The 2026 UWI Games has welcomed its newest competitor in a historic first, as The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Five Islands Campus – the youngest member of the regional higher education network – stepped onto the multi-campus collegiate sporting stage for its inaugural Games appearance. Based in the Caribbean twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, the campus, known to fans as the Frigates, walked away from day one of competition with a bittersweet split result: a dominant win in men’s basketball paired with a hard-fought defeat in men’s 20-over cricket.
In the day’s opening cricket matchup, Five Islands won the toss and opted to bat first against the seasoned UWI Mona Campus. Led by standout batsman Asher Cornelius, who anchored the entire innings with a commanding 81 not out, the Frigates posted a competitive total of 143 runs for the loss of 3 wickets at the end of their 20 allotted overs. What looked like a challenging target to chase quickly unraveled for Five Islands, however, as Mona’s batting line-up reached the required total with extraordinary efficiency. Mona crossed the finish line in just 12.3 overs, finishing at 144 runs for 2 wickets to secure a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over the debutant side.
Undeterred by their early cricket loss, the Frigates rebounded with an emphatic performance on the outdoor basketball court against UWI Global Campus. In a lopsided men’s matchup, Five Islands dominated from tip-off to final buzzer, closing out the game with a 33-point winning margin of 67-34. The resounding win delivered a powerful statement of the campus’s sporting potential in its first official outing at the UWI Games.
Looking ahead to day two of competition, the Frigates will look to build on their momentum and carry their early success across four scheduled disciplines: lawn tennis, table tennis, men’s football, and men’s volleyball.
Beyond the scores and standings, the 2026 Games marks a major milestone not just for the Five Islands roster, but for the campus as an institution. Established in 2019 as the fifth full campus of The UWI – a system consistently ranked among the world’s top higher education institutions by Times Higher Education – Five Islands was founded to bring world-class tertiary education to the northern Caribbean. Today, it offers more than 45 undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs across four specialized schools: the School of Humanities and Education, the School of Business and Management, the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, and the School of Science, Computing and Artificial Intelligence. It is also home to the Centre of Excellence for Oceanography and the Blue Economy (COBE), a groundbreaking research hub focused on marine science and sustainable ocean-focused economic development – a priority sector for small island developing states across the Caribbean.
The UWI Games, the system’s flagship inter-campus sporting event, brings together student-athletes from across all The UWI campuses each year to celebrate competitive excellence, school pride, and regional unity across the Caribbean bloc.