From left: Stephen Rowe, Sports Development Officer within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, making a presentation to Robin Douglas, Principal of Combermere School.

There is a new sports tourism initiative that appears certain to reap significant benefits for Barbados.

It is the ‘Hands of Many Aviation Cup’, being hosted on island, pitting leading members of the aviation industry in the United Kingdom against leading Barbadian football teams. That UK team comprises representatives of Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Delta and British Airways.

"Stephen Rowe, Sports Development Officer within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, said that the Barbadian teams include, a team from the local hotel sector, Weymouth Wales FC, Grantley Adams Memorial School and the Barbados Defence Force.

The one-day tournament was held on, Thursday, February 27th, at the BFA Astro Turf at the Garfield Sobers Complex.

Mr. Rowe indicated that this year’s Aviation Cup promises to be the first of many, with some banks from the U.K and U.S already expressing an interest in participating next year.

He added: “Next year we already have a commitment from six airlines and some banks” he disclosed noting that the first version of the Aviation Cup was held in the UK.

The Sports Development Officer stated that with their motto of “connecting with the world through aviation, Barbados is keen to introduce road tennis into the mix, connecting the world to road tennis”.

On Wednesday, February 26th, the organisers of the ‘Hands of Many Aviation Cup’ conducted a career showcase at Combermere School and the Ministry of Sports, used the opportunity to introduce the members of the aviation industry to the sport of road tennis, through an exhibition game played by Devonte Layne and Ahijah Blunt of the Barbados Road Tennis Association (BRTA).

He said the visitors from the UK are elated to take part in the initiative, adding that almost a dozen teams have indicated an interest in participating in the Aviation Cup in 2026.

“They are very excited about partnering with us to help us advance our efforts,” Mr. Rowe emphasized.

Cabin Crew Operator at British Airways Kurt Morlese, who organised the team from the U.K said about 50 persons have travelled to Barbados.

The delegation, which comprises cabin crew, loading, engineering, cyber-security, ticketing, security and customer relations arrived on island on Tuesday and will depart on Saturday.

Mr. Morlese said that even though it was his first time playing road tennis, he can envision “how it will benefit many people and athletes, through warming-up and pre-season training because it’s played on a small court with high fitness levels…[we] will be pushing it tremendously in the United Kingdom to as many persons and industries as they can”.

“There are 15 airlines lined up for next year and the future of the Aviation Cup looks bright, with many more tourists earmarked to come to Barbados, staying in several hotels and spending lots of money,” the BA official stated.

Following the exhibition game by the BRTA, Mr. Rowe presented several road tennis rackets and balls to Mr. Morlese as well as Mr. Robin Douglas, Principal of Combermere School and Mr. Timothy Barrett, Deputy Principal.

Mr. Rowe said Barbados’ indigenous sport has taken off across the globe and this initiative is another strategy, to partner with aviation officials to share road tennis with the world. In this regard Rowe added that a road tennis delegation from Barbados is currently in Zimbabwe, promoting the sport.