Home|Sports|The Bahamas loses to Cuba and the DRSports

Sheldon LongleySend an emailJuly 15, 2022 295 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Team Bahamas suffered its second straight lopsided loss to start the 2022 FIBA ​​Americas Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Women’s Championship, losing to the Dominican Republic (DR), 73-50, at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum in Havana, Cuba, yesterday.

On Wednesday, The Bahamas fell 76-44 to the host country.

The Bahamas trailed by double digits early and never recovered against Cuba and led for just the opening minute of the game against the DR. Still, The Bahamas has a realistic shot of advancing to the FIBA Americas Women’s Centrobasket Championship in November, as the top three teams from the CBC tournament qualify, and only four teams are entered.

The Bahamas will play the only other team in the field, Jamaica, at 3:30 p.m. today as Guyana pulled out. The semifinals will be played on Saturday, and the championship and third-place game are set for Sunday.

In the game against the DR, The Bahamas scored first, but after the DR took a 3-2 lead on a three-point shot in the second minute of the game, they never looked back. They went on to lead 16-11 after the first quarter and 36-21 at the half. The DR really blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring The Bahamas 22-8 in that frame and taking a 58-29 lead heading into the fourth and final period. The DR led by as many as 31 points in the fourth, coasting to the easy win.

Point guard Valerie Nesbitt paced The Bahamas with a game-high 20 points on 9-for-18 shooting. She added seven assists, six rebounds and six steals but also had a game-high seven turnovers. Denika Lightbourne, just 17, was the only other player in double figures for The Bahamas, scoring 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field.

Genesis Evangelista led a balanced scoring attack by the DR with 11 points and added six assists and four rebounds. Sugeiry Monsac had 10, Cesarina Capellan scored nine and Yenifer Jimenez dropped in eight.

The DR shot 44.4 percent from the field (28-for-63), compared to just 31.8 percent for The Bahamas (21-for-66). Also, the DR more than doubled up The Bahamas in the assists category, 21-10, and outrebounded The Bahamas, 51-42.

Against Cuba, Lightbourne led The Bahamas with 17 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field. Nesbitt was the only other player in double figures for them, contributing 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting. Nahomis Vargas led Cuba with 15 points. Isabela Jourdain added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Yamara Amargo contributed 11 points and six rebounds.

The Bahamas shot just 24.5 percent from the field in that game, making 13 of 53 shots. Cuba shot 37.2 percent from the field, sinking 29 of 78 shots. They had 25 more shot attempts than The Bahamas.

As mentioned, The Bahamas plays Jamaica at 3:30 p.m. today.

Team Bahamas is coached by Donillo ‘Donny’ Culmer and he is assisted by Devon Johnson and Diasti Delancey. The five-day tournament is sanctioned by FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and will wrap up on Sunday.

The top three teams will qualify for the FIBA Americas Women’s Centrobasket Championship in November – a tournament that produced a sixth place finish for The Bahamas in 2018.

https://thenassauguardian.com/the-bahamas-loses-to-cuba-and-the-dr/

 Home|Sports|Worlds start today without StevieSports

Thomas opens competition for Team Bahamas; Miller-Uibo still strong contender for gold

Sheldon LongleySend an emailJuly 15, 2022 461 4 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Team Bahamas will be missing a huge piece, but there is still ultimate optimism for the now 16-member team that will begin competition today in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

The 18th World Athletics (WA) Outdoor Championships will get underway today and run through July 24 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene. World and Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner pulled out of the men’s 400 meters (m) on Monday. He was a strong contender for the gold medal, but medal hopes remain for Team Bahamas, particularly in the women’s 400m.

Two-time Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo will contest the women’s 400m, still looking for her first world title outdoors. By her standards, she has had a subdued 2022 season, but still won the world indoor title this year and remains the most feared runner outdoors. Miller-Uibo has a modest season’s best time of 49.91 seconds in the 400m outdoors – good enough to place her third on the World Athletics’ top performance list for 2022. However, she is the only woman in the field of competitors to run under 49 seconds and is the favorite for the gold medal. Miller-Uibo’s lifetime best of 48.36 seconds, done for the Olympic title in Tokyo, Japan, last year, is nearly a second faster than anyone else in the field of 51 athletes at the Eugene World Championships.

