Volume 1 Issue 3

September 2011 Edition Quarterly News Letter Bahamas Olympic Committee

Swifter Higher Stronger Guadalajara 2011 Message from the President The BOC is gearing up to send Welcome to all; a highly competitive team to Guadalajara for the upcoming This is an exciting time in the life of Olympic Commit- Pan American Games. It is tee as we prepare to take part in the Olympics. expected that the top Baha- mian competitors for the 2012 Athletes of various Federations and Associations are planning to Olympic Games will be repre- make the team... Coaches are preparing their athletes who are senting the country in Guadala- training hard for the various qualifiers and are buckling down to BOC President jara. achieve those times and to qualify for other milestone marks that Wellington Miller mean they will be part of the history that will be made at the The official opening of the Pan Games of the XXX Ollympiad. Am Village is set to take place October 4th, with the Opening Ceremonies scheduled for We hope that you will all be part of this tremendous upcoming experience, either Friday, October 14th. The Games will conclude with the directly through your participation as an athlete or through your support of our Com- closing ceremony on Sunday, October 30th. The Bahamian mittee and our member Federations and Associations. contingent will be among approximately 6,000 athletes from 42 nations to participate in 36 sports. Bahamian athletes It is our intention that this newsletter and future editions will all serve to make us a will be competing in the sports of Athletics, Swimming, more successful and cohesive organisation, continuing to work in the best interests of Boxing and Tennis. all our athletes and in the best sporrting and community interests of our nation and the international sporting community. Final team selection will be made known approximately one month prior to the opening ceremonies. Stay tuned to the Thank you all for reading and please keep reading and supporting our national athletes. BOC website, facebook page and twitter feed for the latest news. Sincerely,

Bahamas Ready for IOM

The Bahamas Olympic Committee has sent a contingent of six athletes to the Isle of Man this month to compete in the Common- wealth Youth Games. Two cyclists and four track and field athletes will represent the Bahamas from September 7th to the 13th.

The Commonwealth Youth Games were first held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2000 as part of millennium celebrations, and have been KHOGHYHU\IRXU\HDUVVLQFH WKLV\HDU·VHYHQWZDVSXVKHGIRUZDUGWRDYRLGFODVKZLWK/RQGRQ  Not only will the Games pro- vide young Bahamians with the opportunity to compete at the international level, it will also be a tremendous opportunity to experi- ence different cultures. Part of the program at the Youth Games includes a visit by the team to a local school in Isle of Man. After the competition is complete, the final day of the Games will be dedicated to a joint Cultural Day and Closing Ceremonies.

The team will be lead by Chef de Mission Roy Colebrook, and Deputy Chef de Mission Tonique Williams-Darling. Cyclists Jay Major and Roy Colebrook Jr. will be competing in the Time Trial, Road Race and Criterium. On the Athletics side, Gregria Higgs will race the 100m. Anthonique Butler will be competing in the triple jump. Julian Munroe will run the 400m and Anthony Adderley the 200m.

Antonique Butler Gregria Higgs Anthony Adderley Julian Munroe Roy Colebrook Jr. Jay Major Page 2 Bahamas Olympic Committee

Olympic Day Wrap-up

On June 23rd, Olympic Committees through- out the world joined together in celebrating Olympic Day. In the Bahamas, the 2011 edition of Olympic Day was an historic one. Not only did the 2011 Olympic Day Fun Run/Walk represent the 25th anni- versary of the event in New Providence, it also marked the first ever Olympic Day celebrations on the family island of Andros.

On June 18th, hundreds of Bahamians ² of all ages and abilities ² gathered at the Mailboat Headquarters in New Providence to support their Olympic hopefuls and celebrate the ideals of Olympism. Once again, the event was a great success; raising funds that will be essential in helping Bahamian athletes achieve their goals at London 2012.

On the heels of the successful New Providence Fun Run/Walk, the BOC replicated the event on July 23rd in Andros. Enhancing the profile of sport and WKH2O\PSLFPRYHPHQWRQWKHIDPLO\LVODQGVLVRQHRIWKH%2&·VVWUDWHJLF objectives, which made this event such a significant one. The people of An- dros embraced their own edition of the Fun Run/Walk, beginning a tradition that will hopefully carry on for many years to come.

The BOC would like to sincerely thank all those who supported these events. We look forward to your continued support at the 2012 edition of the Fun Run/Walk. The next event will take place during the final stages of prepara- tion for the 2012 London Olympic Games!

