The Cuban sports mission in Barbados continues to accumulate good results in almost a decade of collaboration as teachers, coaches and methodologists in seven sports disciplines - athletics, boxing, cycling, field hockey, swimming, table tennis and volleyball - which has been concrete in the introduction of new sports in the system of school education, in the gradual improvement of skills of the athletes, in the leadership of national teams together with the clubs and federations, and in the methodological advice in the different levels. This was highlighted by the Cuban Ambassador, Francisco Fernández, as he celebrated 45 years of bilateral diplomatic relations, with the presence of the Chancellor and several Barbadian ministers, members of Parliament, representatives of the diplomatic corps and regional agencies and the UN, as well as civil society organizations that make up the solidarity movement with Cuba.
The main achievements for sports could be summarized as follows: In Lawn Hockey, with first coach Eliberto Sarduy, secondary schools capitalized on the opportunity to develop their players during the first stages of introducing this sport. Later, the technician Ángel Manuel Marín did an outstanding job developing technique and skills, so under his direction, this modality flourished at school level. It has been recognized by local authorities as regrettable that the Hockey Federation decided not to share their knowledge, skills and experience.
The swimming program was initiated by Cuban technicians Rolando García and Gerardo Ramirez, who worked in close collaboration with the Swimming Association and both attended with national tour teams throughout the region. Because of his professional approach he won the respect of the swimmers, parents, other coaches and club members. With the subsequent technicians, José Miranda and Luis González, he continued to achieve many successes thanks to his experience. National teams and several swim clubs benefited from their experience. Eric Becerra and Nelson Fernandez contributed greatly to the continuation of the program; Nelson introduced and developed swimming in open water.
The Table Tennis program was initially attended by Luis Valls and Roberto Serrano, and is currently led by Reinaldo René, who has worked with national teams locally and abroad, along with the National Sports Council (NSC) coaches and in parallel in schools. A particular achievement has been that school competitions were introduced in Barbados after the arrival of Cubans. Many young people have benefited from their experience and skills. They have helped in many youth competitions and have worked diligently to ensure the development of the players. Luis accompanied a national Junior team to Brazil; Roberto made it to a world championship, for the first time.
The cases of cycling, boxing and volleyball have had a particularly relevant development, to the point that Barbados has been progressively achieving since 2012 numerous medals of all colors in championships of the Caribbean, Central America, Commonwealth, with classifications for the first time for Pan American Games and the World Championship. The permanence extended to five years of the current coaches Mijail Santos, Felipe Álvarez and Julio Madrazo, respectively, has been an essential factor in these results, which are highlighted in separate notes. In the latter case, when Julio Madrazo was appointed this year as the Technical Director of Volleyball, another technician, José Hernández Murray, was hired to take charge of the training.
Finally, it should be noted the recent NSC decision this year to introduce the program in athletics (field and track), with the technician Olegario Issac Oliva, which began with the schools and given their perspectives is in the process of entering the clubs and the Federation.