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HISTORY OF THE
BARBADOS OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION
An accident in West Indian politics precipitated the emergence of the
Olympic Movement in Barbados.
When in 1962, following the now historic pronouncement by the late Dr.
Eric Williams, former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, “One from
ten equals zero” the West Indies Federation collapsed, the demise of the
West Indies Olympic Association inevitably followed.
With the formation of the West Indies Federation, The West Indian
Olympic Association was established. The dominant members of this body
were Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, whose athletes formed the nucleus of
the two West Indies teams that participated in international Olympic
competition. In 1959 a West Indies Team competed at the Pan American
Games in Chicago with five Barbadians included in the squad. These were
Fred Marville – Weightlifting, Reds Packer, John Burke, Geoffrey Foster
and Albert Weatherhead - Water Polo. The West Indies Olympic Association
then participated in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Barbados’
representatives were James Wedderburn – Track & Field and Grantley
Sobers – Weightlifting. It was in Rome in 1960 that Jim Wedderburn
became the first Barbadian athlete to gain an Olympic Medal as a member
of the West Indies 4 x 400 Relay Team.
So, with the collapse of the West Indies Federation came the demise of
the West Indies Olympic Association. The late Louis Lynch, a Past
President of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados and Michael
Simmons, at the time a Vice President of the Amateur Athletic
Association seized the moment over lunch at a Broad Street Restaurant
and named a Steering Committee comprising Jack Knight, Ken Ince, Delbert
Bannister and Randolph Field. This grouping summoned a meeting of
representatives of the then existing National Federations in Barbados.
The result was the formation of the Barbados Olympic Association. Mr.
Louis Lynch was elected the first President and Mr. Michael Simmons the
first Secretary General thus establishing themselves and the steering
committee mentioned earlier as the founding fathers of the Barbados
Olympic movement.
This was the year 1962 and the Draft Constitution of the Barbados
Olympic Association was submitted along with a letter of application to
the International Olympic Committee. With the IOC’s official sanction of
the Barbados NOC the way was paved for our maiden competition as an
Olympic Nation at the IX Central American and Caribbean Games in
Kingston, Jamaica, at which our delegation competed with successes in
Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Swimming, Waterpolo and Weightlifting.
Louis Lynch saw the realization of his dream by leading Barbados to our
first Olympic Games as an Independent Nation. The year was 1968 and the
XXth Olympiad was held in Mexico City: The first time in Central
America.
Sadly, Louis Lynch died at a comparatively young age the year after in
1969 and Michael Simmons was elected President with Steve Stoute
replacing Simmons as Secretary General. Stoute at the time was General
Secretary of the Barbados Cycling Union. Michael Simmons served as
President until his retirement in 1981, when Austin Sealy was elected
President. Steve Stoute continued in the position of Secretary General.
The formative years of the Association were financially stressful. The
Olympic Movement was a novel concept and did not excite popular
interest. As a result, fundraising efforts were unrewarding. Because the
country lacked modern competition facilities, we were unable to attract
top-class foreign athletes, competing against whom in local
competitions, would have contributed to the improvement of the skills
and standards of our athletes. The governments of the day, except in
very small measure, were unresponsive to requests for financial help.
Despite these obstacles, modest returns from fundraising, levies imposed
on participating associations and contributions from benefactors,
enabled us to maintain a presence at all Olympic and Olympic Regional
Games, except in 1980, when at the request of the United States
Government, we boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow.
In Los Angeles in 1984, the men’s 4 x 400m relay team secured a place in
the final thereby becoming the first Barbadians since Wedderburn in 1960
to participate in an Olympic final. The team of Clyde Edwards, Elvis
Forde, Richard Louis and David Peltier placed 6th.
Before the formation of the West Indies Olympic Association, Barbados
Champion Cyclist Ken Farnum participated as a member of the Jamaican
team at the Helsinki 1956 Olympic Games. Also, prior to the advent of
the West Indies Olympic Association, Farnum was therefore the first
Barbadian Olympian.
