Road tennis could soon be a regional and internationally-played game.

This was the hope expressed by Minister of Sports, Stephen Lashley, in his address at the opening of the first Regional Road Tennis Clinic, held at the Wildey Gymnasium today.

The three day clinic is being held under the theme: Road Tennis: Taking a Bajan Game Global.

Mr. Lashley noted that there were many worthwhile benefits to the sport going global.

???We are fully aware that sports has transformed itself into a multibillion dollar industry???I believe we in the region have to have the courage and tenacity to believe that road tennis can be seen as a global game, an Olympic sport that was nurtured and developed right here in the Caribbean. We have in our grasp a sporting product that can be taken as wide afield as we want to take it,??? he maintained.

Mr. Lashley added that he was extremely confident that the sport would contribute to the ???shaping and carving of sporting careers???, and the emergence of new opportunities for business and entrepreneurship which were ???critically important to our productive future???.

In an effort to achieve this goal, the Minister indicated that between February and March 2016, the National Sports Council planned to send a small team to the countries represented at the road tennis clinic.

The selected team would then showcase the sport to various schools and communities within each country; assist with the setting up of National Road Tennis Associations; and facilitate further training.

On the international scale, the Minister highlighted the fact that there would be a World Road Tennis Championship held here in September 2016.??The countries represented at today???s clinic were Jamaica, Guyana, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Cuba.

jamal.weekes@barbados.gov.bb

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