FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW, Barbadians generally have been of the view that in any choice between academics and sport, the latter should get a poor and distant second placement.

Such a perspective has largely been grounded in the belief that the primacy
of academics arises because its pursuit involves the superiority of the brain, while the secondary status accorded sport stems from its dependency on brawn, which some people see as an inferior asset.

This extreme stance flies in the face of what has obtained in larger and more developed societies which have tended to accept that the judicious blend of academics and sport, is not only feasible, but very desirable.

But this more enlightened outlook is not by any means unique to modern and sophisticated societies, since it harks back to the days of the Roman poet Juvenal, credited with articulating the concept on a healthy balance in life through the famous declaration Mens sana in corpore sano, generally translated as "a healthy/sound mind in a healthy/sound body".

Now the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies has set out to turn local conventional wisdom on its head by proving that a harmonious relationship between academics and sport can exist to the benefit of the individual and society.

This bold initiative, the brainchild of Cave Hill's Principal Sir Hilary Beckles,
is being undertaken through the Sport Cave Hill and the Cave Hill Sport Academy.

The overall objective is to provide students with a "high performance centre that attracts and retains elite athletes with sport specific, high intensity training and education programmes that develop athletic along with academic skills".

For Sir Hilary, himself an example of the duality of academics and sport (mostly cricket), the rationale has been clear and simple, "we need to create an environment where young people can be what they wish to be; if they wish to pursue sport as a life option they ought to be encouraged to do so and ought not to be forced to choose".

However, apart from performing a philosophical role in student's lives, the new institutions of Sport Cave Hill and the Cave Hill Sport Academy will also be meeting
a very pragmatic need.

That's because they will be providing graduates with skills and certification needed when their best sport days are over, and prepare them for the harsh realisation that there is life in the regular world with all of its everyday demands.

In this way, graduates will be much better placed to fit in to the world of regular work and better yet create employment opportunities for themselves and others, while making a life for their families.

This latest development under Professor Beckles is but another example of the positive transformation he has brought to the whole ethos and being of Cave Hill in relatively short time.