BECOMES THE FIRST BAHAMIAN JUNIOR RIDER TO QUALIFY FOR FEI NORTH AMERICAN YOUTH JUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPS

KACY Lyn Smith and Chicago M in action at the Upperville Horse Show in Middleburg, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Maddie Valenzuela

As of Tuesday, June 21, 2022

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KACY Lyn Smith and Chicago M in action at the Upperville Horse Show in Middleburg, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Maddie Valenzuela

#KACY Lyn Smith and her horse Chicago M rode a double clear round at Loudoun County, Virginia, this weekend and, in doing so, made history as the first Bahamian junior rider to qualify for the FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships.

#The event is set to be held at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival in Traverse City, Michigan, in August.

#The prestigious FEI Youth Jumping Championships provides an exciting opportunity for young equestrians to compete against their peers, mirroring the format of senior championships such as the Olympic Games.

#Team and individual competitions in each age category are held over multiple days.

#Sixteen-year-old Smith, who lives in Virginia and trains with Kama Godek of Capital Area Premium Sporthorses, will compete for The Bahamas as an individual in the Pre-Junior Championship category.

#This category is for riders 14-16 years old and features courses at fence heights of 1.30 metres.

#Qualifying for the championships wasn’t even on Smith’s radar a month ago. When discussing qualification scenarios with federation officials back in mid-May, Smith was honest – it might not be an option.

#Qualification deadlines were fast approaching, but she had just started riding a new horse (Chicago M, a 17.1 hh, 12-year-old Holsteiner recently imported from Germany). As a team, they were just getting to know one another.

#“I’d only jumped him for the first time three days before,” said Smith. “I [was] still figuring him out.”

#Yet Smith and her trainer Kama Godek believed it could be done. They began campaigning to immediate success. After clear rounds at 1.15m, 1.20m and 1.25m at Swan Lake, the pair travelled to the prestigious Upperville Horse Show in Middleburg, VA. The weekend started inauspiciously when Smith suffered a fall: “He jumps extremely athletically and tends to jump me out of the tack,” she noted.

#Luckily neither horse nor rider were hurt, and the pair finished the weekend strong, going double clear and placing 9th in a competitive field in the $2,500 1.25m Classic. At that moment Smith and her trainer made the decision to move up to the 1.30m class at Loudoun. It was the right decision. Smith and Chicago jumped double clear, finishing 5th overall, winning a share of the prize money…and securing the coveted certificate of capability for qualification to the FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships.

#As the lone rider representing The Bahamas, Smith will ride in the Pre- Children’s Championship as an individual competitor. The prospect leaves her unfazed, declaring, “I will be proud to be the singular rider representing The Bahamas.”…

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jun/21/equestrian-kacy-lyn-smith-makes-history/?news

Sports

Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 20, 2022 208 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The Bahamas’ under-15 (U15) boys junior national team emphatically lost two games over the weekend, playing at the FIBA Americas U15 Centrobasket Championships at the Coliseo Fernando ‘Rube’ Hernandez in Gurabo, Puerto Rico.

The Bahamas was scheduled to play Guyana on Saturday, but ended up facing the host nation Puerto Rico and lost drastically, 107-42. On Sunday, they fell to Mexico, 99-49.

The competition, which was set to feature eight teams from the Caribbean and Central America, ended up with just six teams. Guyana and Panama pulled out days before. It forced organizers to make one group for the competition. The remaining teams other than The Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Mexico are the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Costa Rica. The Bahamas will play the Dominican Republic at 3 p.m. today.

In the game against Puerto Rico, Joshua Williams led The

Bahamas in scoring with 10 points in 21 minutes on the floor. He shot 4-for-13 from the field including 2-for-4 from deep.

It was not the start that head coach Quentin Hall and his coaching staff had hoped for. Williams scored the first basket of the game to put The Bahamas up 2-0 with 9.02 left in the first quarter, but Puerto Rico then put on a show for their fans with a 24-2 scoring run and never looked back.