Barbados had competed at the British Empire Games with some success.
These Games were established in 1930 primarily to provide sporting
opportunities for the countries and states of the then British
Commonwealth of Nations. A country or state did not need a National
Olympic Committee to compete and Barbados first competed in Vancouver in
1954. By then the name had been changed to British Empire and
Commonwealth Games. It was at the Games in Cardiff, Wales that Barbados
won its first Gold medal when Weightlifter Blair Blenman bested the
competition in the middleweight competition.
In the next Games held in Perth, Australia in 1960, Anton Norris won a
Bronze medal in the High Jump. By 1970, the Barbados Olympic Association
Inc. was in existence and it was under this banner that Mango Phillips
won a Silver medal lifting in the bantam weight class at the British
Empire and Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
These Games were subsequently renamed the Commonwealth Games in 1978.
Two events, one during the seventies and the other during the nineties
proved to be a watershed in the history and development of the Movement.
In 1970 The National Stadium, a modern multi-purpose sports facility,
and the brainchild of the island’s first Prime Minister, the late Errol
Barrow, was constructed. Marcel DeVerteuil was the first Chairman. The
facilities immediately drew international attention, and soon Barbados
was playing hosts to internationally renowned athletes from several
countries around the world in athletics, cycling and football on a
regular basis. The events not only heightened popular interest, with
sell-out crowds at almost all events, but they also provided the much
needed stimuli for the development of our athletes.
Then, over two decades later, in 1994 the Olympio On-Line Lottery was
established, becoming the Lottery of the Association. This generated
much needed revenue and totally changed the structure and management of
the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. The Association was able to
initiate numerous plans and projects aimed at enhancing the
administration abilities of National Federations and improving the
sporting infrastructure. Full funding was provided for Olympic, Pan
American and other Games. No longer were levies and token support from
government necessary. Results of these initiatives were seen when
Obadele Thompson placed 4th in the 200 meters and Leah Martindale 5th in
the 50 meters freestyle at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The
Barbados Team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games saw Andrea Blackett winning
a Gold Medal in the 400 meters hurdles and Barry Forde a Bronze Medal in
the Match Sprint Cycling event. In the Central American and Caribbean
Games of that year, Forde won a Gold Medal, Thompson a Bronze and
Blackett a Silver.
A record of five medals were won at the 1999 Pan American Games
culminating with the first ever Olympic Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic
Games, when Obadele Thompson placed 3rd in the 100 meters.
The Association also was able to lease office space and employ a staff
to support the ever increasing work load of new initiatives.
Austin Sealy who in 1994 was elected to the IOC, the first and only
Barbadian to achieve this, resigned as President in 1996. Steve Stoute
was elected President and Erskine Simmons, his Assistant Secretary
General, was elevated to Secretary General.
The year 2006 heralded another major milestone in the annals of Barbados
Olympic history. This was the completion of a new office block within
the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex at Wildey. The lands were made
available by Government. This new ‘Olympic Centre’, as it is called,
gave the Association permanent premises and providing meeting rooms,
office facilities for the Secretariat, a Museum and an Information
Centre. It is hoped that the new facility will be officially inaugurated
by IOC President, Dr. Jacques Rogge in 2008.
Now in its 45th year of existence, the Barbados Olympic Association Inc.
continues its dramatic growth pattern of the last decade. The necessary
administrative infrastructures have been put in place to build a vibrant
Olympic movement. However, a National Olympic Committee cannot be the
sole agency responsible for national sporting development. It is
necessary to work in close cooperation with all other national
institutions charged with social welfare and education to fulfill the
ultimate goal of a dynamic sporting infrastructure. In its strategic
plan the Barbados Olympic Association Inc will work towards involving
salient agencies and publics as partners in achieving the fundamental
goal under the Olympic Charter which is to contribute to building a
peaceful and better nation by educating youth through sport practiced
without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which
requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity
and fair play.
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