The sports fraternity has not been forgotten by the two major political parties.
Both the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) have included a myriad of promises for sport in their manifestos for Thursday’s general election.
The DLP, which released its manifesto on Friday night at the National Cultural Foundation car park at West Terrace, St James, pledges to introduce a Sports Development Act, a sports hall of fame, a rolling Olympic plan and a high performance centre for sport.
It also vows to transform the National Stadium into a modern facility, to promote closer collaboration with international sports federations and restructure the National Sports Council (NSC).
The BLP, whose manifesto was made public on Thursday night at Eagle Hall, St Michael, promises more funding for sporting organizations to build on the $13 million that they were now able to draw annually from the lotteries – under an initiative started by the last BLP Government.
The party says it will make provisions for those organizations to have access to at least $25 million per year, in the first instance, so that they can give more professional contracts to national sportsmen, and support development programmes to take young people to the stage where they can secure professional contracts in the global sports market.
The DLP’s new national sports strategy, the manifesto says, will focus on a Team Barbados concept while the main thrust of the NSC’s plan over a five-year span is to transform sports into a full-fledged industry.
According to the DLP, the plan includes the hosting of major international sporting events and the development of professional and semi-professional sporting leagues in association with national bodies.
The BLP also promises to encourage the development of professional sport by converting three existing sporting facilities into mini stadia in the north, centre and south of the country, while working in partnership with the Barbados Olympic Association to rebuild a modern National Stadium.
The party is also proposing to work to reduce the costs and redtape faced by sporting organizations and promoters in the hosting of sporting events.
The DLP proposes to take the indigenous road tennis game to higher heights, including the hosting of the first World Road Tennis Tournament to be held in Barbados, and establishing entrepreneurial opportunities for the manufacturing of sporting goods in this sport.
The party also wants to place greater emphasis on Paralympic and blind sports as well as other events for disabled persons while increasing financial and administrative support which will also be extended to sports for seniors. To this end, the NSC will embark on a programme of systematic upgrades to ensure that its facilities cater to disabled people.
The BLP pledges to work with the NSC to encourage charitable entities to assist in the development of Barbadian sportsmen through funding and expertise. (HG/EZS)