It turned out that 2-0 lead was the only lead for The Bahamas in the game. Desmond Hall stopped the run with a layup, but the first quarter ended with the host nation leading 36-6.

In the second quarter, the Bahamian teenagers started playing with more fight in them but Puerto Rico was too much for them. The Bahamas scored 17 points in that quarter but Puerto Rico scored 31 to take a commanding 67-21 lead at the intermission.

The game was a foregone conclusion at the half as Puerto Rico was already ahead by 46 points. Puerto Rico was held to 15 points in the third quarter but The Bahamas countered with just 11 points.

Puerto Rico’s Felipe Garcia led all scorers with 19 points. Puerto Rico’s largest lead of the game was 65 points which turned out to be the final margin of victory.

The Bahamas shot the ball poorly, making just 26.9 percent of their shots from the field. Puerto Rico knocked down 45.8 percent of their shots from the field. It was a sloppy game from The Bahamas as the host country stole the ball 31 times, coming away with 53 points off turnovers.

Against Mexico, Noah Bain paced The Bahamas with 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Michael Munnings added nine on 4-for-9 shooting and Bradleon McDonald contributed eight points on 4-for-5 shooting.

Karim Lopez led Mexico with a game-high 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Angel Escarcega added 17 on 6-for-9 shooting and Augusto Carriedo contributed 13 points on 3-for-6 shooting.

The FIBA (International Basketball Federation)-sanctioned tournament is set to end on Wednesday.

Sports

They won six out of the seven divisions that were up for grabs

Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 20, 2022 208 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The rain came down and prematurely ended the Bahamas Baseball Association’s (BBA) National Championships on Sunday but, fortunately, the final division that was in action, the 12-and-under (12U), had just completed the third inning of the gold medal which made the game official. The Freedom Farm Baseball League won, bagging its sixth division title with a 9-0 victory over the Grand Bahama Little League.

The competition that got underway on Friday, wrapped up with ‘Championship Sunday’ yesterday at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

Freedom Farm 12U team was dominant throughout the entire tournament, winning all four of its games. With the rain threatening to interrupt the game, Coach Marlon Bostwick set his team up to play a full three innings. By the third inning, they had a 7-0 lead, and added two more runs for the final result. Bostwick said he was hoping the rain didn’t come and they would have played out the full game.

“With the game not going to the full innings, we had some sort of doubt. We wanted to come out here, executed the game plan and leave with a ‘Mercy Rule’ victory to show our dominance,” Bostwick said. “Against Grand Bahama, the game was well-executed. We did not give up any runs. We had stellar hitting and pitching in our line-up and we came out victorious even though it did not go the full distance.”

One of the loudest and most watched games of the day was the 16U game between Freedom Farm and the Junior Baseball League of Nassau (JBLN). This game was dominated by JBLN as they won 10-6. JBLN coach Warren Levarity Jr. said whenever these two teams face each other, there will be a lot of fireworks.

“Our job was to stay composed and come out and execute our plan. We did that in the beginning and fizzled in the end as we tried to hold on. We know that they are a good team and organization, so we expected them to come back. We got the lead early and we held them off,” he said.

JBLN led 8-0 and 9-1 in the game, but had to hold off a late comeback by Freedom Farm.

JBLN pitcher Ahmon Smith went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored three runs in the victory. As a team, JBLN got six hits in the first two innings which produced eight runs – four per inning.

Freedom Farm did not get on the scoreboard until the fourth inning. They scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but they could not keep the runs coming as the game ended 10-6.

The JBLN team avenged their earlier 2-0 loss to Freedom Farm who left the group stage with a 3-0 win/loss record.

It was a perfect run for Freedom Farm’s 10U team as they pulled off a 7-2 victory over JBLN in the gold medal game. They came into the championship game with a 4-0 record in the tournament, and allowed just two hits in the championship game in 19 at-bats. Freedom Farm had nine hits.

Freedom Farm 10U team coach William Seymour was confident that his team would prevail.

