The nation’s love of cricket will take on a greater dimension this week when teams from across the nation gather for the Special Olympics Barbados National Games Cricket Tournament.  The action takes place Friday at 8:30 am at the National Sports Council Blenheim A and B fields.
 
Athletes from the Ann Hill School are hoping a “three-peat” is in their near future as they look to successfully defend their Senior Division Championship for the third year in-a-row.  But they will be up against stiff competition, which includes Special Olympics athletes from the A.C. Graham Development Centre, the Alma Parris Memorial School, the Challenor Creative Center and the Learning Centre.
 
Younger athletes will also put their skills on display when the team from the Alma Parris School defends the Junior Division title.  Last year, they unseated All Saints Primary to take the championship, and All Saints would like to return the favor this year. But there will also be very strong competition coming from Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary, St. Matthews Primary Annex, the Learning Centre and Eagle Hall Primary Annex.
 
Barbados is invited to come out and cheer the Special Olympics athletes and share in the joy of their accomplishments. The event is free of charge, so plan to spend the day.
Cricket is one of the many sports disciplines offered to intellectually challenged individuals by Special Olympics Barbados, in addition to football, track and field, bocce, aquatics and golf. Athletes 16 years of age and over also participate in the Special Olympics Outreach and Skills Training Programme, which helps ease their transition into the larger society by meeting their holistic, cultural and employment needs.
Special Olympics Barbados is in the midst of a campaign to raise funds to send a Barbados team to the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2015. At the previous World Summer Games, held in Athens, Greece in 2011, Barbados sent seven athletes, all of whom returned with gold, silver and bronze medals in competition with participants from over 170 countries.
Barbadians can help in the effort to send a team to Los Angeles by contributing to the Digicel Road to the World Games Fund. Collection tins have been place in Digicel locations and many other participating businesses nationwide. Direct donations can be made to the Digicel Road to the World Games Fund at CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, account number 1001111009.
Event: Special Olympics Barbados National Games Cricket Tournament
Date & time: Friday May 30, 2014; 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Location: National Sports Council, Blenheim Fields A&B