Barbados, the defending Southern Caribbean Ladies, Men’s and Veteran?s Squash champions left the island on Saturday August 16th for Guyana to compete in the biennial Southern Caribbean Squash Championships slated for August 18th to 23rd.
The Barbados team (sponsored by the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), BS&T and Flying Fish Garments) is comprised of three divisions, i.e. Ladies, Men and Veterans, all of whom stand an excellent chance to once again sweep the medals in one of the most prestigious squash competitions in the Caribbean.
In commenting about the Barbados team, President of the Barbados Squash Rackets Association – Mr. Craig Archer – indicated he was satisfied with the team?s depth and the potent blend of experience and youthful vigor on it. The team is as follows:
Men: Mark Sealy (captain); Bryant Cumberbatch; Gavin Cumberbatch; Rhett Cumberbatch; Fabian Goodridge; Shawn Simpson.
Ladies: Karen Meakins (captain); Carla Jackson; Nadia McCarthy; Cheri-Ann Parris; Lilianna White.
Veterans: Errol Pilgrim M+60; Nigel Griffith M +50; Marlon White M+40.
Norman Rice – Manager. Orson Simpson ? Delegate.
Observant squash fans will note that the composition of the Barbados team shows a changing of the guard in local squash, with talented juniors of the past now moving into the senior team for the first time as a complete group. The ladies and men are led by Karen Meakins and Mark Sealy respectively, both of whom are 8-time national champions and are no strangers to the rigors of Caribbean competition. These two apart, the remaining members of the team have all come through the Junior National Team system over the past decade and, in fact, the remainder of the Men’s Team all played on the all conquering Barbados Junior Boys Team that won the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships back in 2002. The five-time and reigning National Squash Champion, Shawn Simpson, will be looking to step up at the Caribbean level while the reigning 2006 Southern Caribbean and 2007 All-Caribbean Men’s Individual Champion, Gavin Cumberbatch, will once again set out to assert his dominance over the Southern Caribbean players.
In the woMen’s division the talented multiple Junior National Champion, Cheri-Ann Parris, who turned 18 years old earlier this week and is the youngest player in the team has once again taken her place on the senior ladies team with the familiar names of Carla Jackson, Nadia McCarthy and Lilianna White are being led for the first time by Karen Meakins. Meakins, who is the reigning and 8-time National Champion, has also won this year both the Barbados and the Trinidad Squash Opens, and reached the Ladies Open final in St. Lucia and remains one of the top figures in Caribbean Ladies squash, a position she has maintained over the past decade.
At the Veterans level, national stalwarts Marlon White (M+40) and Nigel ?the Dragon? Griffith (M+50) are playing in these respective age groups at the Caribbean level for the first time, while the evergreen Errol Pilgrim, the elder statesman in the team, is once again representing Barbados in the M+60 age group.
Team manager, Norman Rice, noted that the generosity of sponsors, the BOA, Barbados Shipping and Trading Co. Ltd. and Flying Fish Garments, has once again made the team?s trip to Guyana possible. He also noted that this would be an extremely emotional competition for Barbados this year as it was their intention to dedicate the participation of the Barbados team to two of the stalwarts of local squash, Richard Walcott and Sonia Perkins, both of whom will not be able to accompany the team to Guyana this year. Walcott, the longstanding Junior National Coach, is recovering from a recent illness, while the influential national player and former ladies captain, Perkins, has recently undergone surgery that will keep her at home on this occasion.
