Home|Sports|Bahamians in Battle 4 AtlantisSports

Bahamians in Battle 4 Atlantis

Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 31, 2023 19 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Bahamians Yolett ‘Coach Yo’ McPhee-McCuin and Rhema Collins will be home to play in the 3rd Bad Boys Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s College Basketball Tournament, November 18-20, inside the Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

After that tournament, former champions the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Villanova University Wildcats will make a return to play in the 12th edition of the Battle 4 Atlantis men’s tournament, November 22-24, at the same location.

McPhee-McCuin, who hails from Grand Bahama, is the head women’s basketball coach for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels and coaches freshman Collins there. They are preparing for the collegiate season. Collins heads to Ole Miss after wrapping up a stellar high school career at The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.

The Rebels will open the tournament with a matchup against the Howard University Bison – the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) team to play in the women’s tournament. That game gets underway at noon on November 18.

‘Coach Yo’ led her team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national tournament last season after sporting a 25-9 win/loss record on the season and an 11-5 record in a tough Southeastern Conference (SEC). It was the second consecutive season in which they advanced to the NCAA tournament after having not played in it since 2007. Their season ended with a 72-62 loss to the University of Cardinals in the Sweet Sixteen. It was the first time they made it that far since 2007.

Also playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis women’s tournament are the University of Arizona Wildcats, the DePaul University Blue Demons, the Wolverines, the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders and the University of South Dakota Coyotes.

The other six teams that will participate in the men’s tournament will be the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, the University of Northern Iowa Panthers, the Stanford University Cardinal, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Memphis Tigers.

Villanova will be going for the treble having won the tournament in 2013 and 2017. They took down Iowa in 2013 in overtime, 88-83, in the championship game. In 2017, they took down the University of Northern Iowa Panthers in the championship game, 64-50. The Wolverines won their men’s title in 2019, taking care of the Gonzaga University Bulldogs, 82-64, in the championship game.

 Home|Sports|Colts signs Strachan to practice squadSports

Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 31, 2023 15 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Bahamian professional American football player Michael Strachan was signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice roster yesterday, getting the deal signed before the noon deadline. This comes a day after the Colts cut the Grand Bahamian from their 53-man roster before the Tuesday 4 p.m. deadline.

The wide receiver was drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 National Football League (NFL) Draft by the Colts at the number 229 overall. He was never a staple in the Colts game plan and appeared in one of three Colts preseason games this year.

His appearance came in the first week of preseason against the Buffalo Bills. In that game, Strachan had one reception for 18 yards.

Strachan was one of 16 players to be named to the Colts practice squad. Being on the practice squad means that he still gets to practice with the team but does not play in games unless he is called up. He can still be signed to another team’s 53-man active roster. Strachan can also be called up to the Colts 53-man roster at any time.

Strachan suited up for 13 games last season but only had three receptions and 59 receiving yards. His best game came in a tied game against the Houston Texans in which he had two receptions for a total of 36 receiving yards with the longest being 20 yards. His third reception of the season came in a 24-0 loss by the Colts to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That catch was for 23 yards.

In his rookie season, Strachan started out promising, coming away with two receptions for 26 receiving yards in his debut against the Seattle Seahawks. His longest catch in that game was for 16 yards but the Colts lost, 28-16. He has 85 receiving yards and five receptions in his career and is still looking for his first receiving touchdown in the NFL.

Strachan was a standout receiver for the University of Charleston (UC) Golden Eagles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II before being drafted.

Strachan played in all 11 games for the Golden Eagles in 2019, his final season in college, totaling 19 touchdown receptions. He had 78 receptions for a total of 1,319 receiving yards. In his first three games that season, he had at least 145 receiving yards in each one. The speedster scored at least one touchdown in 10 of those 11 games that year and caught a touchdown in all 10 of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) games.

Those 19 touchdowns and 78 receptions were UC single-season records. The previous touchdown record was 13, which was set by Charlie Hubbard all the way back in 1950. The previous receptions record was 60, set by Terrance Spencer in 2006.

On October 12, 2019, Strachan set the Golden Eagles’ single-game record for most receiving yards with 207 against Notre Dame College.