She suffered her first Diamond League defeat in the women’s 400m since 2015 in May of this year, fading to third in 51.84 seconds in Doha, Qatar, but bounced back a month later at the Paris Diamond League Meet, winning comfortably in 50.10 seconds.

“At this stage, I’m quite confident about my chances to succeed in Eugene,” Miller-Uibo told reporters. “I’m healthy, everything is going great at training. I’m exactly in the shape I wanted to be at this time of the season.”

Miller-Uibo could run a leg of the mixed 4x400m relay that starts today, but likely won’t step on the track until the heats of the women’s 400m at midday on Sunday.

The first athlete to see action for The Bahamas will be former World Champion Donald Thomas in the men’s high jump. He is now 15 years removed from that world title in Osaka, Japan, but is the only world outdoor champion on the team.

Thomas, who has a lifetime best of 2.37m (7’ 9-1/4”) and a modest season’s best of 2.25m (7’ 4-1/2”), will be the third jumper in Group B of the men’s high jump qualification round. He will compete at 10:10 a.m. today local time in Eugene, 1:10 p.m. here in The Bahamas.

An automatic qualifying mark of 2.30m (7’ 6-1/2”) or a spot among the 12 best jumpers will qualify Thomas for the final which is set for Monday evening at 8:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in The Bahamas. There are 32 jumpers entered in the men’s high jump competition.

Also in action for The Bahamas today will be the mixed 4x400m relay team, LaQuan Nairn in the qualifying round of the men’s high jump and Samson Colebrooke and Terrence Jones in the first round heats of the men’s 100m.

The mixed relay team will see action at 11:56 a.m. in Eugene, 2:56 p.m. here in The Bahamas. They will run out of heat six in lane two. In the relay pool for The Bahamas are Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan, Megan Moss, Doneisha Anderson, Javonya Valcourt, Jenae Ambrose, Alonzo Russell, Bradley Dormeus and Wanya McCoy.

The first three teams in each semifinal heat and the next two fastest teams will qualify for the final which is set for 10:50 p.m. EST tonight. That race will close out day one of competition.

Nairn is The Bahamas’ first competitor in the men’s long jump at a global meet in 10 years – ever since Raymond Higgs at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He will be the seventh jumper in Group B of the men’s long jump at 9 p.m. EST this evening.

Nairn has a season’s and lifetime best of 8.22m (26’ 11-1/4”) which qualified him for the world championships. He is listed at number eight in the world on the World Athletics’ top performance list for 2022.

Nairn has high hopes of advancing to the final as an automatic qualifying leap of 8.15m (26’ 9”) or a spot among the 12 best jumpers will put him in the final which is set for Saturday evening at 9:20 p.m. EST in The Bahamas. There are 34 jumpers entered in the men’s long jump competition.

Finally on Friday, for The Bahamas, Colebrooke and Jones will compete in the first round heats of the men’s 100m. The lane assignments are yet to be released, but that event will get underway at 9:50 p.m. EST.

The heats of the women’s 100m, and the semifinals and final of the men’s 100m, along with the final of the men’s long jump, are set for Saturday. To complete the weekend for The Bahamas, Miller-Uibo will compete in the heats of the women’s 400m at midday on Sunday, and the semifinals and final of the women’s 100m will be held later on Sunday.

Competing next week for Team Bahamas will be Miller-Uibo (women’s 400m), Anthonique Strachan and TyNia Gaither (women’s 200m), Devynne Charlton (women’s 100m hurdles), Ken Mullings (men’s decathlon), and the women’s 4x400m relay team.

The Bahamas has won at least one medal at every world athletics championships since 2013, and has won 25 medals in the history of the championships –eight gold, nine silver and eight bronze.

This is the first time the world championships are being held on US soil in the 39-year history of the event. A total of 1,972 athletes from 192 countries are set to compete.

https://thenassauguardian.com/worlds-start-today-without-stevie/

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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#THE Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation returns to competition with its marquee event – the 49th National Championships.

#Over 50 athletes are expected to take the stage in the Atlantis resort’s Imperial Ballroom at 7pm on July 16.

#“Everybody is in a good mindset, the athletes are ready to compete,” said Joel Stubbs, president of the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation.

#“We are encouraging the general public to come out and give us your support, come see the various categories, come and see where you fit in each category and it may be your desire to one day be a participant.”

