Sports

“Building Bridges between Cultures: Young Talent Shines at Annual Chinese Bridge Competition”

On May 28^th, The Confucius Institute at the Cave Hill Campus of The University of West Indies, in cooperation with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Barbados (hereinafter referred to as the Confucius Institute) jointly hosted this year’s annual Chinese Bridge Competition in Barbados at the Confucius Institute, presenting a vibrant celebration of Chinese language and culture. The event brought together students from various schools, showcasing their linguistic talents and cultural knowledge.

Initiated by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in China, the Chinese Bridge Competition has started since 2002, attracting more than 1.4 million students from over 150 countries to participate over the years. It is called the “Olympics” for international Chinese education, aiming at promoting knowledge and understanding of China and strengthening cooperation between China and other countries. Through screening on CCTV (China’s largest television) and live streaming on new media platforms, millions of people will come to appreciate this extravaganza together, including more than 100 million audience each year outside China watching.

Competition Structure

The Chinese Bridge Competition consists of two stages: preliminary rounds and the global final. The preliminary rounds will be held in countries all over the world by the Chinese Embassies and the Confucius Institutes of each country, which aims at teaching Chinese language and culture worldwide. The competition on May 28^th was the preliminary round for Barbados, which incorporates three levels: primary level, secondary level and tertiary level. The first prize winner of each level is recommended to participate in the global final in China and it is the same for the preliminary rounds at other countries.

Participants

This year’s competition saw 12 primary level participants from the Charles F. Broome Primary School, the St. George Primary School and the St. Stephen’s Primary School; three secondary level participants from the Ellerslie School and the Lodge School, and two tertiary level participants from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. During the competition, the participants competed in various segments, including self-introduction in Chinese, keynote speech, quizzes about language and culture and talent show with standout performances that captivated the audience.

Judges

The panel of judges included Counsellor Huang Xinhua from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; Ms. Kerri-Ann Haynes-Knight from the Office of the Principal, of the Cave Hill Campus of The University of West Indies; Ms. Philomena Lee from the Chinese Association of Barbados; Co-Director Professor Nie Lu from the Confucius Institute and President Dr. Ché Leon C. Corbin from Barbados – China Returned Scholars Association. Counsellor Huang was impressed by the performance of the participants. He emphasized the importance of such events in fostering cultural exchange and mutual understanding. “The Chinese Bridge competition not only highlights the linguistic achievements of our students but also strengthens the cultural bonds between Barbados and China”, Counsellor Huang remarked.

Highlights

Competitions for primary, secondary and tertiary levels proceed in order. First was the primary level competition, the largest of the three levels. All the participants are selected from the schools where the Confucius Institute teaches Mandarin and Chinese Culture. The second place winner Dominick Holder from Charles F. Broome performed Baduanjin (a kind of Chinese qigong) at the talent show part. The melodious notes of Chinese traditional music and smooth movements brought a fresh breeze into the sometimes tense competition atmosphere. He taught himself through videos but his movements were quite accurate. Judge Dr. Che, who has studied and practiced Chinese medicine for several years, was deeply impressed by Dominick’s performance and hopes that he can continue practicing.

Then came the competition for secondary school students. In the talent show part, the first prize winner Techinnah Yacinthe sang the theme song “Nameless Generation” from her favorite Chinese series named Go Go Squid. This song is filled with loneliness but also full of passion and dreams for the future. Techinnah developed her interest in Chinese through watching Chinese dramas and she believes that interest in the best teacher.

Finally in the tertiary level, the participants all came from the Cave Hill Campus. The second place winner, Aaliyah Chase, has only taken Chinese class as an elective course for one semester, but she has shown a talent in Chinese as a language student. She also drew a Chinese landscape painting using brushes, which gave goosebumps to the judges and the audience.

Gratitude and Future Aspirations

After the competition, principals and teachers present expressed gratitude for the coaching provided by teachers and to all the staff who made the event possible. They also felt proud for the students who participated and won prizes in the competition. Deborah Waithe-Jones, Principal of St. George Primary school said that the students all like their Chinese teachers very much and she expressed the hope that the students studying Chinese this year can proceed with their study next year. The mom of Zahavi Small, the first prize winner in the primary school level competition, has shown her support all along in the competition. She saw the competition as a very good opportunity for the students to present themselves and expressed the sincere hope that more people in Barbados can become aware of it and participate.

Sports

The stage is set and all is ready for the hosting for this year’s Senior Games.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex, Paradise Park, UWI Cave Hill Campus, St. Michael, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, underscored the importance of the Games.

He noted that the Ministry is seeking to boost both participation and attendance, and also hopes to see an increase in community-based activities that will help generate greater interest in the event.

*Mac Fingall & Ytannia Wiggins Coordinator for the NSG*

We had determined that we needed to restructure and to review the Games [with] the view to do a number of things. One, we want to attract more spectators; two we want to attract more competitors; three,…we wanted regular Barbadians to feel that they could come out and enjoy the games; and four, because this is our major programme in relation to activation and healthy ageing, [we wanted to] have more activities in the communities and to bring more people to the idea that as we age, we must take care of our physical bodies, our mental bodies and our emotional bodies too,” he said.

He further adedd, “The Games started off as an event where regular people were running; it wasn’t taken overly serious . Over time, it became extremely serious,” he said. “The Games became extremely competitive and we respect that. We also feel that there also has to be an element of fun. There also has to be an element where regular people feel that they can come and enjoy and participate in the games.”

Coordinator Ytannia Wiggins, noted that more than 200 participants had already registered.

This year’s National Senior Games will begin with a motorcade on May 24, starting at the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs. The motorcade will make its way to Pelican Village to pick up representatives from various sporting federations before proceeding through the streets of Bridgetown. The celebration will wrap up at Freedom Park, Golden Square, with a mini wellness fair, movement sessions, and a vibrant cultural carnival showcasing performances from some of the island’s top calypsonians and artistes.