 Home|Sports|BFA announces roster for CONCACAF Nations LeagueSports

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailAugust 31, 2023 15 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The Bahamas Football Association (BFA) has announced a 23-player roster for the upcoming CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Nations League match against Puerto Rico, September 9, at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

Team Bahamas Head Coach Nesly Jean has called up a blend of youth and experience to begin the Nations League campaign, and the BFA has ratified the squad. It features long-time national team players along with talented young stars looking to make their mark on the international stage.

“I’m excited about the balance of this roster,” said Jean. “Our veterans provide the leadership we need, while our emerging talents bring energy and fearlessness.”

Goalkeeper Antonio Beckford, defenders William Gardiner and Miguel Thompson, and striker Lesly St. Fleur are among the key veterans carrying over from The Bahamas’ qualifying run. They are joined by young standouts like midfielder Wood Julmis and forward Rashaan Bain who are expected to play increased roles.

After facing Puerto Rico at home, The Bahamas will travel to Guyana September 12, and that will be followed by a home game against Antigua & Barbuda on October 14, 2023. The CONCACAF Nations League provides important competition as the team aims to climb the FIFA (International Association Football Federation) rankings and compete for a place in the Gold Cup competition.

“The talent is there, and the team is driven to succeed,” Jean said. “We are eager to represent The Bahamas and continue our progress through the Nations League.”

The remaining players on the roster are: goalkeepers Cameron Pratt and Vance Wheaton, Christopher Rahming, Ricardo McPhee, William Evans, Brandon Adderley, Junior Kelly, Alexiou Cartwright, Nathan Neymour, Nathan Wells, Quinton Carey, Jaxon Bethel, Walter Sawyer, Michael Massey, William Bayles, Phieron Wilson and Nahum Johnson.

 Home|Sports|Roach happy with triathlon team’s performanceSports

BTA looking to improve for next year

Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 30, 2023 179 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The 5th CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon is in the books and the Bahamas Triathlon Association’s president, Dorian Roach was happy with Team Bahamas’ performance, which was the best The Bahamas ever did.

The championship was held at Goodman’s Bay in New Providence this past weekend.

“We performed the best we ever have,” Roach said. “We’re hoping that we got in the top three and we did. We got six medals. Our previous best was four medals. We got our first ever gold medal. We’re really happy about that. It’s definitely our best performance ever and we’re happy and we’re very proud of our team.”

The Bahamas was able to secure the third-place finish and secure one gold, three silver and two bronze. Barbados was the overall winner, while Bermuda was second.

Lauchlan Menzies made history by winning the first gold medal ever for Team Bahamas in the 11-12 boys triathlon. His older brother, Malcolm Menzies followed suit later, with a silver medal in the 13-15 boys triathlon. Ralph Wood Jr. won two silver medals in the 21-and-under division triathlon and aquathlon. Erin Pritchard won a bronze medal in the 16-19 girls triathlon, while Grace Farrington won bronze in the 16-19 girls aquathlon.

Triathlons and aquathlons have picked up some momentum in terms of attracting new athletes. Roach said the sporting events have been growing.

“We’ve been working over the many years as an association to build the program up. Each year, we get more and more kids. We try and improve our training. We try and improve the events that we have. We try to build on the clubs. We have two clubs now, so we’re trying to attract people to the sport and to take the sport more seriously as a full-time sport, rather than just something else that the kids do. We have a lot of swimmers that also do it. We have a lot of runners that also do it. We’re trying to encourage people to be full-time athletes and I think doing that will help us a lot.”

Roach said this year’s competition is a step in the right direction and he hopes to add some more depth to the older divisions.

“We need a little more depth in some of the age groups like our 16 to 21, or specifically 19 to 21. We only had one male and we had no females. We need to look on how do we retain the kids as they get older instead of them dropping out. How do we keep them in the sport longer is definitely something we need to look at. As for our coaching structure, we’d like to try and see if we can get a full-time national team coach, rather than just selecting a coach a couple of weeks before the event. I think that’ll help us too.”

The two strong portions for The Bahamas were the swimming and the cycling events. The running was not as strong as those portions, but Roach said they will look into making it stronger in the future.