#The weighins will be hosted on July 15 at JLine Fitness on Shirley Street from 5-8pm, and is open to the general public.

#“Ticket sales for the event have been expeditious in their last days leading up to the show,” Stubbs said.

#“We will probably end up with a sold out room, which is good news to us as a federation.”

#The BBFF recently hosted a competitive Northern Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, which set the tone for what many expect to continue at the nationals.

#“It was a great showing. Those athletes were happy to get their feet wet after the long pandemic. They were able to train and perfect their craft,” Stubbs said.

#“They are looking forward to coming to Nassau to be apart of this year’s nationals and we anticipate this being a great field.”

#They are hoping to send a team to the Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, set for July 27 to August 1, at Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center in Bridgetown, Barbados.

#Several professionals will guest pose at the event, along with familiar names to the sport and newcomers. “A lot of popular names as well as new persons will be out hoping to represent The Bahamas at the CAC Championships. This is the return of the sport and it shows that we have new talent ready to be involved in the sport,” BBFF executive Nardo Dean said. “Considering when we got the go ahead, the turnout has been really good. It made them show how driven they were to compete and stay healthy. Our message goes beyond the stage. Anything that goes into the youth and development of all persons. The message is the development of health and fitness.”

#The event features 11 open categories, including bodybuilding, figure, men’s/women’s physique, wellness, men’s/women’s fitness, bikini and muscular physique among others.

#In addition to national team roster spots, competitors will also be vying for cash, trophies, prizes and the return of the sport’s cover spokesmodel category.

#The winner will be the official face of the BBFF’s Health and Fitness 2023 campaign.

#Veteran sportscaster Marcellus Hall will go from reporting on the event to the stage as a competitor.

#“These last four to five weeks in particular have been about buckling down and putting in extra workouts, really concentrating on nutrition, not taking in too many calories, more protein, that kind of stuff. It starts to take a toll on you these last weeks because your energy levels are low but this is the time you really have to focus because it’s coming down to the nitty gritty and every moment counts,” he said. “It’s a tough sport, have a new appreciation having gone through it, for the athletes and for the sport itself.”

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/bodybuilding-fitness-49th-national-championships-a/?news

Jonquel Jones

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#JONQUEL Jones continued her momentum from the WNBA All-Star break and posted her seventh double double of the season.

#She finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Sun defeated the Indiana Fever 89-81 yesterday at the Farmer’s Colesium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

#The All-Star forward shot 7-15 from the field and also added four blocks and two assists.

#Connecticut improved to 15-8 and is now two games back of the Chicago Sky for first place in the Eastern Conference.

#The reigning MVP also reached the 2,500 point milestone for her career. She now has a total of 2,517 points.

#Jones reached her double-double in the first half with 15 points on 6-13 shooting, 11 boards and three blocks. The Sun used a 9-0 run over the first two quarters – which included six points from Jones – to take control for good.

#Connecticut shot 47 percent and outrebounded the Fever 38-26 to get back in the win column after losing four of its previous six games.

#Jones also scored five consecutive points on a run to give Connecticut a 34-21 lead.

#Connecticut posted a 14.3 point average margin of victory while going 4-0 against the Fever in 2022.

#The Sun will remain on the road Friday, July 15 against the Atlanta Dream.

#Last weekend, Jones displayed why she is a star among WNBA stars and shined on the brightest stage among the league’s best players at its midseason classic.

#She finished with a team high 29 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals, but her Team Stewart lost 134-112 to Team Wilson on July 10 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

#In her fourth All-Star appearance, she shot 11-20 from the field and 5-11 from three-point range. She was the only player in the game to total a double double.

#Jones leads the Sun with averages of 14.9 points per game, ranks third in the league with 9.1 rebounds per game, and is tied for fourth in blocks at 1.3 per game.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/jonquel-reaches-2500-point-career-milestone/?news

SIX students from Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy are off to college after receiving track and field scholarships in the United States. Seated from left are Thomas Grant (Colby Community College), Isaiah Bain (Talladega University), Stephanique Dean (Southwestern Baptist University), Deangelo McKie (Iowa Community College). And standing from left are Zion Campbell (Iowa Community College) and Lynden Johnson (Munroe College). Photo by Denise Maycock

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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#By DENISE MAYCOCK

#Tribune Freeport Reporter

#dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

#SIX Grand Bahama athletes have received track and field scholarships to attend colleges and universities in the United States.

