Romell Knowles.

July 1, 2020

Sheldon Longley

0299 Views

According to Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Lanisha Rolle in her contribution to the 2020-2021 national budget in the House of Assembly last month, elite athletes won’t be impacted by the proposed reduction in the subvention for the current cycle.

However, Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) President Romell Knowles is not convinced, stating that the contrary appears to be the case. Subvention to athletes for the current period is set at $1,076,920, down from $1,346,150 for the 2019-2020 fiscal period – a cut of 20 percent, almost $300,000.

Knowles said that the BOC is very concerned.

“This is the Olympic period. For four years, athletes would have been preparing for competition to represent The Bahamas at the most prestigious sporting event in the world – the Olympics. The advent of the coronavirus has caused great hardships in the preparation for the 2020 Olympics which is now pushed back to 2021 so these athletes really can’t afford any reduction in subvention,” said Knowles. “With the advent of the coronavirus, I suspect that athletes’ cost escalated for an additional year, and that includes the cost of nutrients, training costs, coaching costs, rent, travel and other costs associated with their preparation for the games. Becoming an Olympian is the most exciting and exhilarating reward for any athlete. To have in a very insensitive way, without any consultation, reduce the budget for subvention, is of great concern.”

The postponed Olympics are now set for July 23 to August 8, 2021, still in Tokyo, Japan. Knowles said the BOC supports the joint decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the government of Japan, Metropolitan Tokyo and the local organizing committee of the games (TOCOG), to postpone the Olympics to next year given the science of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadly coronavirus is still rampant throughout the world, with over 10 million confirmed cases.

“It is the best decision at the time considering health concerns for the athletes and patrons,” said Knowles. “It is still our hope that we can have an audience with the Office of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Finance to see how best we can come to an agreement where the athletes in this Olympic cycle are not drastically affected. We have written the ministry and have had pertinent conversations with the permanent secretary about our concerns. The Bahamas has a rich history in sports, particularly at the Olympic Games. We make an appeal to the government of The Bahamas to reconsider the reduction to subvention. We want to assist the athletes in these most difficult times and not hinder their ability to represent The Bahamas on the world’s biggest stage for sports – the Olympics.”

The national budget passed in the upper and lower houses of Parliament last Monday, and the new budget cycle starts today. According to reports, University of The Bahamas (UB) Athletics Director Kimberley Rolle has been charged with overseeing a committee that will review policy and procedural measures as it relates to subvention, among other items under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s purview. When contacted yesterday, Rolle said she is not at liberty to speak to the matter at the moment considering that the committee has yet to be formed and there is no start date as to the commencement of their work.

Minister Rolle has said that they do not intend to ignore or neglect their commitment to deserving Bahamian athletes, and that sports remains a priority item of the current central administration. She said they will continue to provide assistance to deserving Bahamian athletes through the various sporting federations for them to successfully compete in international meets.

The minister said that no active athlete approved for subvention would be affected by the adjustments. However, she stated, where an athlete is not performing in accordance with standard policy, the usual adjustments will be applied as recommended by the Department of Sports and through consultation with the respective federations.

On the contrary, BOC President Knowles said he understands that the cuts affect primarily developing athletes – those at the lower tier of government subvention – and he is asking the government to reconsider the cut across the board and also to reconsider the reduction in federation grants.

The sports ministry, on the whole, was one of the hardest hit in the budget allocation, suffering more than a $5 million reduction.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#WITH a lot of uncertainty still looming over the coronavirus pandemic, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations is still committed to putting on a track and field meet at the end of the month.

#But BAAA President Drumeco Archer said the July 31 to August 1 meet will more than likely be a watered down version of the National Championships because it’s obvious that not that many athletes are training as a result of the lock down and curfews that were imposed by the Bahamas Government over the last three months.

#“I don’t want to make any formal statement yet, but it’s pretty unlikely that we will have the nationals,” Archer said. “Given the uncertainty with all that is happening, I just don’t see a clear path for us to have the nationals.

#“Trevor Moss, who is the chairman of the organising committee, is in consultation with the Ministry of Health in reference to the safety measures that we need to have in place. This is such a difficult situation that we are in to make any decision until we get a clear picture of what is going on.”

#With the government opening up its borders today as they continue the reopening of its economy, Archer said there’s very little time in planning a full blown meet so a final decision will have to be made by the BAAA before the end of the week.

