The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) has announced the candidates seeking election at its Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday, September 2, 2020.
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing all the major sports meets, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, to be cancelled or postponed this year, the major items on the agenda will be the directors’ and financial reports, an amendment to the bylaws to permit virtual meetings of members, and the election of officers and directors. Only half of the board comes up for election, with the other half having been elected last year.
The post of Vice President recently held by the late Ralph Johnson is vacant. It is being contested by the current Assistant Secretary-General, Cameron Burke, and President of the Barbados Volleyball Association, Kenmore Bynoe.
Burke was first elected a director of the BOA in 1996 and has held his current position since 2004. He has been involved with the development of hockey locally and internationally, serving as an international hockey umpire from 1982 to 2002 and then as a technical official at many international meets until his retirement in 2019 as an Elite International Technical Official. Now in his second term as a member of the Appointments Committee of the Pan American Hockey Federation, he was proposed by Hockey and seconded by Taekwondo.
Bynoe, a well-known sports photojournalist, has been a member of the Barbados Volleyball Association’s executive for over 25 years and now serves as its President. He has managed successful men’s national teams at the Caribbean Championships, NORCECA, CAC, and Panam Games. In 2019 Bynoe covered the Barbados team at the Panam Games in Lima, Peru. He has been a teacher, personal assistant and technical officer, and has won several awards including the National Sports Council’s Top Journalist award, which he won twice, as well as the International Olympic Committee Sports award. He was proposed by Volleyball and seconded by Basketball.
Secretary-General, Erskine Simmons, is running unopposed for another term in this position which he has held since 1996. He was first elected a director of the BOA in 1986 and has served on boards of numerous sporting bodies, including as Deputy Chairman of the National Sports Council, executive board member of the Caribbean Association of Nation Olympic Committees (CANOC) and as a commission member of a number of commissions of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) and Panam Sports. He currently heads the CANOC Review Committee for the inaugural Caribbean Games slated for Guadeloupe in June 2021. He was proposed by Weightlifting and seconded by Cycling.
Chartered Accountant, Orson Simmons, has been the BOA’s Treasurer since 2017 and is also running unopposed. He is an experienced sports administrator and has held such posts as President of Pickwick Cricket Club, Treasurer of the Barbados Cricket Association, and Vice President of the Barbados Squash Association, among others. He was also Treasurer of the Squash Association and a Director of the National Sports Council. He was Barbados Chef de Mission to the 2019 Panam Games and has officiated at multiple Caribbean and international squash events. He was nominated by Tennis and seconded by Volleyball.
This year two directors, elected in 2017, Ytannia Wiggins and D. Craig Archer, are vying for re-election. Wiggins is a Mathematics lecturer at the Barbados Community College and Open Campus. She is the Country Co-ordinator with the A Ganar program, which utilizes sports as a tool to teach at-risk youth employability skills in Latin America and the Caribbean. She was a member of women’s committee of the Barbados Football Association and was appointed as the first team manager for the Barbados Women’s Under 20 and Senior Women’s National teams for seven consecutive years between 2004 and 2011, during which time she became a certified referee and level 1 coach. She is currently an executive board member of CANOC. Wiggins was proposed by Triathlon and seconded by Table Tennis.
The other incumbent, Archer, is a Civil Engineer and Construction Project Manager. He has been a sports administrator since 1981, holding positions such as President of the Barbados Squash Association, President of the Caribbean Area Squash Association and Vice-President of the Pan American Squash Federation. He is currently a member of the World Squash Federation’s Courts and Equipment Commission. Archer is a certified A-level Squash Referee and has officiated at many elite international events. A former Director of the BOA between 2001 and 2012, he has served as Barbados Deputy Chef de Mission at the 2003 Pan-American Games and Chef de Mission at the 2006 and 2010 CAC Games. He was proposed by Badminton and seconded by Canoe and Kayak.
The other persons vying for these positions are Attorney-at-Law, George Bennett, Vice President of the Barbados Hockey Federation, and entertainer Dale “Mr. Dale” Rudder, President of the Barbados Table Tennis Association.
Bennett was recently elected President of the Judicial Commission of the International Hockey Federation. He represented and captained Barbados in Hockey and previously served as President of the Barbados Hockey Federation and is its current Vice President. He chairs the Statute Commission of the American Council of Sport (CADE) and is a member of the National Anti-Doping Commission. Bennett is proposed by Hockey and seconded by Basketball.
Rudder presides over Table Tennis and the Deacons Football Club. He represented Barbados in Table Tennis and Football and has been a coach and team manager. Along with his sports accolades, he was twice named People’s Monarch and three-times Songwriter of the Year and also won the prestigious Road March Title. Rudder is heavily involved in youth development and has been recognized for his community work and is also a recipient of the Dame Elsie Award of Excellence. He is proposed by Table Tennis and seconded by Football.
President Sandra Osborne has promised a concise meeting and stressed the BOA’s commitment to following all COVID-19 protocols.
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