Latest News

Team Faith take crown

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 22:51:45 GMT

Against the odds, Girls Shoot Fuh Life

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 23:02:21 GMT

23 Day Challenge Launch

Tue, 30 May 2023 13:42:45 GMT

Coaches, athletes, volunteers, parents, family and friends, it is my pleasure to speak with you today on the occasion of the 23 ^rd Anniversary of Combined Faith Sports Evangelism Ministry.

For over 20 years Combined Faith (CF) Christian Sports Evangelism Ministry has been using sports and leadership development to impact and change the lives of young people across Barbados. The organisation has worked with schools, churches, sports clubs, and community-based groups to deliver high quality coaching and training to ensure the all-round development of athletes and coaches.

CF was officially launched in May 2000 through the vision of founder Mr. Dean A. Squires born out of his passion for God, love for basketball and people empowerment. Recognising that the church had lost its appeal and influence among Youth who were facing several social problems, Dean and his team sought to reach out to this target group using a universal language that has taught many life skills and provided many opportunities for youth; sports! Sport is seen as a powerful and cost-effective tool to help children and young people overcome violence, discrimination, and disadvantage in their lives and to build unity.

Combined Faith has held programs in seven (7) sporting disciplines namely, basketball, football, netball, volleyball, track & field, road tennis, and table tennis.

As you know, one of our headline initiatives is now the “Shoot Fuh Life” basketball tournament. This most recent April-May SHOOT FUH LIFE Tournament No.2 hosted by Combined Faith and sponsored by PEAK features:

· 80 Students of

· 11 Secondary + 2 Primary Schools from

· 72 Communities in

· 9 of the Parishes across Barbados

Nelson Mandela once said that:

“Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, in a way that little else does, it speaks to youth in a language that they understand, sport can create hope where once there was only despair”. “It is more powerful than governments in breaking down all types of racial barriers, it loves in the face of all types of discrimination”.

He further indicated that the real legacy of sports is “where the rules of the game are the same for everyone and behavior is guided by fair play and good sportsmanship”. We need this reality in a world where so much discrimination based on age, sex, education and social status exist.

This year as we celebrate our 23 ^rd Anniversary, we will be delighted if you will chose to partner with us. As a charity, we rely on donations and partnerships to fund our programs and achieve our mission. We believe that by partnering with you, we can amplify our impact on the lives of young people.

Today, we launch CF 23-Day Challenge. We encourage you to:

Be 1 of 1000 change-makers to donate $23.00 to Combined Faith (CF) Sports!

$23 in 23 days to celebrate 23 Years !!!

Only $1 a day!

As you Join the CF 23-Day Challenge you will be completing 23 exercises in 23 days and contribute $23 ($1 a day) to our programming as we celebrate 23 years in ministry during 2023!

The Challenge will run from May 30 to June 21, 2023

So …

Take the challenge, record and share why you support CF Sports on social media. Donate. Use our hashtag:

#CFChallenge2023

Tag us, so we can repost your recording.

Partnering with our charity can provide numerous benefits, including positive brand association, network opportunities, portfolio-building opportunities and community involvement as we give back!

Of course some of you may be wondering, if you can give more that $23 and the answer is absolutely! In fact, We encourage you to do so!

You can donate either through our Donation Cards, Scotia Bank, Republic Bank or Payce Digital.

Please visit our website cffcabarbados.org/donate for more information.

These funds will be critical in contributing to the objectives of our Strategic Plan 2022-2025 which has three (3) Strategic Objectives:

· Enhance Sports Participation

· Inspire Positive Change

· Be Fit for the Future

Let us go forward courageously, as we move into this new era of transformation, through sports for good!

I thank you.

Blessings!

A Triumph of Excellence

Mon, 15 May 2023 23:46:47 GMT

Team sweeps Shoot Fuh Life Basketball Competition

Table tennis team returns with silver medal

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 01:11:02 GMT

MVP happy to hold court

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:59:25 GMT

Team Love conquer all

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:55:10 GMT

Love claims Shoot For Life title

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 01:04:02 GMT

Graduates urged to follow ABC approach

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 00:38:59 GMT

SHOOT FUH LIFE AWARDS PLAYERS

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 17:02:58 GMT

Some of the young athletes of Barbados recently were awarded for their accomplishment in the ‘Shoot Fuh Life 2020’ Basketball

2-Point Shooting Competition hosted by Combined Faith and PEAK at Harrison College.

Organiser Dean Squires said the competition was held last year, but due to the subsequent national shutdowns/pauses they were not able to host the Final Rounds of the competition.

Despite this challenge, Squires said that they decided to still make the presentations based on the December 2020 Preliminary results which saw three schools, Graydon Sealy, Harrison College and Queen,s College participating.

“The Awards are based on prelims and we will start over in October 2021.”

Squires explained that the shooting contest is a component of a series of activities under the Shoot Fuh Life concept which was the preferred theme rather than Shoot for the Stars.

