National Senior Games 2025 Road Races this Sunday beginning at 6 am, Mighty Grynner Highway.

Barbadians and others, still keen on participating in the 2025 National Senior Games (NSG), but not yet registered, are reminded by the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs (MPEA), that registration will close, today Tuesday, May 27, at 5:00 p.m. for all track and field and road race events.

On Thursday, May 29, there will be a briefing session for athletes from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., by the National Sports Council, at the Wildey Gymnasium, Wildey, St Michael. Athletes will also be able to collect their bibs during this time. 

 Final registration and number collection for the road race will occur on Friday, May 30, from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Sky Mall, Haggatt Hall, St. Michael.

The Games were officially launched last Saturday, May 24, with a motorcade which ended at Golden Square Freedom Park, The City, where Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey urged Barbadians to see the benefits to be derived from active ageing and the NSG.

Mr. Humphrey stressed that Barbados was “an ageing society” and said: “… We believe if you are active that you can live longer and you can live better… That’s what the Senior Games is about. From the very beginning that was the idea behind the Senior Games.”

He also noted that this year his Ministry had made a deliberate effort to go bigger, better and have more participation. Disclosing that already over 300 participants were looking to represent the country in either the track and field events in June, or other events in September, the Minister urged Barbadians and others at the launch ceremony to come out and participate on the given dates.

Noting some people would be representing their parishes, he added that the Ministry was also encouraging persons to bring a small contribution towards the National Assistance Board’s Senior Programme and the Soroptimist Club Senior Programme, on Whitsuntide Monday, June 9, at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex. The contribution is, however, not mandatory for entry but is encouraged to support the senior programmes.

 “This year is going to be great and I want to invite all of Barbados to come out and participate in the Games,” Mr. Humphrey exclaimed, as he also thanked his staff at the MPEA for their work with the National Senior Games.  

This year, Barbados National Senior Games celebrates 21 years of existence. The Games, which honour the strength, spirit, and contributions of older adults across the island, will be held under the theme: Active Living, Active Ageing. (PR/GIS)

by David Harris

The West Indies defeated Ireland by 197 runs in the final game of the three-match One Day International (ODI) series at Castle Avenue ground, in Clontarf, Dublin on Sunday. Batting first after Ireland won the toss and opted to field, the West Indies scored 385 runs for five wickets off 50 overs, their second highest total in ODI cricket.  

Man of the Match  Keacy Carty blasted 170 runs off 142 balls (his second successive century in the series), the right-handed batsman struck 15 fours and eight sixes, and shared a third wicket partnership of 137 runs with captain Shai Hope after the West Indies were wobbling at 31 for two wickets at the end of the fifth over. 

Hope scored an attractive run- a- ball 75 that included nine fours and two sixes, but Carty was the centrepiece of the West Indies’ innings as slammed the Irish bowlers to around the ground. 

Justin Greaves made 59 from 23 balls as the West Indies scored 132 runs in the last eight overs, the third- most by any team in a men’s ODI where ball by ball data is available. 

The match was threatened by incremented weather and delayed by rain on two occasions, a third delayed was caused when Carty struck a ball over the ropes that hit a member of the television crew. 

Fast bowler Barry MacCarty captured three wickets for 100 runs from ten expensive overs, and medium pacer Liam MacCarty took two wickets for 93. Two of Ireland’s bowlers were injured during the match; left-arm seamer Josh Little suffered a leg injury, and debutant right-arm medium pacer Jordan Neill left the field in the 21^st over after hurting his shoulder. 

Chasing a mammoth total of 386 runs to win the match and the series, Ireland scored 165 in in 29.5 overs, fast bowler Jayden Seales made an immediate when he bowled opener Andy Balbirnie for three runs in the second over. 

Captain Paul Stirling (26) smashed three fours and a pair of sixes before he was dismissed by Seales with the first ball of the eighth over, and the Irishmen were in deep trouble at 40 for three wickets when Seales bowled Harry Tector for a duck with the final delivery of the same over. 

Cade Carmichael (48) and Lorcan Tucker (29) offered resistance by adding 72 runs for the fifth wicket, but once they were dismissed within ten balls of each other, the West Indies aided by the runouts of Andy McBrine (28) and Barry McCarthy (0) the West Indies were on the path to victory with Little and Neill unable to bat.  Seales captured three wickets for 26 runs from 5.5 overs. 

The  series was drawn 1-1 after the second ODI which was played at the same venue on Friday ended in a no-decision due to rain; the West Indies scored 352 for eight wickets, Carty scored 102, and Matthew Forde smashed 58 runs off 19 balls to equal A.B De Villiers of South Africa record for the fastest half-century in ODI cricket. 

The West Indies next assignment is a three-match ODI series against England starting at Edgbaston on Thursday.