#The recipients – Lynden Johnson, Thomas Grant, Isaiah Bain, Deangelo McKie, Stephanique Dean, and Zion Campbell – were presented their scholarship award letters yesterday from their school principal at the Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy.

#Principal Ashell Bain congratulated the students for their outstanding performance as athletes on the school’s Falcons track club, which has won the Track and Field Championships in Grand Bahama.

#“We have won nine championships in a row; our track & field team has been doing an awesome job under the direction of Coach Mr Nickito Johnson,” she said.

#“We are here to celebrate with the six athletes who have been awarded a scholarship to attend various universities and institutions. Some are full-ride and partial scholarships, and we are so grateful for that.”

#Coach Johnson said Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy is not only known as a sports school but also promotes academics and assists its athletes in getting scholarships abroad. “We are pleased to highlight these magnificent young students. Over the years since 2016, we have sent an average of four to five kids off to school for track every single year,” he stated.

#Lynden Johnson will be attending Munroe College in New York.

#He is excited about the opportunity to compete and study at the college level. “This scholarship is a blessing. The long nights of prayers and hard work practicing have really paid off,” said Johnson, who specializes in the 100 and 200 metres and the long jump.

#“My expectations of going off to college is simply to better myself as a young man and remember why I started (journey) and to keep pushing.”

#Thomas Grant, a 100m and 200m sprinter, accepted a scholarship to Colby Community College in Kansas.

#He said: “I put my trust in God in getting a scholarship and I look forward to getting better, not only athletically, but academically and bringing my talents back home.”

#Sprinter Isaiah Bain received a full-ride scholarship to Talladega University, in Alabama. He is grateful for the opportunity to attend college and compete in track.

#“I really feel blessed to be provided with such an opportunity because a full-ride scholarship does not come often and so I am very blessed and thank God for it,” he added.

#Attending Iowa Western Community College, in Bluff, Iowa, are Deangelo McKie and Zion Campbell. Both are 100m and 200m sprinters. “I feel blessed, said McKie, and I thank God for giving me this opportunity, and my (mother) for (supporting me). He said his goal is to improve his times in both the 100 and 200m sprint races. Campbell also hopes to lower his times in both races and return home with a college degree.

#Stephanique Dean will attend Southwest Baptist University, in Bolivar, Missouri. She is looking forward to the opportunity to compete and hopes to obtain a nursing degree.

#Miss Dean, who also specializes in the 100 and 200 metres, said: “I feel very excited and blessed to receive the scholarship. I expect to improve and get better and to return to the Bahamas with a nursing degree.”

#Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy opened in 1985. The institution is known for its sports programme, particularly in basketball, track and field and academics.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/six-athletes-earn-college-scholarships/?news

BASKETBALL PLAYER TO BEGIN HIS CAREER IN SPAIN’S LEB GOLD LEAGUE

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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QYEMAH Gibson has signed with Palmer Almer Mediterranea Palma for the upcoming season in Spain’s LEB Gold League.

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#QYEMAH Gibson will take his talents to professional basketball and will begin his career in Spain’s LEB Gold League.

#Gibson has signed with Palmer Almer Mediterranea Palma for the upcoming 2022-23 season.

#Palma head coach Pau Tomas said he expects Gibson to have an immediate impact on the programme once he joins the club.

#“Qyemah is here to be one of our offensive references, a player with a lot of points in his hands, capable of scoring from catch-and-shoots and from bounces.” he said. “He comes to add to the team and contribute his grain of sand both in attack and defence. I am convinced that he is going to be one of the players to follow in this LEB Plata.”

#The 6’5” wing recently completed an accolade-filled career with the St Mary’s Huskies in Canada’s Atlantic University Sport Conference.

#The Liga Española de Baloncesto, also known as LEB Gold, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. The Liga Española de Baloncesto is divided into two categories (alongside LEB Silver).

#The LEB league was founded in 1996 and is played under FIBA rules.

#The league is contested by 18 clubs. Each season, the top-finishing team in the LEB Oro are automatically promoted to the Liga ACB.

#The teams that finish the season in 2nd to 9th place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Liga ACB. The three lowest-finishing teams in the LEB Oro are relegated to LEB Plata.

#In his final season with the Huskies, Gibson won the Male Athlete of the Week award and was ranked top 10 in the AUS in points scored, points per game, field goals made, three-pointers made, total rebounds, rebounds per game, blocks, minutes and minutes per game.