“They are good runners, but obviously, there are better runners out there,” Roach said. “I think overall, that’s probably our weakest point – the run. We have some very strong swimmers. We have some strong bikers. Our running is, I think, as a team, for sure, our running is probably the least best that we have. We need to look at possibly doing some more track sessions, bringing in a track-specific coach to help us out with that.”

The 6th edition of the competition is set to be held in Barbados.

 Home|Sports|Charlton, Strachan to compete in ZürichSports

Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 30, 2023 92 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

BUDAPEST, Hungary – The 19th World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, might be over, but the season continues for a number of Bahamian elite athletes.

The start lists for the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League Meet at Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich, Switzerland, are out, and a couple Bahamians will be in action.

Fresh off her fourth place finish at the world championships, Devynne Charlton will be back in action, competing in the women’s 100 meters (m) hurdles, and looking to book a lane in the Diamond League Final, set for September 16-17 in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Once again, Charlton will be up against a stacked field.

In the race are World Champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica, world championships silver medalist and Olympic Champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, of Puerto Rico, world championships bronze medalist and former world record holder Kendra ‘Keni’ Harrison of the United States, world championships finalists Nia Ali of the United States and Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland and Americans Alaysha Johnson and Tia Jones.

The only other athlete in the field in Zürich this Thursday is Pia SkrzysZowska, of Poland.

It will be a tough race for Charlton as six of the ladies have run faster than her this season. She recently went on social media to express thanks and appreciation for the support she has received this season and to profess her love for country.

“I’m proud to wear these colors and proud to represent my country,” she said. “I’m proud of the series of rounds I put together – running three of my four fastest times ever this week, along with one of them being a new national record. Coming into the meet, I wasn’t even projected to make the final but by the end of the second round, I was in medal contention. I’m proud of the season I’ve had so far, and even though it was shaky at times, I remained focused on the bigger picture, stayed the course, and held the faith in the process. As always, I’m forever grateful to those around me who supported me through this season. It means the world.”

After Zürich, Charlton will likely line up in the Diamond League Final in Eugene.

The other Bahamian in action in Zürich this Thursday will be Anthonique Strachan in the women’s 200m. She will be joined by the second-fastest woman in history over that distance, and two-time World Champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica. Also in action in Zürich in the women’s 200m will be Daryll Neita, of Great Britain, and five Americans inclusive of world championships silver medalist Gabrielle Thomas, Twanisha Terry, Tamara Clark, Brittany Brown and Kayla White.

Strachan has a season’s best and personal best time of 22.15 seconds, but five of the other seven ladies in the race have run faster than her this year.

Like Charlton, she is vying to book her ticket for the Diamond League Final. Following Zürich, the inaugural Wanda Diamond League Xiamen will be the next Diamond League Meet on the calendar. That meet will be held at Egret Stadium in Xiamen, People’s Republic of China, on September 2.

The Allianz Memorial Van Damme Diamond League Meet will be held at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, on September 8, and the Diamond League Final, the Prefontaine Classic, will wrap up the Diamond League season at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, September 16-17.

 Home|Sports|Roach happy with triathlon team’s performanceSports

BTA looking to improve for next year

Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 30, 2023 178 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The 5th CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon is in the books and the Bahamas Triathlon Association’s president, Dorian Roach was happy with Team Bahamas’ performance, which was the best The Bahamas ever did.

The championship was held at Goodman’s Bay in New Providence this past weekend.

“We performed the best we ever have,” Roach said. “We’re hoping that we got in the top three and we did. We got six medals. Our previous best was four medals. We got our first ever gold medal. We’re really happy about that. It’s definitely our best performance ever and we’re happy and we’re very proud of our team.”

The Bahamas was able to secure the third-place finish and secure one gold, three silver and two bronze. Barbados was the overall winner, while Bermuda was second.

Lauchlan Menzies made history by winning the first gold medal ever for Team Bahamas in the 11-12 boys triathlon. His older brother, Malcolm Menzies followed suit later, with a silver medal in the 13-15 boys triathlon. Ralph Wood Jr. won two silver medals in the 21-and-under division triathlon and aquathlon. Erin Pritchard won a bronze medal in the 16-19 girls triathlon, while Grace Farrington won bronze in the 16-19 girls aquathlon.

