The future of sport clubs in Barbados is under pressure to stay viable and some of them may not stand the test of time if the management of these clubs do not implement strategies to halt their decline. This is the assertion by Steven Leslie the manager of Marketing and Communications at the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) on Tuesday night as he was delivering the feature lecture at the Empire Club as the club celebrates its 109th anniversary.
Empire Club motto is “Strength Through Adversity” and Leslie’ topic was fittingly ‘Unity Is Strength: Challenges in The Club System”. Giving an historical context to the origins of clubs in Barbados Mr. Leslie indicated that changes in community life has changed club culture. Clubs were, at a point in time, the hub of community and social interaction as well as a place to learn and develop skills in sports. With the changing times clubs are no longer central to the lives of people. Leslie asserted that most people who are in clubs have a narrow and personal agenda rather than an interest in the sustenance and growth of the club. Lots of people are in the club to “Express their sporting talent,” said Leslie.
The education system is closely linked to cricket and club culture. In the 1860’s there was a deliberate effort to focus on sports, specifically cricket, and this resulted in vibrancy in club cricket. In modern Barbados the school system is more interested in getting the school curriculum completed than in using sports as an integral component.
Leslie encouraged the current management team of the 109 old club to be creative in finding ways to evolve and preserve the club culture. The income generating model must also suit the times “The reality is such that to have a sustainable club you must have a viable finance revenue generating model. It cannot rely solely on the subscriptions that might be paid on an annual basis, and it cannot rely solely on having social activities. Those strategies are not going to allow a club to be able to be sustainable in 2023.” said Leslie.
The BCA official congratulated Empire on its 109th Anniversary and advised them to document the life of the club so that future generations will have something to look at.
Steven Leslie’s well-researched and delivered lecture found favor with all those who were at Empire, the Home of Champions. (Article by: Christopher Williams)