#“The meet is being planned for the end of this month,” Archer said. “But we know that a lot of clubs are not training their athletes, so I suspect that a lot of them will not be participating in the meet.

#“We know that there are some athletes training, but they are fewer than those who are not training. So there is still a lot of concern about the prospect of having a meet and getting the fans to come out in this social distancing environment.”

#Archer said his association will probably just end up having a small scale track meet that will cater to all ages of competition, rather than going ahead with the nationals, which takes on a much needed focus of attention.

#“We will make it available to all age groups, but the challenge that we have is numbers,” he pointed out. “We won’t be able to forecast as we would have been able to do in the past, exactly what those numbers would look like. That’s where we are with that aspect of hosting the meet at the end of the month.”

#As the country embraces the opening of its borders, many student athletes will be looking at making their way back to the United States and Canada to continue their studies and training.

#At present, there are quite a number of athletes that fit that category, but with all of the unrest in the United States surrounding the racial tension in the aftermath of the killing of African American George Floyd on May 25 in Minnesota amid the spread of Covid-19, Archer said he doesn’t expect there will be any repercussions for Bahamians returning to school and those who are going for the first time.

#“I don’t foresee that being a challenge,” he stated. “Those cases are normally isolated and so I expect that it will be business as usual for our athletes as it pertains to going to school in August.”

#Support for Athletes

#From a local perspective, Archer said while there have been some concerns from athletes,he has not yet received any formal communication from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture about any reduction in the subvention of athletes.

#“As far as I know, all of the athletes on subvention will not be affected,” Archer pointed out. “All those athletes on subvention will remain the same.”

#Archer, however, said they have made their recommendations to the ministry on having an additional 10-12 athletes added to the programme, but he has not received any word on their status.

#“Those athletes’ names have been submitted for the developmental programme,” said Archer, noting that those that should be considered for the higher tier for subvention and based on their performances at the international level will have to come from the ministry.

#However, Archer said the BAAA is also delighted that the Bahamas Olympic Committee has agreed to provide an Athletes Welfare Commission, headed by Roy Colebrook, mandated to assist athletes from all disciplines to reach their full potentials in preparation for local, regional and international competitions.

#The assistance, which will account to about $30,000, will not be available to professional athletes or those who are under contracts with companies such as Adidas, Puma and Nike.

#“We have collected application forms and we will make our recommendations after our executive meeting this week,” Archer said. “We will make our recommendations before the deadline.”

#National associations and federations have until July 3 to make their recommendations on behalf of the athletes to the BOC. Archer said they are looking at submitting applications for as many members as they could.

#“Anyone who is in track and field and out of university can benefit,” Archer said. “These are austere times and the ability to generate and to make money by the elite athletes are few and far between.

#“I know that the World Athletics is trying to reorganize their programme, but these are some tough times and any little assistance that can be provided is welcomed by the athletes.”

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

#THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) is scheduled to hold its election of officers at the National Tennis Centre between the hours of 3-6pm on Saturday.

#Darnett Weir won’t be seeking another term in office. Instead, council member and junior development coach Perry Newton will be running against former women’s national team player Dyphany Mortier.

#Both candidates have assembled a team of candidates to run for the various positions.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#WITH their National Championships postponed until later this year, the Bahamas Swimming Federation is also looking at staging its election of officers before the year is over.

#Incumbent president Algernon Cargill, who also serves as the FINA Bureau for the Americas, has not indicated whether or not he will be seeking another term in office whenever the BSF’s elections take place.

#Cargill, who was first elected to serve as president in 2003, said he is considering another term in office. But he also has some international obligations to FINA that he is heavily involved in.

#Similar to Mike Sands serving as a member of World Athletics by virtue of being the NACAC president, Cargill sits on the global board of FINA as the representative for the Americas, a position he has held since 2017 after he was appointed CCCAC.

#As a member of the FINA 24-member board, Cargill said they are discussing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected all of its member countries.

#“It’s going well. We get to make global decisions for all water sports – swimming, diving, water polo, artistic diving and synchronised swimming,” Cargill said. “I was recently appointed to serve for another four years.”

#With the distinction of being the first and only Bahamian to hold such a position, Archer said as the area representative for Central and North America and the Caribbean, it’s a very important role that he has to fulfil.