Triathlons and aquathlons have picked up some momentum in terms of attracting new athletes. Roach said the sporting events have been growing.

“We’ve been working over the many years as an association to build the program up. Each year, we get more and more kids. We try and improve our training. We try and improve the events that we have. We try to build on the clubs. We have two clubs now, so we’re trying to attract people to the sport and to take the sport more seriously as a full-time sport, rather than just something else that the kids do. We have a lot of swimmers that also do it. We have a lot of runners that also do it. We’re trying to encourage people to be full-time athletes and I think doing that will help us a lot.”

Roach said this year’s competition is a step in the right direction and he hopes to add some more depth to the older divisions.

“We need a little more depth in some of the age groups like our 16 to 21, or specifically 19 to 21. We only had one male and we had no females. We need to look on how do we retain the kids as they get older instead of them dropping out. How do we keep them in the sport longer is definitely something we need to look at. As for our coaching structure, we’d like to try and see if we can get a full-time national team coach, rather than just selecting a coach a couple of weeks before the event. I think that’ll help us too.”

The two strong portions for The Bahamas were the swimming and the cycling events. The running was not as strong as those portions, but Roach said they will look into making it stronger in the future.

“They are good runners, but obviously, there are better runners out there,” Roach said. “I think overall, that’s probably our weakest point – the run. We have some very strong swimmers. We have some strong bikers. Our running is, I think, as a team, for sure, our running is probably the least best that we have. We need to look at possibly doing some more track sessions, bringing in a track-specific coach to help us out with that.”

The 6th edition of the competition is set to be held in Barbados.

 Home|Sports|Roach happy with triathlon team’s performanceSports

BTA looking to improve for next year

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Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 30, 2023 71 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The 5th CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon is in the books and the Bahamas Triathlon Association’s president, Dorian Roach was happy with Team Bahamas’ performance, which was the best The Bahamas ever did.

The championship was held at Goodman’s Bay in New Providence this past weekend.

“We performed the best we ever have,” Roach said. “We’re hoping that we got in the top three and we did. We got six medals. Our previous best was four medals. We got our first ever gold medal. We’re really happy about that. It’s definitely our best performance ever and we’re happy and we’re very proud of our team.”

The Bahamas was able to secure the third-place finish and secure one gold, three silver and two bronze. Barbados was the overall winner, while Bermuda was second.

Lauchlan Menzies made history by winning the first gold medal ever for Team Bahamas in the 11-12 boys triathlon. His older brother, Malcolm Menzies followed suit later, with a silver medal in the 13-15 boys triathlon. Ralph Wood Jr. won two silver medals in the 21-and-under division triathlon and aquathlon. Erin Pritchard won a bronze medal in the 16-19 girls triathlon, while Grace Farrington won bronze in the 16-19 girls aquathlon.

Triathlons and aquathlons have picked up some momentum in terms of attracting new athletes. Roach said the sporting events have been growing.

“We’ve been working over the many years as an association to build the program up. Each year, we get more and more kids. We try and improve our training. We try and improve the events that we have. We try to build on the clubs. We have two clubs now, so we’re trying to attract people to the sport and to take the sport more seriously as a full-time sport, rather than just something else that the kids do. We have a lot of swimmers that also do it. We have a lot of runners that also do it. We’re trying to encourage people to be full-time athletes and I think doing that will help us a lot.”

Roach said this year’s competition is a step in the right direction and he hopes to add some more depth to the older divisions.

“We need a little more depth in some of the age groups like our 16 to 21, or specifically 19 to 21. We only had one male and we had no females. We need to look on how do we retain the kids as they get older instead of them dropping out. How do we keep them in the sport longer is definitely something we need to look at. As for our coaching structure, we’d like to try and see if we can get a full-time national team coach, rather than just selecting a coach a couple of weeks before the event. I think that’ll help us too.”

The two strong portions for The Bahamas were the swimming and the cycling events. The running was not as strong as those portions, but Roach said they will look into making it stronger in the future.

“They are good runners, but obviously, there are better runners out there,” Roach said. “I think overall, that’s probably our weakest point – the run. We have some very strong swimmers. We have some strong bikers. Our running is, I think, as a team, for sure, our running is probably the least best that we have. We need to look at possibly doing some more track sessions, bringing in a track-specific coach to help us out with that.”

