Netball & Cricket Tour to Barbados

It’s not often that you get invited on a netball tour to Barbados, and wow what an opportunity it was. We spent our days playing netball and exploring the local area surrounding the hotel. It soon became clear how difficult it was to play in such hot temperatures, even at 8 in the morning, and we ran to the beach or pool to cool down from the hot weather. We even took part in some aqua aerobics in the pool as a cool down session after training. It was a great experience to travel to schools and clubs all around the island and play their teams. We even managed to maintain our winning streak across the four matches that we played. But more importantly we made friends with the girls and boys at the schools as we cheered each other on. It was very interesting to see the cultural differences between our lives and their lives in Barbados, particularly when we went to a market one night for dinner and ended up singing karaoke with the locals on the beachfront. There are many things that I will remember from this trip. Whether it be the loud music blaring out of the bus as we drove to have dinner, with the locals singing along as we drove by; or the catamaran tour of the island on our last day where we went snorkelling over shipwrecks, swam in crystal clear waters and built friendships with all year groups that went on the trip. It is fair to say that Barbados 2023 was one to remember!

Nerea Kries-Margaroli, Fifth Form

When we landed in Barbados it instantly felt like a wonderfully unique place, with generous people and picturesque beaches. On the first day we had a training session to adjust to the constant 30 degrees we would endure throughout the trip. The next four days were spent playing mainly school teams, except for one club team that we played first. Out of the four games we played, we won three and lost one. The cricket was great, with the boys thoroughly enjoying the games we played and the opposition being very friendly. In the evenings we went out to different restaurants, such as a seafood restaurant and a place with traditional food from the island. Around the hotel, we would often go down to the beach, which was a 20 second walk away. One night we even played a game of football on the pitch outside our hotel. There was also some time to chill out by the pool or in the courtyard. On the last full day, we were lucky enough to go on a catamaran boat tour which took us around the west coast of the island and was an incredible way to end the amazing week we had in Barbados. Overall, the Barbados Cricket Tour was one of the most amazing weeks of my life and I will think back on it with fond memories.

Tom Hall, Lower Sixth