#“I’m not just a representative for the Bahamas, but for the region on a whole,” said Cargill, who was re-appointed to serve for another four years during their last meeting in August 2019. It’s an awesome responsibility, but it’s one that I try to do to the best of my ability. I am delighted to be able to attend and function in any meeting or activities that FINA has.”

#Just like he would have regarded his position as the BSF president that got him to the FINA level, Cargill said he takes his global responsibility just as proudly as he does his national commitment.

#“Being the BSF president and a former vice president of CCCAN and also an executive of UWA, the swimming body for the Americas and Canada, for the past four years, it shows that hard work pays off,” Archer said. “It tells me that what we are doing here is paying off globally.”

#Cargill was first elected as president of the BSF in 2003. Originally, each term was for two years, but it was changed and ratified for four years in 2010 to coincide with the International Olympic Committee’s four-year term.

#Having served for five consecutive terms over the past 17 years, Cargill said he’s not sure if he will seek another four-year term, but there are persons who are asking him to return. “My job is to train someone to take over. I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Cargill said. “If I can get someone who wants to take it to another level, I would gladly step aside. It’s not an appointment for life, but if I am asked to serve again, I would consider it.”

#No date has been set for the elections, nor any for the Nationals, which would be suspended for later this year.

#“Right now, we don’t know the format for the Nationals,” Cargill said. “We are still looking at how we will function with all of the social distancing rules that are being put in place as a result of the coronavirus.

#“Giving that, we had to suspend the nationals, just as FINA has done with all of its international events. So we won’t be doing anything until after school reopens. The swimmers are using this time to get in shape, so we really don’t see any value in having a nationals at this point.”

#Looking at the landscape of sports on the global front, Cargill said they are concerned because they can only provide a positive atmosphere for their swimmers to engage in.

#He noted that the swimmers are back in the pool at the Betty Kelly Swim Complex working out with their various local coaches. They have also gotten some input from FINA on how they can progress in the future.

#“Given the impact that the rest of the world is going through with the pandemic, we feel our swimmers can only benefit from the time out of competition,” he said.

#“We know that several of the Carifta swimmers are communicating with their peers and so they have strengthened their relationships in this pandemic and FINA has put on a few seminars on how to stay fit and everything else. So they have been making the best of the situation that is out of their control..”

#The Bahamas was poised to go for their fourth straight title in Carifta, but that regional competition had to be called off in April because of the pandemic. But Cargill is hoping that the swimmers will remain geared up to compete in the event when it returns in 2021.

#At present, there are more than 20 swimmers who are either in boarding school or colleges and universities in the United States. Although there is social unrest going on in the aftermath of the death of African American George Floyd on May 25, Cargill said he doesn’t see any of the swimmers affected.

#“Our swimmers have been able to return home and they are now training with their local coaches,” Cargill said. “Right now, based on everything we know, the US Embassy is not expected to reopen until September.

#“So given the fact that some of the new swimmers might not get the opportunity to enroll in school this fall, they will have the opportunity to stay here at home and train with their club coaches, who have gotten the opportunity to prepare them to go off right now.’

#He noted that the Black Lives Matter movement has not yet reached the swimming community so he anticipated that once the student-athletes can get their papers sorted out, they should be able to head off to school.

#And with the Bahamas Olympic Committee offering some assistance through their Athletes Welfare Commission, headed by Roy Colebrook, one of the vice presidents of the BOC, which is mandated to help athletes from all disciplines to reach their full potentials in preparation for local, regional and international competitions, Cargill said they will certainly take advantage of it.

#“We currently have two athletes on the IOC Solidarity Scholarship that is offered by the BOC, but we are looking at how we can take advantage of this new initiative that the BOC is offering.”

#Federations will have until July 3 to submit their applications for athletes, who can benefit from the fund of about $30,000, which will not be available to professional athletes or those who are under contracts with companies such as Adidas, Puma and Nike.

Deandre Ayton

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#Bahamian Deandre Ayton, preparing to head to Orlando, Florida, for the Phoenix Suns’ completion of the National Basketball Association competition 2019/20 season, is lending his support to another charitable cause in Arizona.

#The Suns’ 6-foot, 11-inch centre will join Phoenix Mercury centre Brittney Griner, using the power of gaming and social media to raise money for COVID-19 relief and social justice.