The 6th edition of the competition is set to be held in Barbados.

 Home|Sports|Jones, Liberty get the best of AcesSports

Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 30, 2023 10 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The WNBA season is winding down and Bahamian Jonquel “JJ” Jones and the New York Liberty looks to be tuning up as they picked up their fourth straight victory with a 94-85 victory against rival Las Vegas Aces on Monday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Jones had a quiet night on the offensive side of the ball coming away with just four points, but she made up for it by adding 10 rebounds, one steal and a block.

It was the fifth time the top two teams in the league faced each other this season with four being played in August. The win for Liberty meant that the two potential WNBA Finals team are tied at 2-2 in their regular season matchup. However, Liberty has won three of their five total meetings by coming away with a dominant 82-62 performance in the Commissioner’s Cup final earlier this month.

The win on Monday night also closes the gap that the league leading Aces (30-6) had over Liberty (28-7) to just 1.5 games. Liberty has been hot in their last 10 games having only lost just one game which was against the Aces. For the Aces, they are sputtering to the end of the season as they are 6-4 in their last 10 games. Liberty has four more games left on the season.

Jones had a tough night from the field going 1-for-8 in 18 minutes on the floor. She got into foul trouble early in the game coming away with two fouls in the first quarter. She was forced to only play six minutes in that opening period but was able to score Liberty’s first two points of the game. She ended the game with five fouls. As mentioned earlier she was able to pull in 10 rebounds – six on the offensive glass and four on the defensive glass.

Sabrina Ionescu led the way for Liberty with 25 points. Jackie Young came away with 24 points in the loss.

The game was a competitive one early after Liberty picked it up after the Aces went up 4-0 to start the game. At the end of the first quarter, Liberty was up 22-19 as the Aces stayed close.

That gap widened as Liberty got into a groove and tuned up their defense another notch as the Aces went cold in that quarter making 33.3 percent of their shots from the field. Liberty on the other hand made 58.8 percent of their shots as they found their sweet spot on the court. At the end of the second period, Liberty was up 47-35 as they outscored the Aces 25-16. That quarter was the game changer as they never trailed the Aces since the ending of the first quarter.

The third quarter was even as both teams scored 23 points. Liberty stopped any run that the Aces attempted. After going up 70-58 at the end of the third quarter, Liberty coasted to victory as they kept the lead and got the key victory over the Aces.

The Bahamian is averaging 11.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in her first season with Liberty. She is shooting 52.9 percent from the field while averaging 1.2 blocks per game in an average of 24.8 minutes on the floor.

Jones and Liberty will get back on the court on Friday, September 1 against Jones’ former club, Connecticut Sun (24-11) who sits in third place in the league. That game gets underway at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Liberty dubbed that night West Indian Night. It is the first ever one as they will celebrate the West Indian culture and community which is an integral part of Brooklyn, as Jones’ welcome the Sun to Brooklyn.

 Home|Sports|Charlton, Strachan to compete in ZürichSports

Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 30, 2023 26 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

BUDAPEST, Hungary – The 19th World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, might be over, but the season continues for a number of Bahamian elite athletes.

The start lists for the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League Meet at Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich, Switzerland, are out, and a couple Bahamians will be in action.

Fresh off her fourth place finish at the world championships, Devynne Charlton will be back in action, competing in the women’s 100 meters (m) hurdles, and looking to book a lane in the Diamond League Final, set for September 16-17 in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Once again, Charlton will be up against a stacked field.

In the race are World Champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica, world championships silver medalist and Olympic Champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, of Puerto Rico, world championships bronze medalist and former world record holder Kendra ‘Keni’ Harrison of the United States, world championships finalists Nia Ali of the United States and Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland and Americans Alaysha Johnson and Tia Jones.

The only other athlete in the field in Zürich this Thursday is Pia SkrzysZowska, of Poland.

It will be a tough race for Charlton as six of the ladies have run faster than her this season. She recently went on social media to express thanks and appreciation for the support she has received this season and to profess her love for country.