“We knew as a team, from early on in the tournament, that we were going to be victorious and win the championship. We felt that the level of competition in the group – our guys play above their level. We were sure of the victory. In preparing the guys for this tournament, we were second to none. They worked hard and deserved the victory,” Seymour said.

Freedom Farm came out on top with three wins in what turned out to be a best-of-five series against JBLN in the 18U division. In the final game, Freedom Farm won 10-2.

It was a dominating run by the Freedom Farm 14U team as they scored 22 runs and gave up just two runs in the group stage. They took down JBLN 13-0 in the gold medal game to secure the national title in that division. To get there, they took down the Abaco Youth Baseball League, 7-0, in the semifinals.

The 8U division (Coach Pitch) was won by Freedom Farm. They won 19-1 over JBLN in the gold medal game to cart off that trophy. They were unbeaten in group play with a 3-0 record and did not concede a run until the championship game. They scored 56 runs in the group stage.

In the 6U division (Tee Ball), Freedom Farm won a best-of-three series 2-0 over the Legacy Baseball League out of Grand Bahama. In the first game, Freedom Farm won 28-5. In the second game, Legacy put up a fight but Freedom Farm won 18-5.

The different local leagues will now look to travel to the United States for various tournaments in the summer as coaches look to give them more exposure and experience.

BAHAMASGROUP A

• OVERVIEW
• PROFILE
• ROSTER
• GAMES AND RESULTS
• ROSTERHEIGHTTEAMBIRTH
  • #1AidenMILLER
  
  08/02/2007
  15
  • #2MichaelMUNNINGS
  
  27/08/2008
  13
  • #3TrevonCLARKE
  
  20/09/2007
  14
  • #5DesmondHALL
  
  19/09/2007
  14
  • #6CondaeSMITH
  
  19/12/2007
  14
  • #7JustinHANNA
  
  15/01/2007
  15
  • #10NoahBAIN
  
  21/05/2008
  14
  • #11RomialSTRACHAN JR
  
  03/08/2007
  14
  • #12JoshuaWILLIAMS
  
  25/03/2008
  14
  • #13KenyonJOHNSON
  
  14/09/2007
  14
  • #14ChristopherBROWN
  
  08/01/2008
  14
  • #15BradleonMCDONALD
  
  07/02/2007
  15Average height:-
  -Average age:14
  years old

#https://www.fiba.basketball/centrobasket/u15/2022/team/Bahamas#tab=roster

They won six out of the seven divisions that were up for grabs

Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 20, 2022 208 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The rain came down and prematurely ended the Bahamas Baseball Association’s (BBA) National Championships on Sunday but, fortunately, the final division that was in action, the 12-and-under (12U), had just completed the third inning of the gold medal which made the game official. The Freedom Farm Baseball League won, bagging its sixth division title with a 9-0 victory over the Grand Bahama Little League.

The competition that got underway on Friday, wrapped up with ‘Championship Sunday’ yesterday at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

Freedom Farm 12U team was dominant throughout the entire tournament, winning all four of its games. With the rain threatening to interrupt the game, Coach Marlon Bostwick set his team up to play a full three innings. By the third inning, they had a 7-0 lead, and added two more runs for the final result. Bostwick said he was hoping the rain didn’t come and they would have played out the full game.

“With the game not going to the full innings, we had some sort of doubt. We wanted to come out here, executed the game plan and leave with a ‘Mercy Rule’ victory to show our dominance,” Bostwick said. “Against Grand Bahama, the game was well-executed. We did not give up any runs. We had stellar hitting and pitching in our line-up and we came out victorious even though it did not go the full distance.”

One of the loudest and most watched games of the day was the 16U game between Freedom Farm and the Junior Baseball League of Nassau (JBLN). This game was dominated by JBLN as they won 10-6. JBLN coach Warren Levarity Jr. said whenever these two teams face each other, there will be a lot of fireworks.