#Ayton and Griner are two of 11 athletes joining forces with Facebook Gaming to livestream games exclusively on Facebook and their own Facebook pages using a Live Donate button to raise money for two of the most prominent causes in the United States and beyond.

#In a press release yesterday, said Evan Shugerman, head of Facebook athlete sports partnerships:

#“Athletes continue to be remarkable forces for good on social media and we’re excited for this particular group to use Facebook Gaming this summer to entertain fans and raise money for incredibly important causes.”

#Ayton and Griner are a part of nine other athletes who Facebook will be donating $20,000 to the charity of their choice.

#While Ayton’s choice will be NAACP Legal Defence and Education Fund, Griner’s is for Hunger: Not Impossible.

#The other nine are Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Julian Edelman (New England Patriots), Allie Long, (US Soccer/Reign FC), Alex Caruso (Los Angeles Lakers), Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings), JaVale McGee (Los Angeles Lakers), Josh Richardson (Philadelphia 76ers), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls) and Tacko Fall (Boston Celtics).

#The 21-year-old Ayton, who was the No.1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Suns and one of two Bahamians playing in the league, could not be reached for comments.

#He is scheduled to join the Suns in the NBA bubble at Wilt Disney in Orlando on July 31 when 22 teams compete for this year’s title. The other is Grand Bahamian shooting guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield of the Sacramento Kings, who is recuperating from the coronavirus. He too is expected to play in Orlando.

#The Suns are currently 13th in the Western Conference with a 26-39 win-loss record, and will have to play eight games through August 14 in order to earn a berth into the playoffs that will begin on August 17.

#While those games will be played without any fans, family and guests of teams will arrive on August 30 for the conference semi-finals set for August 31 to September 13.

#The Conference finals will be contested September 15-28.

#The NBA finals will then take place September 30 to October 13.

#Ayton, now known for his offensive stuffs and defensive swats, will get at least eight more games from the time he lost on the court during this past regular season under coach Monty Williams.

#He was suspended for 25 games without pay by the NBA on October 24 for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Doping Programme by testing positive for a diuretic. He returned to action December 17.

#Ayton, who had averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in 30.7 minutes in 71 games as a rookie, pushed his numbers up to 19.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.9 assists and 0.7 steals per game in 32.3 minutes in the 30 games he played up to the break in the league in March.

Friday

, June 26, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedi.net

#As the new norm for the world of sports continues to take shape in the midst of COVID-19, World Athletics yesterday revealed its plans for the postponed 2020 Olympic Games in launching what they call ‘Road to Tokyo.’

#World Athletics, the governing body for track and field, produced an online tool to help athletes, media and fans track the qualification process for next year’s Olympic Games.

#Searchable by discipline, country and qualification status, the tool will provide a real time view of each event over the course of the Tokyo 2020 qualification period which ends on June 29, 2021.

#The new qualifying standards were released as a result of World Athletics joining the International Olympic Committee in calling off the games in March and subsequently postponing it from July 24 to August 9, 2020 to July 23 to August 8, 2021 due to the spread of the coronavirus.

#In its announcement, World Athletics stated that the qualification principles remain unchanged with athletes able to qualify through entry standards and then the World Athletics World Rankings.

#Before the games were called off, the Bahamas Olympic Committee had at least six Bahamian track and field athletes qualified to compete.

#They included first time sprinter Samson Colebrooke and returning for their second or third times are hurdler Pedrya Seymour, quarter-milers Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner, high jumper Jamal Wilson and sprinter Tynia Gaither.

#The BOC was also hoping that other athletes and relay teams from the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, a few swimmers from the Bahamas Swimming Federation, Cynthia Rahming from the Bahamas Judo Federation and possibly Carl Hield, from the Bahamas Boxing Federation, would have also qualified for the games.

#Athletes in track and field, who have already met the entry standard since the start of the qualification period in 2019, will remain qualified and will be eligible for selection by their respective member federations and national Olympic committees, together with the other athletes who will qualify within the extended qualification period.

#However, due to the uneven training and competition opportunities around the world during the coronavirus pandemic, World Athletics announced on April 7 that the qualification period (for all events) was suspended from April 6 to November 30, 2020.

#The other international sporting bodies have not yet released their new qualifying standards for the games, which could be in further jeopardy with the rising number of coronavirus cases in the United States. New coronavirus cases in the US climbed to their highest level in two months.

