Some sport is encouraged in school from an early age and in the community through two Barbuda Council workers. Much of it is organised by volunteers who are keen to give young people interests, skills and opportunities in sport. The most interest is in basketball, horse-racing and athletics, with some sports fishing events and keep fit. There is a small gym on Barbuda. Visitors come to Barbuda for surfing and kite surfing from time to time and kayaks are on offer in the village. You can also go horse or donkey riding - just ask someone on a horse or a donkey!
Search Jicky's Latest News and archives for more information on our successes in athletics - especially young Barbudans in Caribbean wide events. Peter Cuffy is employed by Council as a sports coach and we feature interviews with him in March 2006 and 2008 and a feature on his training in the USA. The pictures here were taken at the annual 5k run held in January 2014. His committment to Athletics and other sports continues in Barbuda.
The basketball season on Barbuda usually starts in August and the teams - Vipers, Young Warriors, Rockers, Flip-mo, Boars and Vikings - play a league table format on the floodlit basketball court in which every team play each other, with the top teams going to playoff. Barbudans have had much success in international basketball and have been signed by various colleges in the USA and other countries - on the right is Cohen DeSouza currently playing in the USA.
The tennis court is open to anyone who wants to play and was inspired by the success of our neighbour Anguilla's professional tennis programme and of course the Williams sisters success as role models for young tennis players, and made possible by Mr Kelly of Coco Point. It is used by school groups for CXC sport exams and in the past there has been an active Tennis Association whose committment to forging links with Antigua maintained the game on Barbuda and raised funds with a large donation from Coco Point. As a result, Barbuda produced a few strong tennis players. Currently this group has disbanded and the court has become neglected with no interest in the upkeep of it or development of the sport apparent from Council. The programme needs a new initiative to give all young people on Barbuda a tennis racquet so that everyone can learn to play, with free and equal access to the court, and support this with informal tuition through open sessions to encourage young people to try tennis and to introduce them to the game. It still has the funds... Any tennis loving volunteers?
Barbuda is well known for its fishing and has several competitive fishing tournaments at various times in the village and at Coco Point. There is also some of the best bone-fishing in the Caribbean in these waters, particularly because of the protected Lagoon - one of the largest in the Eastern Caribbean - which acts as a nursery for many species. Fishing is subject to strict conservation guidelines on Barbuda so follow the link for more information on this.
The Barbuda Turf Club meets every now and then on Sundays, starting after 4pm at the racetrack. There are usually four races, with two or three horses in each. It's an exciting family day out that all enjoy with food and music. All the racing pictures are regularly posted on our barbudaful facebook page.
Ask equine expert, Jose Manuel Romero, for advice on your horse
Jose Manuel Romero is an equine vet who visited Barbuda and spent time with local horse owners. Mr Romero has also visited England to prepare the Spanish eventing team for the Barcelona Olympics and he is an expert on racing injuries. He has since kindly offered to give his advice to Barbudans as an online service, so visit his blog, or e-mail a question about your horse in Barbuda to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can send him a picture of the problem if necessary.