#In his final collegiate season, he averaged 19.2 points and grabbed 7.9 rebounds per game.

#Gibson was a role player in his first year with the Huskies and averaged 5.9 points with 2.5 rebounds per game in 20 appearances off the bench.

#In his second season in the 2019-20 season, Gibson took on a larger role and started all 20 games, averaging 15.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

#The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled what would have been his third season with the Huskies but a strong finish for 2022 set him on the path for the professional ranks. Gibson was recruited to St Mary’s by former Huskies and current Niagara Prep coach Ollen Smith.

#Smith’s Ontario, Canada-based Empower Sports Network hosted tryouts as a part of its exchange programme in 2018.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/qyemah-gibson-goes-professional/?news

Steven Gardiner

As of Wednesday, July 13, 2022

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#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#Head coach Rupert Gardiner said it was devastating when he got the news that Steven ‘Speedy Stevie’ Gardiner will not be able to travel this week to Eugene, Oregon with Team Bahamas for the World Athletics’ 2022 World Championships.

#Not only was Gardiner – no direct relationship to Gardiner the team manager – to defend his title in the men’s 400 metres, but the Abaco native was also expected to play a pivotal role on the Bahamas’ mixed relay 4 x 400m relay team.

#“It wasn’t the type of news that we expected when we heard that he wasn’t going to travel,” said Gardiner, who along with some members of Team Bahamas were on their way to Oregon yesterday. “We didn’t expect to hear that kind of news.”

#Gardiner, the 26-year-old athlete, announced on his Instagram page on Monday that he will have to skip the World Championships, scheduled for July 15-24, because of UTE tendon inflammation to his right foot. He won the World Championship title in 2019 in Doha, Qatar and was coming off his gold medal performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held last year in Japan.

#More importantly, manager Gardiner said they were looking to reunite the athlete Gardiner with two-time Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller- Uibo as the centrepieces of the Bahamas team in the mixed relay.

#“If he was there and he ran with Shaunae, we were looking for the team to go after the world record,” manager Gardiner said. “We would have had the two best quarter-milers in the world on the men and women side and all we had to do was add two more competitors to go along with them.”

#Grand Bahamian Alonzo Russell, Bradley Dormeus, Wayna McCoy, Anthonique Strachan, Megan Moss, Doneisha Anderson, Javonya Valcourt and Janae Ambrose are the others in the pool that manager Gardiner and the rest of the team personnel would have relied on to compete with the athlete Gardiner and Miller-Uibo.

#“We will miss him because he would have brought so much to the team,” the manager Gardiner said. “But we’re confident that with the team we have, the Bahamas will still have a credible team to compete for a medal.

#“We will have to put a lot of the focus on Shaunae, but we feel we have some athletes on the team who are capable of giving the Bahamas a legitimate shot at a medal. With Stevie, we would have been assured of the gold.”

#The athlete Gardiner and Miller-Uibo teamed up with Strachan and Grand Bahamian Michael Mathieu to secure the mixed relay gold medal at the World Relays in 2017, the last time World Athletics staged the event in the Bahamas at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

#Miller-Uibo, who is listed to compete in the both the 200 and 400m at the championships, is also in the women’s 4 x 400m relay pool with Strachan, Moss, Anderson, Valcourt and Ambrose. “We’re on our way to Eugene and once we have assembled the team, we will take a look at what our situation will be for the championships,” manager Gardiner said.

#“Obviously, we will have to make some adjustments to the team, but we won’t be able to deal with it until we have everybody in place. We just have to wait and see how everybody looks and feels when we get there, but we will definitely miss Stevie.”

#The athlete Gardiner continued in his tweet that he will now focus on getting the necessary treatment so that he can be 100 percent.

#“To the people of the Bahamas, my sponsors and my fans around the world, I’m sorry I won’t be able to compete,” Gardiner continued on social media. “I wish my rivals good health and the very best. Thanks for the support.”

#Manager Gardiner said they are wishing Gardiner a speedy recovery.

#Gardiner will also skip the Commonwealth Games, which will follow in Birmingham, England, July 29 to August 7.