“I’m proud to wear these colors and proud to represent my country,” she said. “I’m proud of the series of rounds I put together – running three of my four fastest times ever this week, along with one of them being a new national record. Coming into the meet, I wasn’t even projected to make the final but by the end of the second round, I was in medal contention. I’m proud of the season I’ve had so far, and even though it was shaky at times, I remained focused on the bigger picture, stayed the course, and held the faith in the process. As always, I’m forever grateful to those around me who supported me through this season. It means the world.”

After Zürich, Charlton will likely line up in the Diamond League Final in Eugene.

The other Bahamian in action in Zürich this Thursday will be Anthonique Strachan in the women’s 200m. She will be joined by the second-fastest woman in history over that distance, and two-time World Champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica. Also in action in Zürich in the women’s 200m will be Daryll Neita, of Great Britain, and five Americans inclusive of world championships silver medalist Gabrielle Thomas, Twanisha Terry, Tamara Clark, Brittany Brown and Kayla White.

Strachan has a season’s best and personal best time of 22.15 seconds, but five of the other seven ladies in the race have run faster than her this year.

Like Charlton, she is vying to book her ticket for the Diamond League Final. Following Zürich, the inaugural Wanda Diamond League Xiamen will be the next Diamond League Meet on the calendar. That meet will be held at Egret Stadium in Xiamen, People’s Republic of China, on September 2.

The Allianz Memorial Van Damme Diamond League Meet will be held at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, on September 8, and the Diamond League Final, the Prefontaine Classic, will wrap up the Diamond League season at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, September 16-17.

As of Friday, September 18, 2020

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ROMELL KNOWLES, president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee.

#WITH the way the landscape of sports is shaping up around the world in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Bahamas Olympic Committee president Romell Knowles is calling for the formation of a commission to assist local student-athletes.

#When the BOC hosts their next board meting next week, Knowles is expected to introduce a proposal for the country’s top sporting organisation to provide $10,000 to assist with the administration of the commission, once it is formed.

#“I know how hard it is for athletes seeking scholarships, so what I seek to do is get a group of people, who can form this commission, who can reach out to schools and coaches in the various sports to ascertain what they are looking for and to build a rapport so that when they see an athlete who meets those criteria, we can get them off to school.”

#While the bulk of the athletes presently attaining athletic scholarships are in track and field, Knowles said there are a number of other sporting disciplines that are offering scholarships, but the Bahamian student-athletes just don’t know how to secure them.

#And with a number of persons with knowledge on how to assist in such a venture, Knowles said it won’t be easy assembling a panel to head the commission.

#“We have persons who worked in the educational field in sports, persons who have ties to colleges overseas or the coaches overseas, so they will be responsible for setting up a criteria locally,” Knowles said.

#“We want the commission to even reach out to the Director of the University of the Bahamas and find out what are the criteria she is looking for to get student-athletes to stay at home.”

#By the time the students reach grade 12, Knowles said the commission would be in place to assist them in securing these athletic scholarships, whether home or abroad, and see if they are in a position to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.

#Without having done any fact finding costs to establish a commission of this kind, Knowles said he’s willing to propose to the BOC board that they inject some $10,000 to assist with the administrative costs.

#“We have no idea what we are venturing in other than we are trying to fill a void and a gap,” Knowles stated.

#“So for administrative costs, we want to budget about $10,000 for phone calls, sending emails, whatever the administrative cost is.”

#If approved, Knowles said the BOC could even utilise some of its office space for the administration of the commission, which will have one or two executives of the BOA on the board.

#“We will make appointments for the chairman and co-chairman and then we will tell them what it is that we seek for them to do and then we will go from there,” “Knowles said.

#Hopefully the commission will be set up before the end of the year so that they can start the process of contacting the various colleges and universities to get the system set up before the new school year in August, 2021.

#At present, Olympic triple jump bronze medallist Frank Rutherford runs a successful programme in Houston, Texas, that assists Bahamian athletes in the United States particularly in track and field, basketball and football.

#In addition, professional basketball player Juraun ‘Kino’ Burrows, still playing in France, now operates a Raw Talent programme that assists basketball players in getting to Europe.

#Additionally, former basketball player/coach Kermit Romer, based in New York, has and continues to assist countless numbers of local athletes to get into schools throughout the USA.