“Our job was to stay composed and come out and execute our plan. We did that in the beginning and fizzled in the end as we tried to hold on. We know that they are a good team and organization, so we expected them to come back. We got the lead early and we held them off,” he said.

JBLN led 8-0 and 9-1 in the game, but had to hold off a late comeback by Freedom Farm.

JBLN pitcher Ahmon Smith went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored three runs in the victory. As a team, JBLN got six hits in the first two innings which produced eight runs – four per inning.

Freedom Farm did not get on the scoreboard until the fourth inning. They scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but they could not keep the runs coming as the game ended 10-6.

The JBLN team avenged their earlier 2-0 loss to Freedom Farm who left the group stage with a 3-0 win/loss record.

It was a perfect run for Freedom Farm’s 10U team as they pulled off a 7-2 victory over JBLN in the gold medal game. They came into the championship game with a 4-0 record in the tournament, and allowed just two hits in the championship game in 19 at-bats. Freedom Farm had nine hits.

Freedom Farm 10U team coach William Seymour was confident that his team would prevail.

“We knew as a team, from early on in the tournament, that we were going to be victorious and win the championship. We felt that the level of competition in the group – our guys play above their level. We were sure of the victory. In preparing the guys for this tournament, we were second to none. They worked hard and deserved the victory,” Seymour said.

Freedom Farm came out on top with three wins in what turned out to be a best-of-five series against JBLN in the 18U division. In the final game, Freedom Farm won 10-2.

It was a dominating run by the Freedom Farm 14U team as they scored 22 runs and gave up just two runs in the group stage. They took down JBLN 13-0 in the gold medal game to secure the national title in that division. To get there, they took down the Abaco Youth Baseball League, 7-0, in the semifinals.

The 8U division (Coach Pitch) was won by Freedom Farm. They won 19-1 over JBLN in the gold medal game to cart off that trophy. They were unbeaten in group play with a 3-0 record and did not concede a run until the championship game. They scored 56 runs in the group stage.

In the 6U division (Tee Ball), Freedom Farm won a best-of-three series 2-0 over the Legacy Baseball League out of Grand Bahama. In the first game, Freedom Farm won 28-5. In the second game, Legacy put up a fight but Freedom Farm won 18-5.

The different local leagues will now look to travel to the United States for various tournaments in the summer as coaches look to give them more exposure and experience.

https://thenassauguardian.com/freedom-farm-dominates-baseball-nationals/

Training is expected to intensify leading up to the international event

Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 17, 2022 316 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Local junior rowers have been putting in the work on Lake Cunningham as they prepare for competition at the 2022 CanAmMex International Regatta to be held on Fanshawe Lake in London, Ontario, Canada. It is set for July 11-12.

The Bahamas’ participation in the regatta is via a collaboration of two clubs – the Nassau Rowing Club (NRC) and the Windsor Rowing Club (WRC). An 11-member team includes Jessica Proffitt, Poppy Proffitt, Breanna Gayle, Crachante Laing, Kenneth Hart, Kameron Taylor, Matthias Simms, Isaiah Ellis, William Watson, Harrison Schindel and the spare is Tasneem Karabas. They will be competing in four different races – the women’s quadruple sculls, the men’s quadruple sculls, the women’s double sculls and the men’s double sculls.

The head coach of the team is Canadian Olympian Andrea Proske. The team manager and assistant coach is Beatrise Bethel. WRC coach, Olympian Rob Gibson, is also supporting the team. 

CanAmMex is one of the biggest junior rowing national team events that has Canada, the United States of America and Mexico rowing against each other. It usually encompasses junior rowers who narrowly missed the world championships. This year, The Bahamas got an invitation to compete – the first time a fourth country was invited in its 15-plus years of competition.

Proske, 2020 Olympic Champion in the women’s eights for Canada, said now that school is closed for the summer, they will take training up a notch as they gear up for preparation camp.