Coaching Courses Several sports in the Bahamas have taken advantage of Olympic Solidarity funding through the BOC to host coaching courses in recent months:

Sailing ,Q0D\WKH%DKDPDV6DLOLQJ$VVRFLDWLRQKRVWHGWKHLUILUVWHYHU/HYHO¶7HFKQLFDO&RXUVHIRU &RDFKHV·7KHFRXUVHZDVVXSSRUWHGE\WKH,QWHUQDWLRQDO6DLOLQJ)HGHUDWLRQ·V¶&RQQHFWWR 6DLOLQJ3URMHFW·2YHUILYHGD\VFRDFKHVOHDUQHGKRZWRSURSHUO\LQWURGXFHFRPSOHWHEHJLQ ners to sailing, providing the sailor with the foundation of knowledge and skills necessary to move into racing.

Basketball The Bahamas Basketball Federation recently hosted a pair of FIBA Level 1 coaching clinics. The first clinic took place in May, 2010 in Nassau. This was followed this up with another clinic in Freeport in September of 2010. The BBF, with the assistance of Olympic Solidarity funding, has made great strides towards increasing its pool of qualified coaches in the Bahamas.

Swimming With the support of Olympic Solidarity, the BOC and FINA, the Bahamas Swimming Federation has introduced a new learn to swim and water safety education and instructor programme called "Let's Swim Bahamas". The programme is geared towards Physical Education teachers and swimming instructors. Students who successfully complete the 10 Island stations in the programme will be awarded a "Let's Swim Bahamas" certificate.

Gymnastics In September the Bahamas Gymnastics Federation is hosting an FIG level 1 coaching course. The course will result in up to twenty newly qualified coaches in the Bahamas, providing a great base upon which the sport can grow. Volume 1 Issue 3 Page 3

Athlete of the Quarter The Athlete of the Quarter award has been established to recognize the accomplishments of Bahamian athletes on the international stage. In conjunction with the Newsletter, four times annually, the BOC will announce two recipients of the award (one male, one female). For the first ever edition of the award, athletic achievements for the period of January ² August, 2011 were taken into consideration. The next edition of the award will be presented in December, and will take be awarded based on achievements from October onward. The first ever recipients of the BOC Athlete of the Quarter are: Arianna Vanderpool- Donald Thomas Wallace High Jumper Donald Thomas, Olympic swimmer Arianna Vander- RWKHUZLVHNQRZQDV -XLFH·RU pool-Wallace has had a tremen- ¶6N\:DONHU HQWHUHGDV the reigning Bahamas Association dously successful start to 2011. of Athletic Associations senior Arianna capped off her 2010 season athlete of the year, as well as by becoming the first Bahamian to reigning ever medal at the FINA World Short Champion. Thomas has carried Course Championships, garnering that success into 2011. bronze in the 50 metres freestyle. In February, Thomas finished Arianna has carried that momentum third in the men's at the Sparkassen Cup in Stuttgart, clearing 2.27 into the 2011 season. In February, Arianna led her Auburn Tigers to a third metres. In May, he leapt 2.29 for a 4th place result at the Doha Samsung Diamond League Meeting. place finish at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Swimming Champion- ships. In the process, she set a new NCAA record in the 100 free, and was A Grand Bahamas native, Thomas returned home in June to compete in the named SEC Female Swimmer of the Year. Arianna followed up her SEC 2011 BTC National Open Track and Field Championships. Continuing his Championship performance by winning both the 50 free and 100 free at the rivalry with countryman Trevor Barry, Thomas emerged as national cham- NCAA Championships, cementing her status as the top female sprint swim- pion, posting a leap of 2.30 metres for the victory over Barry who jumped mer in the country. 2.29m. In the lead-up to the World Championships, Thomas jumped 2.31 at the Crystal Palace AVIVA London Grand Prix in August. In June, Arianna returned home to compete in front of Bahamian fans at the Thomas is now in preparations for the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American RBC National Swimming Championships, before travelling to Shanghai in July Games in October. for the 14th FINA World Championships. At the World Championships, Arianna lowered her personal bests in both the 50 and 100 freestyle events, achieving the A Standards for London 2012 in the process. Did you know... Arianna is now in preparations for her senior year at Auburn, with hopes of repeating as NCAA double sprint champion. As she also looks forward to The Bahamas have actually won the Olympic Games on a per capita basis on competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games, we congratulate Arianna multiple occasions?! The Bahamas have won a total of ten Olympic med- Vanderpool-Wallace as the first ever female recipient of the Athlete of the als³no small feat for a country this size! Quarter Award!

