Cricket in BarbadosMake no mistake, Cricket is King in Barbados, and just about every Bajan has an opinion on the game and the latest results.
Cricket is a social event, and you'll find matches all over the island on the weekends.
Even though Cricket is the most popular sport on the island, Barbados offers a variety of sporting events and games for visitors to enjoy such as: Championship Golf, Horse racing, Sailing, Basketball, Squash, Deep Sea Fishing, Polo, Tennis, Hockey, Soccer, and all the popular watersports - Surfing, Scuba Diving, Deep Sea Diving, Wind surfing, and Kite Surfing.
Popular board games include: Dominoes, Draughts (Checkers), Chess and Wari.
The Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex is named after one of the islands greatest Cricket players, who was knighted and was given the title of Sir Garfield Sobers.
The state of the art complex offers badminton, boxing, basketball, gymnastics, handball, bodybuilding, judo, karate, table tennis, volleyball and weightlifting.
The sports complex also has showers and changing rooms, and even sauna and massage rooms. The Sobers complex is also one of the venues for the week long Barbados Jazz Festival.
Barbados has an Academy, Association or Club for just about every Sport in the World.
The Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) has started community tournaments to give players more exposure, and playing time to the Premier League, and Intermediate teams.
Basketball used to be one of the islands most attended sports games, but lost some of its popularity in recent years. The league is attempting to make a come back with the community tournaments being played on Sundays throughout the island.
Barbados Yacht ClubThe Barbados Yacht Club holds regattas and also offers sailing courses. The Mount Gay/Boatyard Regatta in May is the main event of the year. The main anchorage point is Carlisle Bay.
The Barbados Polo Club hosts national and international matches at Holders Hill from November to May.
Polo has been played on the island since they cavalry officers introduced the game back in the 19th century.
The Barbados Wind Surfing Association hosts the Wind Surfing World Cup, and the event is held at the Soup Bowl on the east coast in Bathsheba.
Another popular spot for surfers is the Duppies on the north coast of the island.
The action spot for wind surfing is at Silver Rock where you find legions of experienced wind surfers from around the world. The International Funboard Challenge is held in March, and the Barbados Wind Surfing World Cup is in January.
Kite Surfing is popular from November to July, when the wind is best. Long Beach, Casuarina Beach and Silver Rock are popular spots for kite surfers.
The Barbados Turf Club holds races at the Garrison on Saturdays during three seasons.
The oval track is just under a mile long, and races tend to be a social event. The biggest one is the Sandy Lane Golf Cup held in March, and features horses from the neighboring Caribbean islands.
The cup race also features The Royal Barbados Mounted Police band plays, along with dancers, stilt men in carnival fashions.
The Barbados Golf Association hosts the Barbados Open Golf Championship in November, and the Senior PGA European Golf Tournament is held in March.
There are enough golf courses on the island to keep an avid golfer busy. Sandy Lane is the best and most prestigious - this is where Tiger Woods decided to get married, and also play several rounds of golf.
Sandy Lane offers two 18 holes, and a 9 hole course. Royal Westmoreland Golf and Country Club offers an 18 hole, par 72 course and another 9 hole course with great views of the west coast.
However you must be a guest in the hotel or one of the villas. The Barbados Golf Club is open to the public, and Almond Beach Village has a nine hole course.
For family fun, The Barbados Academy of Golf has a putting green, driving range, and a 18 hole mini course.
Run BarbadosThe Run Barbados Series is held the first of December, with four races: a 10 km race, a half marathon, a marathon and a 4 km walk.
Running became a popular island sport when Bajan sprinter Obadele Thompson won an Olympic bonze medal, and another Bajan Andrea Blackett won gold at the Commonwealth games.
The Barbados Game Fishing Association runs an international tournament in April. Some of the catches are: blue marlin, yellow fin tuna, white marlin, sailfish, wahoo and mahi mahi (dolphin).
Back in 1966 one of the record fish caught on rod and reel was a 910 pound blue marlin. Anyone who lands a marlin that big needs to hold a record!
The Lawn Tennis Association can give information on the best tennis courts in Barbados. Just about all the hotels have tennis courts, and most are lighted for night play.
The Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex is the home of the National Tennis Center. Other main centers are at Club Rockley Resort and the West Side Tennis Center on the west coast at Sunset Crest.
The Barbados Squash Club is host to top players at the regional level, as well as the local squash league.
The Barbados Diving Association - The island of Barbados is surrounded by an inner reef, and an outer barrier reef. Many diving enthusiasts have come to know the island as a wreck diving destination.
Five shipwrecks has been intentionally sunk as diving sites. Carlisle Bay is a popular spot with over 200 wrecks, and you'll find cannon balls, anchors and centuries old sunken treasures.
The best spot is Stavronikita in the Folkestone Marine Park, which is known as one of the best diving spots in the Caribbean.
Barbados offers over 35 dive companies that offer PADI courses, and equipment rentals.
Visitors will find the west coast offers the best snorkeling opportunities. The water is always calm, and clear as glass. The inner reef offers a great chance to tropical fish, while the outer reef is much deeper and you can view giant sea turtles, eels, king fish, barracuda, sponges and sea fans. Although you can snorkel on other coasts, the west coast is absolutely the best snorkeling venue.
Popular Games On the Island of Barbados
Dominoes in BarbadosDominoes, Chess, Draughts (checkers in the U.S.), and the ancient games of Wari are taken very seriously by Bajans.
The Prime Minister, Owen Arthur is known to be one of the best dominoes players. The national team from Barbados has won the world championship many times, so don't think of dominoes as just a "game".
In the U.S., we know it as the game of Checkers, however in Barbados they call it Draughts, and one of the world champions lives on the island.
Another Bajan, Kevin Denny was the first Barbadian Chess player to reach the rank of International Master - so these games are played at a very high level in homes, on the streets and in the islands Rum Shops.
Barbados Rum ShopThe game of Wari is an ancient board game that can be traced back to the Kush civilization on the Upper Nile. The African slaves brought the game to the island, and its popularity still survives.
So, as you can see Barbados is an island that loves all kinds of sports, and excels in mental board games.
Visitors that are sports oriented will have more than enough to exercise the mind and body.
If you haven't had the opportunity to visit our main travel site, you can learn more about the island of Barbados by clicking here.