Steven Gardiner

Monday

, June 29, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#Bahamian world 400 metre champion Steven Gardiner sprung out of the COVID-19 lockdown with a victory in the 300 metres as he chased the Bahamian male national record on Saturday in San Juan, Florida.

#At the annual B3R Sports Invitational, Gardiner ran out of lane five of the six-lane track to easily win the race in 31.95, falling short of Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown’s national record of 31.91 that he posted in 2007 in Osaka, Japan.

#Asa Guevara of Trinidad & Tobago came in second in 32.55 and Quintaveon Poole of the United States was third in 33.44. Also in the race was Bahamian Kinard Rolle, who is now training with Gardiner in Florida. Rolle, a 22-year-old 2019 graduate from Purdue University, was fourth in 34.35.

#“It was pretty good to have him there. Hopefully he can get better,” Gardiner said of Rolle, also a quarter-miler who has ran a personal best of 46.86 and 21.39 in the 200m.

#As for his own performance, 24-year-old Gardiner said it wasn’t what he expected, but he was glad to have been able to compete, considering the long lay-off because of the coronavirus.

#“I felt pretty good because my training went very well,” said Gardiner of his sessions with coach Gary Evans. “It was my first run for the year, so I felt pretty good.

#“It was a normal run. I just hope that it can help me to keep going. It’s something to gauge my performance, so I was really happy that I got to compete.

#Despite the lockdown and curfews imposed in Florida since March, Gardiner said he’s in pretty good shape and he enjoyed the experience and he’s looking forward to the rest of the season.

#Evans said it’s not expected to be a long season for Gardiner, who will be back at the same meet this weekend when he continues his assault on Brown’s record.

#“Our season was so long for us last year, leaving Doha in September and then having to prepare for the Olympics this year,” Evans said.

#“That was a crazy plan to do Doha so late in the season and come right back for the Olympics.

#“So it was a blessing in disguise that the Olympics are postponed until next year. Now we can recuperate our body and get back on a perfect schedule once he takes his break in September and comes back in November to try and bring the gold back home for the Bahamas again.”

#With most of their training confined to the grass during the height of COVID-19, Evans said Gardiner was only able to get on the track about three weeks ago and even then their time was limited to just two days a week.

#“He’s a freak of nature,” said Evans about Gardiner’s ability to strive in any condition. “I couldn’t believe the time he ran, especially because we didn’t do the type of speed work to get him ready for it.”

#The track, according to Evans, was a short one with tight bends, which made it more difficult for Gardiner to stretch out his 6-foot, 5-inch frame. But he said because there are no more major events this year, they will use the time to pursue the 300m record. “At some point, we will let him go after the 300 and the 800m records,” said Evans of Gardiner, who currently holds both the 200 and 400m national records. “It’s just a matter of when we will be able to go after the 800m.

#“We’re not going to put it out there and say we are going for it. For the 300m, this would be a good year for us to go after it because there’s really no major meets, so we will play with it and go for it.”

#Gardiner, who was a finalist for the World Athletics’ Male Athlete of the Year at the gala awards ceremony in Monaco in November, lowered his men’s national 400m record to 43.48 in winning the 400m title at the World Championships in Doha on October 4.

#The Abaco native, who started his career in the 200m under the guidance of coach Anthony Williams in Moores Island, established the national record in the 200m at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida on April 7, 2018.

#“Before we had this interruption, he was ready to run this year,” said Evans about Gardiner’s preparation in the pre-COVID-19 stage up to March. “We’re not going to do too much more because we might be facing another shutdown in Florida.”

Tuesday,

June 30, 2020

DWIGHT Coleby

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#DWIGHT Coleby will return for a second stint in Turkey once pro basketball resumes in the country’s Turkish Basketball League (TBL).

#Coleby will join Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli next season in the 2nd-tiered TBL. The league features 16 teams and the first place finisher is promoted to the top tier Turkish Basketball Super League. Teams ranked 2nd place to 9th place, compete in playoff format and the winner of the playoff also promotes. The last two teams are relegated to the third tier Turkish Basketball Second League.

#He spent approximately a month of the previous season in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A with perennial league contender Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari.

