The Jamaica Inn Foundation (JIF) says its Eighth Annual Backgammon Fund-raising Tournament can be relied on as an event to facilitate a distraction from difficult times now facing society.

This year’s tournament takes place at Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, St Ann, from June 13 to 15.

The competition’s aim, as in previous years, is to raise funding for the maintenance of the White River Fish Sanctuary, which JIF board member Olivia Morrow says plays a crucial role in Jamaica’s marine ecosystem.

“It offers a safe haven for our fish population to thrive and support for the livelihoods of local fishermen and their families, as well as our tourism sector,” she said.

“Every dollar raised at our backgammon tournament goes towards the fish sanctuary, the patrols, the education outreach, the restoration efforts to really keep our waters vibrant and really full of life.

So, just know that everything that you’re contributing goes towards keeping the event going and supporting our incredible sanctuary.”

Tournament Director Knolly Moses says the tournament provides what he describes as a fun way to give back to the community and the environment.

“It’s not a very difficult game to learn,” he said of backgammon. “It just takes a bit of time to get good at it. A lot of people, they don’t think so much about the benefit, they think only fun.”

Moses says backgammon is being played at other locations throughout the course of the year to not only keep players interested, but to attract those who have no experience with the game.

“Some of them need practice and some of them don’t,” he said. “Generally, and I would say more recently, we’re getting more women involved — and it used to be, pretty much, an all-male thing. However, in the past year, the scale has tipped a bit and often we have more women playing at Chez Maria (one of the practice locations in St Andrew) than the men who are coming.”

Jamaica Inn Managing Director Kyle Mais says the tournament is the resort’s largest fund-raising event in support of the sanctuary.

“This year, we’re looking forward to welcoming around 40 participants,” he said. “We’re looking to welcoming past champions and bringing in quite a few foreigners to play, as it always does.”

Mais says the tournament has a purse of over $1 million.

“At the end, there’s a lot of bragging rights, a lot of camaraderie, and it’s great for the cause and raising funds,” he said.

Players registered to play in the main tournament on Saturday of the event are classified as seeded. Unseeded players compete a day before.

Registration for the warm-up on Friday is US$90 (J$14,000), and US$250 (J$39,500) for the competition.

— Rachid Parchment