“The training has been harder than anything that these athletes have ever done,” Proske said. “Up until now, they have fitted training around school, so it meant a lot of time not spent doing other things. The athletes are stepping up and gaining fitness that they have never had before. They are doing distance and speed that they have never had before.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for them because not only do they get an opportunity to represent The Bahamas internationally, for many of them this will be the biggest regatta they have ever been to. This is also a great stepping stone for those who want to go off for school.”

Collegiate scouts are expected to be in attendance. The rowers will get an opportunity to leave not only with medals but with new friendships as well.

President of NRC Kyle Chea said that he hopes the regatta helps the rowers develop their passion for the sport.

“The regatta has presented an incredible opportunity for rowers across New Providence to come together to represent the country through athletic excellence. We hope that this opportunity lights a fire in our athletes to start their own Olympic journey to represent The Bahamas at more competitive regattas in the future,” Chea said.

Proske believes in the rowers and believes that if they achieve their personal best they will return home with some hardware.

“I expect the athletes to be very clear about what our definition of success is. The definition of success is to cross the finish line knowing that we turned over every stone and that we had a personal best. I do believe that these rowers’ personal best will be enough to land us among the top two spots,” Proske said.

The team is sponsored by King’s College, Marlin Capital Partners, Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty, Isles of Knight, Agriculture and Energy Carriers, the New Providence Development Company and Biosteel.

https://thenassauguardian.com/junior-rowers-prepare-for-canammex-regatta/

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailJune 17, 2022 250 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

After seeing their four-game win streak snapped last Friday against the Chicago Sky, the Connecticut Sun scored a season-high 105 points in hopes of starting another winning streak on Wednesday. Bahamian Jonquel ‘JJ’ Jones dropped in 15 points to help her team take down the Atlanta Dream, 105-92, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Jones almost got a double-double as she was able to grab nine boards. Her 15 points came after she was held to a season-low seven points against the Sky despite grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds.

The win kept the Sun in second place in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Standings with an 11-4 win/loss record. They sit one and a half games behind the league-leading Las Vegas Aces who are 12-2 on the season.

The Sun shot 14-for-26 from distance, shooting 53.8 percent, and it was tough for the Dream to overcome that.

Grand Bahama native Jones shot 6-for-13 from the field. She was able to knock down three shots from deep in five attempts. The center dished out two assists and swatted two shots away. She scored at least 15 points for the eighth time this season.

The Sun came out the gate playing strong as they went up 17-11 after the first five minutes of the game. Jones’ first bucket came at the 8:42 mark when she made a layup. Her next two made shots came from deep. The last one came with 3:09 left in the first quarter to put her team up 25-14.

At the end of the first quarter, the Sun led comfortably, 31-22.

The lead grew even more in the second quarter as the Sun kept dominating the Dream. Jones did not get on the scoreboard in that quarter, but her teammates helped the Sun extend their lead with a 27-19 second quarter advantage. At the half, the Sun led 58-41.

Sun’s Head Coach Curt Miller kept his starters in the game for much of the third quarter. The Bahamian scored seven points in that quarter before taking the night off with 3:30 left in the third. The Sun outscored the Dream in that quarter 25-17 to go into the fourth quarter with an insurmountable 83-56 lead.

The Sun shot the ball at a blistering 51.9 percent clip for the game while holding the Dream to 46.1 percent from the field.

In the 15 games she has played in, Jones is averaging 15 points per game while grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game. Both are down from her Most Valuable Player (MVP) season numbers in 2021 but her team is winning. She is averaging 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. She has been more efficient from the field, from deep and at the charity stripe to start the season. Jones is shooting 53 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from deep and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.

The Sun will return to action tonight when they host the Seattle Storm at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The fourth-placed Storm, according to the standings, will bring its 9-4 record to Uncasville, Connecticut, for a 7 p.m. tip-off against the Sun.

https://thenassauguardian.com/jones-flirts-with-double-double-as-sun-wins/

Sports

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailJune 17, 2022 272 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) recently announced its coaching staff for junior boys and girls teams representing The Bahamas this summer in international play.

