today, however, make the time after work to keep themselves fit and reap bonus rewards of friendship. Still, one thing is clear throughout – you have to love it.
For three days a week, the staff of Co-operators General Insurance in Collymore Rock, St Michael, take up their racquets and lick ball on the two road tennis courts situated in the parking lot outside.
General manager Anton Lovell said it all began three years ago after their move from The City.
“Before we moved from Independence Square there was no facility to do anything but since we came here three years ago we realised there were areas where we could play sports. Our vibrant staff association came up with the idea as we figured sporting activities build camaraderie, plus we are trying to improve the health of the staff as it is well known physically fit people make better employees,” he said.
Leading from the front, Lovell is an active participant in the staff games. He said he enjoyed the exercise and the bonding experience with staff.
“We also participate in hikes and walks; we even had a road tennis tournament a couple of years ago. We have men and women playing – from managers to office clerks to rescue operators and even some tenants who rent from us,” he said.
Far from being the only company whose employees head outside after work to play, the Nation itself has a burgeoning road tennis crew, although it needs some help.
“We don’t get a lot of support. People would come and watch but don’t join in. More people should get into it; it is a wonderful form of exercise and if more people joined we could even hold a tournament. I would like people to come and play the sport as we have houses and can play an inter-house tournament. It would augur well for morale and could even become part of the company’s culture,” said Huldah Boucher.
Boucher was the one who brought the game back more than a decade ago when fellow staff member Marilyn Gittens asked about finding a good way for them to exercise after work.
“Marilyn wanted to find a way to exercise and nobody was doing anything so I started road tennis. I used to play at home when I was young but stopped as I got older. We had two courts here so I started back. I love it and it is good exercise,” she said.
An avid sports fan, Gittens too has fallen for the game, although she admitted this was not always the case.
“I had never given a thought to playing it before, but I never realised how easy it was and it makes for a really good workout.
“I learned to play road tennis from Huldah more than ten years ago. It is exhilarating. I don’t necessarily play to win but I can still beat one or two people. I also go to the gym but once I get a partner, it is road tennis and now I know other companies are playing, we can try and organise a little something,” she said.
Gittens said she would recommend road tennis to anyone as “everybody should play”, adding the exercise aspect was even more important for those getting older.
At the Central Bank, the staff take their sport a little more seriously as they field a team in the biennial regional Central Bank Games. When Street Beat visited, Julian Jones and Samantha Norville were practising with national coach Clifton Mark. However, they play a different form of tennis – table tennis.
“I play for fun and exercise. I used to play from ten years old with my father in St Vincent and played off and on over the years. When I got to the Central Bank, I was encouraged to play for the team. I love table tennis and there is awesome talent in Barbados and very good players here at the Central Bank – after all, we are the defending champions at the inter regional Central Bank Games,” said Jones.
Norville said she too was more interested in keeping fit than becoming a professional but you would not know it by watching her train.
“I’ve been playing for past two years. I like sports in general and I like the challenge of playing something new. When I looked at the other disciplines offered by the bank, this was the best fit for me,” she said.
Norville admitted it could become frustrating when she made mistakes but added that her motivation to improve kept her going. That and the camaraderie of her fellow players.
carlosatwell@nationnews.com
