The Barbados team to the Commonwealth Games will be reduced in light of the overall performance at the recently concluded Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.In a telephone interview from Puerto Rico yesterday afternoon, Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) president Steve Stoute expressed his general disappointment with the performance.Barbados finished 11th in the medal table with three gold, two silver and five bronze, down from the record haul of 19 at the 2006 Games.“The results here would indicate that there would be a reduction in the size of our team to the Commonwealth Games. We need to analyse the situation,” Stoute said.He acknowledged that things might have fallen into place for the team in 2006 because a historical analysis showed that Barbados were usually in the region of ten or 12 medals, and that is what happened this year.In 2002 and 1998, Barbados won eight medals.“I would have to say the overall result is disappointing although most of the competitors tried their best and many personal bests were achieved. All in all, I am disappointed, but still to place 11th out of 32 countries and being one of the smaller countries participating was a creditable performance.”Stoute said medal chances were reduced because injuries to Bradley Ally forced him to withdraw from events; skeet shooter Mike Maskell was unable to travel, and weightlifter Ivorn McKnee, who is facing a doping ban, also couldn’t attend.He commended the fencers, but was disappointed with cycling where he was expecting at least one medal from former gold medallist Barry Forde.“In a discussion with Barry Forde after the competition, he was indicating that the fact that his equipment was stolen and he was without equipment for two weeks had impaired his chances here. He also indicated he was working towards peaking for Commonwealth Games which he saw as a more important competition.Lots of work to do“That is his perspective, not necessarily mine,” Stoute said.“He has a lot of work to do in my view, after the performance here, to get back to where he was.”At Commonwealth, Forde will be coming up against the British, Australians, New Zealanders and the Malaysians. The latter have spent lots of money on cycling and some of their cyclists are now ranked among the best in the world.Stoute said just when Barbados thought they were catching up, countries like Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago were now spending millions of dollars investing in sport. “In essence, if we are to progress, we need to spend more money in preparation. It is all very well to spend large sums in mobilising a team and bringing them to a Games, but preparation is key.” He noted that Trinidad had their women’s hockey team in Europe and they won a gold medal and the men’s team, which were in Brazil, won silver. Barbados went to Canada, and both teams won bronze.The president said the standard of the Games was very high, with 86 records being broken, even without Cuba’s participation. Stoute had projected about five medals for the Commonwealth Games, but that is now an optimistic expectation. McKnee can no longer attend; Ally is concerned that the timing of the October 3 to 14 event in India could affect his long-term preparation for the 2011 Pan American and 2012 Olympic Games and he might not attend.Stoute is also concerned about injury-prone boxer Anderson Emmanuel, and added to this, world champion Ryan Brathwaite, one of two CAC gold medallists, is yet to confirm his participation.It cost the BOA $1.2 million to send the Barbados contingent to the CAC Games.