#He was named by the Bahamas Olympic Committee to a 28-member team, including 11 track and field athletes, that will have Roy Colebrooke as the chef de mission

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/13/speedy-stevie-will-be-missed-worlds/?news

As of Wednesday, July 13, 2022

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WELLINGTON Miller

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#IMMEDIATE past Bahamas Olympic Committee president Wellington Miller said he’s elated to be included with former world boxing champion Everette ‘Elisha Obed’ Ferguson in the list of honourees for the 2022 National Honours.

#In making the announcement during the 49th celebrations of the Bahamas Independence on Sunday, Governor General Cornelius A Smith said the list of citizens, some of whom are being awarded posthumously, are being recognised for their outstanding service in various areas of national development.

#When contacted on Saturday to inform him that he was one of the recipients, Miller said he had to call back to verify that the call was not a fluke.

#“Whenever you are recognised by your country for the contribution that you make, you are really appreciative,” said Miller, who was a former boxer and president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Bahamas.

#“A lot of times when you are involved in sports, you do what you have to do, but you never think that you are doing it to get any kind of national recognition like this. So, whenever you get it, you appreciate it so much more.”

#While Miller was listed among a distinguished group of athletes receiving the Order of Merit, Obed, the first and only Bahamian to win a world boxing title, will be honoured posthumously as an officer.

#But as he has been campaigning over the years, Miller is still calling for something more tangible for his long-time friend and idol, Elisha Obed.

#“I still think that a person like Elisha Obed should have a street where so many people travel or a building that people go into every day should be named after him,” Miller said.

#“He is the first and still the only Bahamian to win a world boxing title. He deserves to get a lot more recognition than he has received.”

#Miller, however, said he is appreciative of the fact that he and ‘Elisha Obed’ are being recognised at the same time and he is even more greatly to be included with so many other outstanding Bahamian athletes in their own rights.

#Among the others receiving the Order of Merit are Cecil Thompson (basketball) and Gregory Burrows (baseball) as Companions and Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson (track and field), Denise Mortimer (tennis), Godfrey Eneas (baseball), Lawrence Burnside (cycling), Mark Knowles (tennis), Della Thomas (bodybuilding), Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson (basketball), Norman Gay (bodybuilding), Winifred Russell (netball), Oswald Moore (volleyball), Churchill Tener-Knowles (softball), Leo Rolle (tennis), Ali Culmer (softball), Winston ‘Tappy’ Davis (volleyball), Andy Knowles (swimming), Rex Burnside (cycling/powerlifting), Allan Ingraham (football), Ed Smith (football), Florence ‘Flo’ Rolle (softball), Bobby ‘Baylor’ Fernander (softball), as officers. Sir Durward ‘Sea Wolf’ Knowles, the legendary star class sailor, will receive an Order of the Bahamas posthumously, along with his two separate crewmen Sloan Farrington (bronze in 1964 Olympic Games) and Cecil Cooke (gold in 1964 Olympics), both posthumously as Merit of Order Officers.

#Also being honoured posthumously for the Order of Merit as a Companion will be Andre Rodgers (baseball) and as Officers are Bertram ‘Cowboy’ Musgrove (cycling), William ‘Yama Bahama’ Brennan (boxing), Oswald ‘Elisha Obed’ Ferguson (boxing), Carl Minns (volleyball/basketball), Leon ‘Apache’ Knowles (softball), Leonard ‘Boston Blackie’ Miller (boxing/cycling), Natasha Newbold (powerlifting/bodybuilding), Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson (martial arts), Rollie ‘the Grandmaster’ Gray (sloop sailing) and Hezron Moxey (sloop sailing).

#Grand Bahamian Neko Grant, an International Softball Federation Hall of Famer and former Bahamas Softball Federation president, will be receiving the Order of Distinction.

#“I’m so happy to see so many persons who were involved in sports being honoured this time,” Wellington Miller said.

#“They have really showed their appreciation to the athletes.

#“I think that they have done a very good selection of athletes.”

#The awards are expected to be presented to each individual later this year.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/13/miller-elated-be-national-honours-list/?news

PARTICIPANTS enjoy the Mario Ford Baseball Camp with Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg. Photos courtesy of Tommy Stubbs

As of Wednesday, July 13, 2022

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PICTURED, from left to right, at the Mario Ford Baseball Camp are Nathaniel McKinney, Linda Ford, Keith Ford, Eddie Ford, Wentia Ford, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg and Mario Ford.

