The Barbados Open Badminton Tournament came to town!

Every now and again, in our sometimes sleepy island routine, the door of opportunity opens wide and a fresh new experience drifts in on the breeze. In this case it was the Barbados open badminton tournament. But first, a little background.

You only won two games Dad?

About a year or so ago my eldest son Liam started taking badminton lessons with Barbados junior national badminton coach Athelstone (Ali) Forde. My son Aiden watched the lessons for a week or two and asked to join in. Then on a whim, after seeing how much fun my kids were having, I asked Ali if I could have lessons with my sons. To my surprise he said yes, and the rest is the continuing true story of a dad hopelessly addicted to badminton. Fast forward to last week when my sons and I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in the Barbados Open.

I know if I look hard enough I might be able to find the shuttle!

We arrived at the Gymnasium early and were warming up on court when the competitors and support staff arrived by bus from their hotel.

Liam to serve!

As we watched everyone get acquainted with their surroundings, a tall, very fit and friendly looking player asked if he could warm up with us, and remarked that he hadn't played much badminton. Of course we said yes and I could tell immediately that he was a very good player and that he also had a fine sense of humour. What I didn't know then, and only found out later was that my sons and I were warming up with British Olympic silver medalist, Nathan Robertson!

Nathan Robertson and Dave Forde

Soon the Gym was full of players from all over the world warming up. Many players were from England, while others were from Germany or Holland. At least one had traveled from as far away as Singapore to participate! After warming up, we were organized into groups for a round robin type of tournament.

In the past, if anyone would have told me that at 50 years of age I would be chasing a feathered shuttlecock around the Gymnasium, I would have laughed my head off in disbelief. Yet there we were, team Woodvine, ready to do battle. I also have to say that as I served in the first doubles game of the tournament I actually felt quite nervous!

I needn't have been apprehensive, this was about the nicest group of people that you could meet. Many seemed to know each other from previous tournaments and although I played my fair share of errors and more, they were quite positive with their comments and encouragement. They were also very kind to my children, often holding back on some of their smashes so as not to take my kids heads off. I was a bit worried that the adults might object to having to play against young kids, but everyone seemed to get along o.k. The atmosphere was amazing.

"Christ Church" team posing with their certificates

On the second day the Barbados Junior national team and various other young players including my sons were invited to a training session with Nathan Robertson. What a treat. Nathan is one of those highly successful people who is gracious, charming, down to earth and fun to be around (not at all stuck up as the Australians might say :) He was particularly good with kids, always offering the most positive encouragement. We were very grateful that he was there - my kids spoke of nothing else for a few days after!

The Barbados Open is the brainchild of Mark Philips, an Englishman with very strong Bajan roots and associations. The tournament is structured as a part of a holiday package that includes accommodation and activities such as island tours and a catamaran cruise. Mark and his sister Michelle's relaxed and cheerful enthusiasm permeated the occasion, though they had obviously worked very hard to make the tournament and the holiday a success for the visiting players.

Posing with a champion! Nathan, Aiden, proud father and Liam!

On the Saturday following the two tournament days, the boys and I, along with my wife Louise, spent a great evening at the tournament's gala, where we got to spend more time chatting with the players and learning about their home countries and experiences.

From a tourism perspective this is just the kind of thing that Barbados needs, we hope that our new friends may get the opportunity to return soon!

(Thanks to Curwin Cherubin Photography for permission to use the first two photos in this post)