Faculty of Kinesiology

Despite being a track and field athlete in high school and a division I volleyball player at University Kendia Brathwaite says that a career working in sport chose her rather than it being her life’s passion. In fact, Kendia’s first career was as a rehabilitation specialist, and it wasn’t until she went back to school and enrolled in the Bachelor of Sports Science program at the University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus (UWI, Barbados) that she began to see a career in sport unfold.  After completing her undergraduate degree, Kendia enrolled in the Masters of Sport Sciences, a joint course-based program between UWI Cavehill and the University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Kinesiology. It was during this time that her future path began to present itself.

Kendia found the general Master’s program that covers the breadth of sports sciences from sport and event management, coaching and nutrition to exercise physiology, sport biomechanics and strength and conditioning provided her a broad knowledge that allows her to develop holistic training opportunities today. The program also connected her with Drs. Sasha Sutherland and Gabriela Tymowski-Gionet, both of whom Kendia would consider important mentors for her. Dr. Gabriela Tymowski-Gionet was the person who first introduced the Olympics and the Olympic movement in an ethics class, and she highlighted an opportunity for a post-graduate diploma in Olympics Studies, a program in which she also lectures in.  Kendia was encouraged to apply, was accepted, and spent a month in Greece earning a diploma and a passion for the Olympics. As the final requirement for her Master’s degree, Kendia completed an internship with the Barbados Olympic Association which was the start of her journey with the association. Dr. Sasha Sutherland also introduced the Olympic movement in a different light as she invited Mr. Glyne Clarke, General Manager of BOA as a guest lecturer throughout her studies.

Kendia is currently the program officer for the National Olympic Academy within the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA). This position has a diverse portfolio.  Kendia is responsible for BOA museum tours, visiting school, organizing and delivering education workshops for coaching and athletes on a breadth of topics, which also involves developing a network of content speakers internationally.  She is also responsible for organizing major events such as the International Day for Sport and Development, Olympic day celebrations, TAFISA Day, and Women in Sport celebration.  Kendia has an active role on various sport commissions including the Women in Sport, the Sport for All, and the Sport Education commissions.  She is also excited to have been recently appointed the chair of the University of Technology Jamaica’s Caribbean School of Sport Science bachelor’s program advisory committee.  Kendia also sits on the local organizing committee for the BOA Independence Invitational Games (BIIG) commission which originated in 2016 with Barbados’ 50^th year of independence.  This year BIIG is focused on beach games to coincide with the greater focus within the Olympics on beach sports.  For the BIIG games, the desire is to have the various sport federations invite teams regionally and internationally to compete, thus increasing the exposure of local athletes to international competition.  In 2022, Kendia was the Assistant Chef de Mission at the Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games, Santa Marta, Colombia.  This is an international multi-sport event that includes the following beach sports: handball, rugby, soccer, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, open water swim, sailing, skateboarding and surfing.  In August, Kendia will again be accompanying the Barbados team as the Assistant Chef de Mission to Santiago, Chile for the Pan American games.  In 2021, Kendia played a moral support role at home in Barbados for the team traveling to the Tokyo Olympics, but she looks forward to joining the team in Paris (2024) as their Assistant Chef de Mission!