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#SHE was too young to remember the exploits of Wenty Ford as a Major League Baseball pitcher with the Atlanta Braves, but Wentia Ford-Diagne said she’s so glad that there are so many memories of her father that she can still rely on to help keep his legacy alive.

#On Friday as her family celebrated the 42nd year since his death in a car accident on July 8, 1980, Ford-Diagne said she was glad to join her uncle, Mario Ford, in honouring her father at the annual Mario Ford Baseball Camp on Windsor Park.

#On hand for the event was Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg, who emphasized the importance of remembering those trail blazers and at the same time put in a plug to have the park renamed after the Ford family in the future.

#Ford-Diagne, a former multiple sporting star for the Kingsway Academy Saints, left the Bahamas in 1995 to pursue her studies at Norfolk State University before she went on to Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School, is now residing in Edinburg, Texas where she is a physician assistant partnering with her husband Dr Thiendella Diagne at Dr Diagne Premier Ob Gyn Practice with emphasis on women’s health and infertility.

#The 45-year-old mother of one daughter, Mareme Evangeline Ford-Diagne, said after she consulted her uncle, Mario, they agreed that since this was the memorable day for her father’s passing, they would make it a special one at the camp.

#“He’s been deceased for 42 years, but in our history, I feel a lot of people don’t really know about the pioneers that set the pavement for sports in the country,” she said. “A lot of people really don’t know the Andre Rodgers, Tony Curry and Ed Armbrister of that era.

#“If they only made it to the minors, it was a great accomplishment because of all of the segregation and everything that they had to go through. These are the people who paved the way and we need to remember them.”

#Ford-Diagne said in remembering dates and putting events on to commemorate the occasion, as a family, they get to keep the memories of their loved ones alive.

#“I never really talk about my dad. When I hear the name Wenty, I know they are talking about him,” she said. “But because I never really had a relationship with him because I was so young when he died, I can only go back on what I hear people say about him.

#“When Ma Flo, my grandmother died, everybody from the former prime ministers, were talking about him. So it just told me that how well respected and loved he was in this country and I’m so proud to be a part of the legacy he created.”

#Mario Ford, putting on the camp for the past 36 years, said when he contacted Ford-Diagne, she was excited about coming on board and giving the assistance to the recognition of her father this year.

#In thanking God for allowing him to do the camp for as long as he has, Ford also expressed his gratitude to Ford-Diagne for partnering with him this year.

#Additionally, he thanked the parents for sending their children out to participate and to his siblings Eddie, Keith and Linda, his son, Nathaniel McKinney and the other instructors for their assistance.

#This year, the campers, ranging from ages 7-15 years, will receive a complimentary shirt with Wenty Ford’s number 45 printed on the back and they will also get a hat with number 42 printed for the years since he died.

#Ford, who also played cricket, signed with the Braves in 1966 as an undrafted free agent and was promoted to the Major Leagues in September 1973 after his eighth season in Atlanta’s farm system, having won 17 of 24 decisions with an earned run average of 2.46 with the Braves’ two top minor league affiliates.

#In his Major League debut on September 10, 1973, Ford started against the San Francisco Giants at Atlanta-Fulton County against future baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Manchal.

#Ford pitched a complete game in a 10–4 triumph, surrendering five hits (four of them singles) and six base on balls (walks), with three strikeouts.

#“Wenty wore the number 45 when he was playing professional baseball,” Ford said. “He said Hank Aaron was the best on the team and he wore 44. And once Hank retires, he would be the next best player on the Braves’ team.

#“He always joked about that, but he never got to live out that dream because when the Braves was thinking about trading him, he said he would prefer to retire before he got traded. After playing with the Braves for 10 seasons, he decided to come home rather than get traded.”

#This is just the first week of the camp, which runs daily from 9:30pm to 12:30 pm, but by the time it finishes on July 29, Ford said the campers would have been impacted about their knowledge of the sport.

#“If the kids are not enjoying it, they won’t get much out of it,” Ford said.

#“So we are trying to let them have as much fun as they can. The hours might seem short, but our instructors take them through the drills and they get to play some games, so it’s been a lot of fun for them so far.”

#Bowleg said it’s important to give respect where respect is due. “Wenty was one of those set of Bahamians, who paved the way for guys coming up like Jazz Chisholm and this Mario Ford camp is showing the kind of respect that he deserves,” Bowleg said.

