分类： sports

Against a backdrop of rising costs for doping sample analysis and growing threats to clean sport in the Caribbean, Barbados’ Minister of Sport and Community Empowerment Charles Griffith has formally called for the creation of a regional anti-doping testing laboratory based on the island, a move designed to slash the heavy financial burden of sending samples overseas for screening. Griffith made the appeal Friday during the opening ceremony of the National Anti-Doping Commission’s Doping Control Officer Re-certification programme, being hosted this week at Divi Southwinds Resort, which draws participants not just from Barbados but six other Caribbean nations. For years, Caribbean countries have been forced to bear the high cost of shipping samples thousands of miles to accredited testing facilities in Canada, Griffith explained, with current analysis costs exceeding $400 U.S. per sample. To turn the regional lab concept into a reality, Griffith is calling for a public-private partnership between the Barbadian government and local private sector stakeholders to fund and build the facility on-island. Some critics have raised questions about whether a Caribbean lab would have enough sample volume to be financially viable, but Griffith pushed back on that concern, noting that a regional facility would process roughly 1,000 samples annually from across the Caribbean – a volume that would make the lab fully sustainable. A regional lab would eliminate the need to ship samples all the way to North America, cutting costs and wait times for all Caribbean member states, he added. Beyond infrastructure investment, Griffith also called for a fundamental shift in anti-doping outreach, urging local officials to adopt a community-centered approach that starts education as early as primary school. By introducing clean sport principles to young students early, the movement can build grassroots peer pressure that reinforces official anti-doping policies, especially for young athletes who see sports as a long-term professional path. “If we can start this from as early as primary school, I think it is important that we move not only at community levels but we go to the schools and be able to impact those youngsters at the schools,” Griffith said. “This is so the peer pressure coming from anti-doping will be strong, and it will buttress everything that is coming from you and your team in relation to how we can strengthen those individuals who are seeing sports as a viable career.” He reaffirmed that the Barbadian government remains fully committed to supporting every step of the process to advance anti-doping work across the region. Griffith also emphasized that the timing of this year’s re-certification programme could not be more critical for Barbados, coming fresh off a national controversy over a local athlete’s decision to compete in the so-called Enhanced Games – an unregulated event that allows performance-enhancing drugs and lures athletes with large cash prizes. “I know that it is a major struggle because of the amount of cash that is being thrown at athletes to participate in these type of events. There is really a need for us to have this particular event here today, in relation to the anti-doping project on the island,” Griffith said. The importance of the ongoing training and re-certification effort was echoed by Dr. Adrian Lorde, Chairman of Barbados’ National Anti-Doping Commission, who called the workshop one of the most critical components of the global anti-doping system. Lorde stressed that even minor errors in sample collection procedures can result in athletes who have violated anti-doping rules being cleared on technicalities, making ongoing training non-negotiable as global standards evolve. “If procedures done in sample collection are not done properly, athletes who are tested positive or have committed anti-doping rule violations are cleared. It’s important to have this type of workshop and retraining as things have evolved in anti-doping,” Lorde said. “So through your work, you must continue to uphold the principles of clean sport and to protect the rights of clean athletes.” The three-day training workshop is being facilitated in partnership with Sport Integrity Canada, an organization with long-standing ties to anti-doping bodies across the Caribbean. Matthew Koop, Director of Anti-Doping Services at Sport Integrity Canada, said the workshop marks an important step forward for regional anti-doping capacity. “Over the course of the next few days, we will focus on equipping participants with the knowledge, practical skills and confidence required to carry out doping control responsibilities in full alignment with the World Anti-Doping Code and the international standards,” Koop explained. “For those joining us as new doping control officers, this marks the beginning of an essential role within the anti-doping system. For those being recertified, it is an opportunity to strengthen your expertise, remain aligned with evolving standards, and reaffirm your commitment to excellence.”

As Caribbean cricket works to rebuild its once-storied legacy and reignite local passion for the game, the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka carries far more weight than just win-loss statistics for Cricket West Indies. Anthony Davis, chairman of Cricket West Indies’ international selection committee, framed the six-match white-ball tour as a critical turning point for the region’s cricket, centered on rebuilding the national program and mending the frayed bond between the team and its supporters.\n\nSpeaking at the official series launch hosted at Courts Constant Spring in Jamaica on Thursday, Davis shared his vision for the tournament with the Jamaica Observer, outlining goals that extend beyond the scoreboard. “We want to revive cricket, we want to get people coming back to Sabina Park, and we want to motivate youngsters to play cricket,” Davis said. “So in all, this series means to promote cricket a little and get back to the days when the Park was full watching cricket.”\n\nKicking off June 3 and running through June 14 at Kingston’s iconic Sabina Park, the tour will see the West Indies men’s national team welcome Sri Lanka for three One Day Internationals followed by three Twenty20 Internationals. The ODIs are scheduled for June 3, 6 and 8, with the T20I leg set to take place on June 11, 13 and 14.\n\nWhile the series doubles as key preparation for West Indies’ 2028 T20 World Cup qualification campaign, Davis emphasized that rebuilding community connections remains a top priority. The committee chairman noted that the home field advantage is expected to give the determined West Indies squad an extra edge heading into the matches. “We are working towards our qualification for the T20 World Cup. I am expecting a good performance because I believe the players are all determined and everybody is motivated to perform well at home. Usually, when you are playing at home, you get that little extra push to perform at your best,” Davis added.\n\nLooking ahead to the back-to-back limited-overs formats, Davis said the team’s leadership is prioritizing consistent effort and competitive performance over any specific outcome. “We are looking forward to consistency in performance and everybody doing the best they can. We are confident that whatever the results are, our players would have done the best they can under whatever circumstances,” Davis said.