Sports

PHILO WALLACE CRITICISES SELECTION METHOD FOR CAPTAIN

by David Harris

Former Barbados and West Indies opening batsman Philo Wallace is critical of the method being used by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to select a captain of the Test team to replace Kraigg Brathwaite who stepped down from the position at the end of March.

The West Indies are scheduled to play a three-match Test series against Australia next month; and six candidates have been interviewed by CWI) as possible replacements for Brathwaite.

The six cricketers have already undergone psychometric test to determine their personality, intelligence, aptitudes, and other psychological characteristics for post. The chosen six are Joshua Da Silva, the Trinadad and Tobago wicketkeeper/batsman, Da Silva was the vice-captain of team in August last year he was dropped when the toured Pakistan earlier this year. John Campbell, the Jamaican left-handed opening batsman who returned to cricket last November following a 22-month ban due to breaching anti-doping rule 2.3 of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission which speaks to evading, refusing or failing to submit sample collections. Jomel Warrican, the St Vincent born left-arm spinner who has lived in Barbados for most of his life. Justin Greaves, the Barbadians all-rounder who plays for the Leeward Islands, and Teven Imlach who captained Guyana to successive regional titles in 2024 and this year.

Chris Dehring the chief executive officer of CWI confirmed that applicants were interviewed for the post while speaking on a cricket radio show last week.

“We have a process; people are being interviewed, they are being scored and then scored again, and then the team will come up with the best captain we think for the job”, Dehring said.

According to Wallace the new process differ from what is normal in West Indies cricket.

“I think the new policy in relation to finding a new West Indies Test captain goes against the grain of West Indies cricket; it might a modern-day practice, but I don’t it is feasible to sit six candidates in a room and give them questionaries or ask them questions about leadership, particularly in cricket. I know we have move on from the 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s, and we are into a new way of thinking, we have a new dispensation with different types of ideals about West Indies cricket. But cricket is played on the field, and captains must make decisions on the field of play instinctively. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances it could be planned. But most of the time, captains make decisions based on their instinct because plans can go awry. You judge a captain on his character, and ability to deal with pressure; his capacity to outwit the opposition, and how often he uses his acumen to place the team into a winning position to Therefore; I cannot see sitting in a classroom setting and being asked questions by whoever can pinpoint the right person to lead a West Indies Test team”, Wallace told Advo Magazine.

Wallace, a former Barbados captain said that that the captain should have been selected from among the captains of the franchises in the regional Four Dy Tournament.

“The Regional Four-Day Championship. has just concluded, and if CWI is going to appoint a captain, they should have chosen someone that captained a team during the Championship. They have abandoned the policy of three selectors and have implemented talent scouts. I thought that those scouts would have been charged with identifying future West Indies captains and not just players. But that may have been an oversight or not a consideration. So now that Brathwaite has decided to step down from the post, CWI have found themselves in a little pickle not being able to identify a successor even though Da Silva was his deputy since August 2024. The emergence of Imlach during the tour to Pakistan; and his success as the captain of Guyana the Four Day Championship has added to the problem. Imlach has won the Championship twice to continue that legacy of Guyana’s dominance in regional first-class cricket”, Wallace said.

He said CWI found themselves in a predicament and decided to use a classroom setting with six candidates: They are going to probably narrow it down to two or three candidates and conduct another interview to see who scores the highest points. I do not believe in this is the correct procedure and cannot support it. In my opinion this method is another indication of the failure of the franchise system, and of CWI’s cricket not being able to point in the direction to find future leadership within our cricket setting. I wish all the candidates well may the best one win”.

“Australia will soon be arriving on our shores soon, and they are going to ready for battle. They are going to come hard at us; there is a new cycle of the Test Championship 2025 to 2026 and Australia will be looking for points. When Australia comes a calling; I hope the captain that has been selected based on points will win Test matches to give the West Indies World Test Championship points”, Wallace said.

Sports

Over 200 Participants To Compete At Senior Games

To date, more than 200 participants have registered for the National Senior Games – 55 per cent are male and 45 per cent are female. They represent a wide cross-section of athletes from across the island, who will be competing in various disciplines during the 21st Anniversary of the Games.

According to the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs (MPEA), the top five parishes by registration are St. Michael (26 per cent); Christ Church (21 per cent); St. James (13 per cent); St. Philip (13 per cent) and St. George (12 per cent).

With respect to age categories, at the Masters’ level (40 – 49 years), 20 per cent have registered so far; at the Seniors’ level (50 – 69 years), 70 per cent have signed up, while for the Super Seniors (70+ years), 10 per cent have registered.

Registration will close on Tuesday, May 27.

Coordinator of the National Senior Games, Ytannia Wiggins, who said she was pleased with the response by athletes, noted that this year marks a milestone in digital engagement with the introduction of an accessible online registration system.

Of the initiative, she said: “The updated online process has made registration more efficient and has been warmly embraced by our seniors, many of whom leaned on their children and grandchildren for support, when it was needed. But overall, we’ve had little pushback to the use of digital forms.

“The form was also optimised for users with disabilities. Though physical forms were still available, fewer than five have been submitted via that method – which speaks volumes about how the community has adapted.”

The National Senior Games aligns with the Ministry’s Active Aging Policy, promoting wellness, inclusion, and community pride through sport.

Persons attending the Games are reminded that in addition to the official launch and motorcade to Golden Square Freedom Park on May 24, other upcoming events include field events at Queen’s College on May 31; the Road Race /Walk /Cycling on the Mighty Grynner Highway on June 1, and the Track & Field Meet at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex on June 9. (PR/GIS)