The boys will be playing at the Centrobasket Under-15 (U15) Boys Championship in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, June 18-22, 2022. They will be playing at the Fernando ‘Rube’ Hernandez Coliseum.

The head coach for that team is Quentin Hall. He will be assisted by Kevin Clarke and Denykco Bowles. The team manager is Delva Francis. George Burrows is the team doctor. The director of basketball operations is Latoya Silver. Rounding out the staff is Stephen Brown as the head of delegation.

“As a federation we are extremely proud of the hard work and commitment of our coaching staff who sacrifice their time and lend their expertise to support our various teams,” expressed BBF President Eugene Horton.

The girls will be playing at the Centrobasket Under-15 (U15) Girls Championship, also set for Gurabo, Puerto Rico, from June 26-30, 2022.

The Head Coach is Varel Davis. Assisting her on the bench will be Anton Francis and Shakira Farrington. Taronya Wildgoose is the team manager. The athletic trainer is Sasha Johnson. Silver is the director of basketball operations and is also the head of delegation.

Horton spoke about the benefits of the sport of basketball.

“We believe that the game of basketball connects people and builds community while changing the lives of talented men and women who deserve exposure on international courts,” Horton said.

The boys are set to open play tomorrow at 5:45 p.m. against Guyana.

https://thenassauguardian.com/bbf-announces-junior-boys-and-girls-coaching-staff/

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailJune 17, 2022 351 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Over 80 golfers are expected to compete at the Bahamas National Amateur Golf Championships next week.

Once again, RF Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Limited (RF) will be the title sponsor of the event, partnering with the Bahamas Golf Federation (BGF). The winners will go on to represent The Bahamas on national teams.

“RF has a long standing commitment to the BGF as the official governing body for golf in The Bahamas,” noted RF Area Vice President of Operations Jackie Cleare. “Golf, like many individual sports, not only helps develop mental toughness, and strengthens problem-solving abilities, but playing in tournaments such as this provides youth players with an opportunity to travel if they win and gain international exposure.”

The championships will encompass both junior and senior players for a four-day tournament across the Ocean Club, Lyford Cay, Albany and Royal Blue golf courses. The tournament is scheduled for June 20-23, 2022.

“We’re looking forward to four days of good sportsmanship and hopefully clear skies,” commented BGF President Lynford Miller. “The BGF is grateful for our corporate sponsors, such as RF, without whom we couldn’t participate in the international tournaments and would struggle to support our local talented golfers.”

Registration for the nationals will begin at 8 a.m. at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Monday. Players will have staggered tee times. For more information on the golf nationals, interested persons are asked to please visit the BGF website at bahamasgolffederation.com.

https://thenassauguardian.com/rf-bank-trust-returns-as-golf-nationals-title-sponsor/

Sports

Oaktree comes on board as title sponsor; Fidelity to be gold partner

Sheldon LongleySend an emailJune 16, 2022 306 4 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

With the advent of a youth component at the nationals for the first time, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) is set to stage its largest athletics national championships ever, taking place in nine days’ time at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

The 2022 BAAA National Youth, Junior and Senior Championships, under the title sponsorship of Oaktree Medical Center, will be held June 24 and 25 at the national stadium. A relay carnival, giving Bahamian relay teams, and other teams from around the region, an opportunity to qualify for the World Athletics (WA) Outdoor Championships, will take place the following day.

The BAAA nationals get underway at 9 a.m. on the two days of the meet, and the relay carnival is set to start at 2 p.m. that Sunday.

Close to 600 athletes, Bahamians and visitors are expected to compete during the weekend.

The BAAA welcomed two sponsors during the official launch of the event yesterday – title sponsor Oaktree Medical and gold partner Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Ltd.