#Coleby’s last game with the club was on March 10, when he scored 11 points in a loss to San Pablo Inmobiliaria Miraflores Burgos in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

#Coleby signed with the reigning European Cup Champions in February. He appeared in just three regular season games and five Champions League games where he averaged 4.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

#In his first stint in Turkey in 2018, Coleby averaged 11.5 points and a team leading 8.5 rebounds for Sigortam.net ITU in Turkey’s BSL League.

#Coleby spent a portion of last season alongside his brother Kadeem Coleby with the Akita Northern Happinets in the Japanese B-League following a short stint in Belgium with Liege Basket in Belgium’s Pro Basketball League (PBL). He also spent time with Kalev/Cramo (KML) in the Estonian league.

#He played collegiate basketball at Ole Miss, Kansas and finished at Western Kentucky.

Tuesday,

June 30, 2020

Travis Munnings

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#TRAVIS Munnings was the latest Bahamian senior men’s national team member to capitalise on his free agency when he signed with a new club in a new country.

#Munnings will join Oliveirense Basquetebol of the Portugese Basketball League – the top tier league in the country.

#Oliveirense is the two time defending champion. Munnings will join their quest for a third consecutive title after last season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

#“The importance of this signing is to better position myself in this sport so that I will be able to continuously grow year after year. My goals are to give the team 100 per cent effort every day, be a prominent player, build sustainable relationships with colleagues (teammates and coaches), entertain viewers, and of course win the 2021 championship,” Munnings said. “I expect to set the highest records in this league. My expectations are very simple, make everyone remember Travis Munnings as one of the hardest players. I know and understand that Oliveirense Basquetebol has a great coaching staff as well, hungry players that are skilled on many levels. I also know that the support from the community is a huge factor in the team’s success and you have to appreciate such gems like that.”

#He spent the offseason training alongside Kings guard Buddy Hield and hopes to bring his unique playing style and personality to Portugal.

#“I am a tough, versatile and physically adaptive person that is skilled in playing an open floor style, shooting three-pointers efficiently and aggressively getting to the basket. Additionally, I think my endurance is something that helps throughout the full lengths of practices and games. I am a God-fearing, selfless, optimistic person and player that enjoys guiding and challenging others to be the best. Last but not least, I am highly competitive so I play to win.”

#Munnings concluded last season with La Rochelle Stade Rochelais of France’s NM1 League. He averaged 17.5 points, eight rebounds and 3.8 assists per game through six games. In his debut with the team, he finished with 24 points on 10-15 shooting from the field, 4-6 from three-point range and added five rebounds in a 55-44 win over Stade De Vanves.

#Munnings originally signed with ADA Blois Basket 41 of the France – ProB League – the 2nd tier division – in July, but was released at the end of the preseason in September before he played a single game.

#Prior to the 2019 NBA Draft, he was invited to pre-draft workouts with the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves before eventually going undrafted.

#He concluded his four-year collegiate career with the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and reached several milestones.

#As a senior, he averaged 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on 44 per cent shooting from the field and 36 per cent from three-point range.

June 25, 2020

The Nassau Guardian

0407 Views

The Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) has launched a committee to assist developing athletes through its newly-formed Athletes Welfare Commission.

The commission’s mandate is to assist athletes from all disciplines to reach their full potential in preparation for local, regional and international competitions. The immediate support is intended to assist athletes who are attempting to qualify for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Athletes on a case-by-case basis will be able to apply for assistance that would be a contribution toward their training and preparation for Tokyo.

“There are any number of needs that an athlete would have on the road to a qualifying event,” said BOC President Romell Knowles. “Whether it is equipment, transportation, dietary supplements or some other resource, the athletes are facing tremendous obstacles to be in the best position to compete. The commission’s job is to look at the applications and assist as best as we can – the best ways the BOC can help relieve some of those burdens.”

The national sports federations will be the point of contact for athletes. They will have access to applications through their national governing bodies. Once an athlete has completed an application, it must be endorsed by the federation and returned to the BOC through the federation.

“Fortunately, there are athletes already on Olympic scholarships, and some who have government subventions,” said Knowles. “So, there is a level of support already for some athletes, but these commission grants are for other athletes who have less support available to them.”

Knowles said professional athletes will not be eligible for grants from the commission. Applicants will have until July 3 to have their applications returned to the BOC. Successful applicants will be notified within three weeks of the application deadline.