The just concluded National Inter-Parish Road Tennis Championship has been described by Minister of Sports, Stephen Lashley, as "extremely successful" and "meeting its objectives".
Mr. Lashley said he was happy with the response from the community to the competition, especially the finals last Saturday, when hundreds of Barbadians and tourists thronged Dover Pavilion.
"We have already determined that the tennis championship will be annual and planning for this year’s event has already begun. One of our objectives in developing this initiative was to bring communities closer together and it seems we have been able to achieve that.
"Additionally, the championship was created to raise the profile of road tennis, and from the number of people who watched the matches and then the finals, which was shown on CBC TV 8, we believe that goal has been realised," he suggested.
The Minister added that the island’s ultimate aim should be to secure the international recognition of road tennis as an Olympic sport.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lashley disclosed that a National Inter-Parish Basketball Championship and parish road races would be new areas of focus for the National Sports Council. "These areas will be introduced in an effort to further Government’s policy of using community sports as a means of building cohesion and interaction across the island," he assured.
Estherphyne Holder took the female title, while Leon Carter and Michael Jean won the men’s seniors, Andrew Holder and Jeffrey Layne took the men’s veterans title, and Darius Gaskin was victorious in the juniors segment.??