“We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to the greatest show on Earth, June 24-26,” said BAAA President Drumeco Archer. “This is an event for the entire family – a family reunion. We welcome our international guests who will compete with a view of qualifying for the word championships and, for the first time, we have included a youth component to our national program, thereby giving recognition to our growing sprouts who will one day become the face of athletics in The Bahamas. We have gone three years with not having the primary schools track and field championships, so we recognized that it was imperative for us to provide a replacement to ensure the protection of our program and the advancement of the youth. We will have the same focus in staging a nationwide talent search and athlete development program in advance of the CARIFTA Games on our home soil next year. We have to think along the lines of being in tune with the long-term sustainable goals of the federation and, with that in mind, we have to encompass the youth.”

As for the elite athletes, Archer said that it’s imperative that they compete. It’s mandatory for national team selection – particularly for the world championships and the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Championships this summer.

The world championships is set for July 15-24 in what is known as Track Town, USA – Eugene, Oregon in the United States. The fourth edition of the NACAC Championships is set for August 19-21 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

“The senior athletes always say they look forward to enjoying the support of the Bahamian fans and, once again, we have an opportunity to not just see our heroes, who we usually see just on television, in living color, at our nationals, but we also feel that we are stronger than ever,” said Archer. “We’re more talented than we have ever been and that is with the collective effort of the athletes, coaches, fans, the government of The Bahamas, corporate partners and all of the stakeholders in making our success a reality.

“We thank our title partner Oaktree Medical for coming on board with us, and we are equally thankful for our gold partner Fidelity which is a new and prolific partner demonstrating their commitment to our sport. It is this kind of support that bolsters the success of our federation and we are firmly in the position that this year’s nationals will be extra special because of it.”

Oaktree Medical Center Medical Director Dr. Don Deveaux said it was an honor and pleasure for them to come on board and be in partnership with the BAAA in the staging of the nationals. The title sponsorship of the event covers $25,000.

“We are a community and, when we see these events being hosted, we search out opportunities to be involved,” said Deveaux. “We have to give back, and it’s in the spirit of giving back that drives everything we do. We are a small nation with big people problems and if we could just come together as a community and show unity, we could go a long way. We want to be supportive as best as possible.”

Fidelity Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gowon Bowe said on their end, it is very heartening to be a part of something that is positive.

“It starts in our schools and with our athletic ability. We don’t often enough emphasize the positive elements, even though we would be pulling for one athlete over the next but, ultimately, we all want Bahamian talent to go on to the world stage and excel. At Fidelity, we know that we are only as good as those persons around us and how we help them build. This is a new element for us as it relates to athletics, and for us, it’s an exciting time – to watch talent evolve and show support. We are a nation of 400,000 people who have won the Olympics time and time again on a per capita basis. If we could be a part of something that contributes toward that, we embrace it. In that respect, whenever there is an opportunity to support an event as a sponsor, we are going to be involved in youth development, ensuring that those elements that are good for us as a country are those elements that we are behind. So, we welcome the partnership and we look forward to being a part of athletic elements in the future.”

The registration deadline for the meet is this Friday at 9 p.m.

One of the meet organizers, who also serves as special events coordinator of the BAAA, Laura Pratt-Charlton, said they are anticipating that all of The Bahamas’ elite athletes will be in action. The meet is open to spectators.

“We are asking the public to come out and show their support for the athletes,” she said. “All of the elite athletes are expected to be here and they are going to put on a show. It’s going to be a family affair. There is going to be a kids corner, there will be giveaways and the kids will have an opportunity to have autograph sessions with the athletes. Also, a number of international athletes are registered, looking for an opportunity to qualify for the world championships. For the relay carnival on Sunday, that will get underway at 2 p.m. and it will feature Bahamian and international teams, and also members of corporate Bahamas, civil groups, law enforcement, the media and anyone who wants to take part. It’s going to be a festive time for all.”

So far, international athletes from Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands have registered to take part.

Once again, the meet will get underway at 9 a.m. on Friday and again at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The evening session for both days will start at 5 p.m. The relay carnival will start at 2 p.m. that Sunday.

https://thenassauguardian.com/baaa-launches-national-championships/