Thanks, but no thanks.
That’s the response coming from Wilma Branch, the lone female competitor nominated by the Barbados Draughts Association (BDA) to represent host country Barbados at next month’s World Draughts Qualifier.
Branch, the island’s women’s draughts champion, has maintained that while she planned to participate in the Ronald “Suki” King International Checkers and Draughts Festival, she would be doing so under the auspices of the Barbados Checkers and Draughts Federation (BCDF).
In an interview with WEEKENDSPORT, Branch said she found out about her nomination after someone saw it on the Internet and questioned her about it.
Branch said since she had started playing draughts competitively, the BDA never offered her any help.
She revealed that during her trips to China, Ireland and the United States to compete in international tournaments, the only person who helped her was King, the president of the BCDF.
In addition, Branch said the BDA had neither made an effort to contact her to find out if she was interested in playing in the forthcoming tournament, nor to inform her that she had been nominated.
“The BDA has never helped me yet. So I don’t see why they would expect me to play under their association in this World Qualifier,” she said.
“I have travelled all over the world, thanks to the assistance of ‘Suki’. He has helped me tremendously throughout my career and I think it is only fitting that I should fly Barbados’ flag high at the qualifiers under the BCDF banner.”
King explained that having won the bid to host the qualifier here, his association was allowed to enter three females, three males and three children.
He confirmed that Branch would indeed be playing under the BCDF.
President of the BDA, Glyne Howell, admitted to not having contacted Branch to notify her of her nomination.
However, he explained that this was because the deadline for nominating people was September 8 and the BDA had sent in their nomination on September 7, leaving them little time to correspond with Branch.
“Even if we had sent out a letter to inform her that she was nominated she wouldn’t have received it as yet,” Howell said.
He said that having been the only female player at this year’s National Championships, Branch automatically qualified to represent the country at the World Qualifier but it entirely up to her to decide under whose banner she would play.
“If Wilma wants to play for the BCDF, that is ok. It is her choice and she can play for whoever she wants.”