A well-rounded Barbadian sports educator has set off for Montreal, Canada, to begin the in-person phase of an advanced elite coach training program, marking a key step in his mission to grow triathlon across the Caribbean island nation. Kemar Holder-Edghill, who currently works as a physical education teacher at Daryll Jordan Secondary School and also holds coaching roles for rugby and track and field programs, left Barbados on Friday for the year-long professional development initiative. The program is structured in two parts: the online foundational segment, which Holder-Edghill has already completed successfully, and the hands-on in-person training that will take place over the coming months in Montreal. Holder-Edghill shared that the decision to pursue the training came as local participation in triathlon has climbed steadily in recent years, creating a growing need for more highly qualified coaching expertise on the island. He first learned of the fully funded training opportunity through Dr. Garth McIntyre, president of the Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes. When the Barbados Olympic Association circulated the call for applications, McIntyre reached out directly to Holder-Edghill to invite him to apply. The application process required candidates to submit a personal statement outlining their suitability for the scholarship and complete a formal interview. Holder-Edill credited his experience across multiple developing sports in Barbados as the key advantage that helped him stand out among other applicants. After completing the program, Holder-Edghill’s core goal is to drive sustainable growth for triathlon in Barbados, building on the current momentum to attract more consistent new participation and raise the competitive standard of local athletes. The scholarship and training program is administered by Olympic Solidarity, and is run by PAISAC, an international coach training institution with hubs in Montreal and Lausanne. The organization specializes in delivering advanced coach education programs for National Olympic Committee-affiliated coaches from developing regions across the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and South America, with all costs covered by the Olympic Solidarity Coach Scholarship Program. Holder-Edghill joins a roster of past scholarship recipients from Barbados, including Jarad Murray and Althea Belgrave, who have all gone on to apply their advanced training to develop sport across the island.

Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has forcefully pushed back against growing speculation that he is poised to announce his retirement from the sport, confirming that his contract with Ferrari keeps him competing through the 2027 season and signaling he has no plans to step away from the grid any time soon.

Hamilton, the most decorated driver in F1 history who turned 41 earlier this year and will turn 42 in January 2026, made the remarks to reporters at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the same track where he claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory all the way back in his 2007 debut season with McLaren. Since his high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season, the British driver has yet to cross the finish line first for the iconic Italian squad – a dry spell that has fueled endless outsider discussion about when he might call time on his legendary career.

Addressing those rumors directly at Thursday’s pre-race press conference, Hamilton made his stance unambiguous. “I’m still under contract so everything’s 100 per cent clear to me,” he said. “I’m still focused, I’m still motivated. I still love what I do with all my heart and I’m going to be here for quite some time, so get used to it. There are a lot of people that are trying to retire me and that’s not even in my thoughts.”

As the sport’s all-time leader in both race wins (105) and pole positions (104), Hamilton has redefined what success looks like for a modern F1 driver. But in Montreal, the 41-year-old explained that his personal definition of achievement has shifted far beyond the trophy cabinet and record books that made him a global name. His most recent race victory came at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, but Hamilton says he no longer measures his progress purely by results.

“From the outside world results are what people call success, but I think internally, for me, it’s just progress,” he explained. “If you’re progressing, then you’re succeeding. I don’t really put a lot of pressure on. I’ve always said I’m really grateful for the records and those sorts of things, but they’re not things I ever think of.”

Beyond addressing retirement speculation, Hamilton also opened up about a strategic adjustment he has made for this weekend’s race in Canada: he has opted to skip pre-event simulator work at Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters, a step away from the standard preparation routine most drivers follow ahead of every Grand Prix. Hamilton noted he made the same call ahead of this year’s Chinese Grand Prix, where he claimed his first podium finish for Ferrari with a third-place result – his strongest performance of the 2025 season to date.

He explained that simulator data often does not align with actual on-track conditions, forcing drivers to unlearn the setup adjustments they settled on in the virtual environment ahead of arriving at the circuit. “You find a setup (in the simulator) that you’re comfortable with, you get to the track and everything’s opposite. So then you’re undoing the things you’ve learned,” he said. “So it’s kind of hit and miss. I just decided, for this one, I’m just going to sit it out and focus more on the data.”