“Shoot fuh Life and go wherever in terms of accomplishing anything and using sports to equip them for whatever hurdles or success comes,” said Squires.

“Looking at Shoot Fuh Life to go after things to help you remain alive, avoiding gun violence, NCDs, poor health habits and push those things to help one achieve your goals and not have to deal with the extra things of dealing with health or guns and being snuffed out permanently.”

Squires said that the shooting competition was a 2-point version of the NBA 3-point competition and it first started with an inter-school and inter-form competition for the first to third formers and then branched out into the champions competing against the champions from the other schools.

He mentioned that the idea was to also have rallies where they could mix the teams and build friendships and bonds and help players get out of their comfort zone.

Some of the prizes at the awards included trophies, a sports Bible and the Top 5 got sneakers from Peak. (CG)

List of some of the awardees

Under-13 (2008) (Ages 12)

1.) Ethan Fredericks

2.) Jules O’Garro

Under-14 (2007) (Ages 13)

1.) Benjamin Thorne

Under-15 (2006) (Ages 14)

1.) Josiah Weekes

2.) Spencer Hasslett

Resilience Award

1.) Tayte Waterman

Overall (2006 - 2008) (Ages 12-14)

1.) Benjamin Thorne Size 12/13

2.) Ethan Fredericks Size 10.5

3.) Jules O’Garro Size 11.5

4.) Dominic Garner Size 10.5

5.) Meshacq Simpson Size 10

Females

1.) Dominique Alleyne

Using Sports to Inspire

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 16:51:33 GMT

In the midst of COVID-19 and the hectic environment of re-entry into the school system, there is a diamond in the rough in relation to sports.

Dean Squires, founder and president of the Combined Faith Sports Ministry was able to complete a gem of a twelve-month leadership program. This initiative provided psycho-social support to several young men whose ages range from 11 to 16. It utilized athletics and basketball training with a strong emphasis on leadership development. The main components of the workshops were to build positive physical, mental and social habits.

Last Saturday Squires facilitated a surprise presentation of Lou Williams Peak basketball sneakers to the nine young men who completed the inaugural sports leadership program.

Squires is no stranger to going against the odds to assist and develop the youth in Barbados. He started Combined Faith Ministry in October 2000 and has been using sports to impact and change lives of youth across Barbados by working with schools, sports clubs, churches and other community-based organizations to develop high quality coaching and training.

In 2015 Combined Faith Ministry became an official international affiliate of Fellowship of Christian Athletes [FCA], a Global Sports Ministry organization based in the United States of America. Over the years It has hosted visiting ministry groups which assist in the summer camp programs.

On the impact of COVID on the program, Squires did not let that deter him he quickly utilized on-line classes/sessions which saw participants going through their paces and being involved in discussions while in their own space.

Squires, who prefers the title coach to any of the other titles, gave special thanks to the executive, parents and sponsors Alleviation Media, Ellerton Wesleyan Holiness Church, Fellowship of Christian Athlete, Healthy Cottage Counselling and Wellcare Therapy, Peak Sports, Spar Sports Gear and Work With Roddy for their continued support throughout the 2019-2020 year program. (PR)

Troublesome ways lead Dean to Coaching

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:02:18 GMT

From his secondary school days he was considered a troublemaker even though, by all reports, he was a top performer at primary school.

In fact, Dean Squires, Barbados’ sole known full-time basketball sports evangelist, volunteer basketball coach and mentor, is quick to admit that he was no “sweet bread” during his early schooldays. Yes, he was an academic, head boy, and top student at St John Primary school when he graduated in 1986, but he also had to fight his demons.

Today, he is in a much better place and has been able to use basketball to change the lives of many young people across the island.

It was back in September of 1986, that he found it so hard to transition to secondary school when he entered Queen’s College that he determined in his heart to “just give trouble”.

“It was a rude awakening for me at Queen’s College when I discovered that I was no longer the biggest and strongest student, as was the case at primary school. Rather, I was now one of the youngest students on the block,” Squires said.

Faced with this reality, he felt the only way he could make his presence felt and overcome peer pressure was to put on aggressive front.

In fourth and fifth form Squires became aware of his advantage in sports and more so basketball. Although Queen’s College did not have basketball facilities, he was recruited as a basketball player.

“I was now about 15 years old and realised that I had wasted some of my teenaged years. As a member of the basketball team I was introduced to structure and discipline. I began to have a measure of success, which saw me moving on to become a member of the combined schools basketball team, and later, the Boys’ Junior National programme.

“Through this experience I saw a change in my behaviour and mindset. I also knew that my heart was still evil, but the discipline helped me to manage my behaviour,” Squires pointed out.

He became so focused on using basketball to chart his way forward and to help young lives that when he graduated from Queen’s College in 1993, Squires offered to take up the role of “volunteer coach,” just so the school would continue to have a basketball team.