#“This is 42 years since he passed, so I’m just happy to be here to support his family.”

#If there’s anything that has been more gratifying for Bowleg is that the camp is situated in the inner-city.

#“We need to get the inner-city baseball moving because it reaches those kids who are unable to move it out east (for the Freedom Farm and Junior Baseball League of Nassau),” Bowleg said.

#“It’s of uttermost importance because we need to get these kids under the age of 15 actively involved in some wholesome activities and to move them from the life of crime.

#“Our future rests on the kinds of imput that we make in these young people in youth, sports or culture so that they can have some alternative to crime.”

#As for the Ford family, Bowleg said there’s been consideration to renaming Windsor Park to some connection to the Ford family.

#“The Ford family has had a greater involvement in the past to so many youngsters who have participated in so many events on this park, which is located right across the road from their home,” Bowleg said. “So the opportunity to rename the field the Ford Field or Park or whatever you want to call it, is something that we will be considering,” Bowleg said.

#“It’s something that has to be taken up with my collegiate and stakeholders before a decision of that nature is made.”

#From a personal perspective, Bowleg said with the work, consistent dedication and involvement that the Ford family has contributed to the amount of youngsters they have touched, is one of the reasons why they still bear the Ford name.

#Ford said it’s a public park but their family will be willing to entertain any debate on the renaming of the park in the Ford name. He said whether or not they do it, he and his family will continue to nurture the young boys and girls as they have always done in the past.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/13/wentia-helps-keep-her-father-wenty-fords-legacy-al/?news

Steven Gardiner

As of Tuesday, July 12, 2022

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#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#Just days before the start of the World Athletics’ 2022 World Championships, Bahamian quarter-miler Steven Gardiner has announced that he won’t be able to defend his 400 metre title in Eugene, Oregon.

#On his Instagram page yesterday, ‘Speedy Stevie’ Gardiner posted that a UTE tendon inflammation to his right foot will prevent him from representing the Bahamas at the championships, scheduled for July 15-24.

#“Unfortunately, there will be no Eugene ‘22 for me,” he wrote. “Devastated by the news, but I’m thankful to all the blessings in my career so far. “I am also thankful to my team around me for all the love and support during the process.”

#The 26-year-old native of Abaco, whose last race was at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Track and Field Championships in June at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, said he will now focus on getting the necessary treatment so that he can be 100 percent.

#“To the people of the Bahamas, my sponsors and my fans around the world, I’m sorry I won’t be able to compete,” Gardiner continued on social media.

#“I wish my rivals good health and the very best. Thanks for the support.”

#Claude Bryan, his manager at On Track Management, confirmed Gardiner’s absence from the team, revealing that Gardiner has been having ongoing issues and it flared up at the trials. Bryan noted that Gardiner subsequently got treatment for it, however, what he is experiencing now is beyond his pain threshold.

#“It is accurate that Stevie will miss the Eugene World Championships. I notified the BAAA President and Stevie would have notified the Eugene team,” Bryan said.

#“He was at the hospital in Oregon and ordered to be booted due to inflammation of the right Achilles. He wanted to still give it a go, however, the pain and inconvenience got the better of him.”

#Bryan said Gardiner will be heading overseas immediately for treatment.

#“We cannot say as of today, anything about his recovery, that is for medical to determine upon direct consultation with and inspection of Stevie,” Bryan said.

#“The decision to not compete was a tough one for Stevie, however, before he is an athlete, he is a human being, his health is the priority.”

#Gardiner, in running 45.32 seconds to take the tape at the nationals over Grand Bahamian Alonzo Russell, second in 46, was expected to be a part of a 16-member team that is scheduled to leave today for the championships.

#Efforts to contact BAAA president Drumeco Archer and team head coach Rupert Gardiner were unsuccessful.

#In addition to running the 400m in Eugene, Gardiner was also expected to be a key factor for the Bahamas mixed relay team with Alonzo Russell, Bradley Doreus, Wayna McCoy, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan, Megan Moss, Doneisha Anderson, Javonya Valcourt and Janae Ambrose in the pool.

#Gardiner was also named by the Bahamas Olympic Committee to a 28-member team, including 11 track and field athletes, for the Commonwealth Games, scheduled for Birmingham, England, July 29 to August 7.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/12/gardiner-out-world-champs-injury/?news