Implementation of Zeus Games

The BOC is continuing to work with its member National Sport Federations on the implementation of the Games management system, Zeus. Several of the Federations have already commenced work on their respective athlete databases. A number of Federations were recently represented at a training seminar hosted by Capacity Support Officer Colin Whitmee at the BOC office. The seminar gave a brief overview of the history of Zeus, including its benefits to sport administrators at the Federation level. Participants were then given a live look at the system, and shown how data entry/editing is done. Those Federations which have yet to begin work on their database are encouraged to contact the office of the BOC to set up their own training session (s).

At the NOC level, Zeus has proven invaluable in preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Youth and Pan Am Games. Without question, accredi- tation of athletes and officials for London 2012 and beyond will be made much easier with the database having already populated for the above mentioned Games. Zeus will also present greater opportunities for the BOC to communicate with its athletes. Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium

On June 22ndWKH3HRSOH·V5HSXEOLFRI&KLQDRIILFLDOO\KDQGHGRYHUWKHEUDQGQHZ Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium to the government of the Bahamas. In atten- dance were delegates from both the Chinese and Bahamian governments, as well as the VWDGLXP·VQDPHVDNH%DKDPLDQ7UDFNOHJHQG7KRPDV$5RELQVRQKLPVHOI7KLVKLVWRULF event marks a significant step in the development of sport in the Bahamas.

Stadium construction began just two years ago, in July 2009. The construction project, carried out by Chinese nationals, employed approximately 326 people with over 100 %DKDPLDQFRPSDQLHVSURYLGLQJJRRGVDQGVHUYLFHVIRUWKHVWDGLXP·VFRQVWUXFWLRQ

The stadium has a fixed seating capacity of 15,000, including skyboxes and sections catered to disabled spectators. The running track will be IAAF certified, and the infield pitch is FIFA certified. This state of the art facility will provide the Bahamas with the capacity to host major domestic and international sporting events.

While Stadium construction is all but complete, representatives of the Chinese construction team will remain in the Bahamas over the coming year to provide training and assistance with the maintenance of the new Stadium. This stadium is a tremendous gift from the Chinese government, which will benefit Bahamians for many years to come.

News and Notes

7KH%DKDPDV%DVNHWEDOO)HGHUDWLRQUHFHQWO\FRQFOXGHGKRVWLQJERWKWKHPHQ·VDQGZRPHQ·V&DULEEHDQ %DVNHWEDOO&KDPSLRQVKLSVDWWKH.HQGDO,VDDFV*\PQDVLXPLQ1HZ3URYLGHQFH2QWKHPHQ·VVLGHWKH Bahamian team managed a second place showing. In the final game, the Bahamas came back from a 20- point deficit, before ultimately dropping the decision by a score of 91-89 to the US Virgin Islands. The ZRPHQ·VFKDPSLRQVKLSWRRNSODFHIROORZLQJWKHPHQ·V7KH%DKDPDVRSHQHGZLWKD-47 win over St. Vincent & the Grenadines, before dropping the remainder of their contests for a fifth place finish. Overall, those associated with the event were quite impressed with its level of organization. The BOC wishes to commend the Bahamas Basketball Federation for hosting a successful event here in the Bahamas. 7KH%DKDPDVPHQ·VQDWLRQDOVRFFHUWHDPKDGDWUHPHQGRXVRSHQLQJWRWKH:RUOGFXS4XDOLILFDWLRQ defeating Turks & Caicos by an aggregate score of 10-0. The team won the opening leg of the matchup on the road by a score of 4-0, before returning home and winning by a 6-0 scoreline. Three of the Bahamas' top swimmers represented their country at the 14th FINA World Swimming Champion- ships in Shanghai, China. BOC Athlete of the Quarter Ariana Vanderpool-Wallace was joined by Alana Dillette and Vereance Burrows. The Bahamas Association of Athletics Associations has had a busy and successful summer, hosting the BTC National Junior & Senior Track & Field Championships in Freeport, sending a team to the CAC Games in Mayaguez, as well as a team currently competing in the World Championships in , South Korea.

Bahamas Olympic Committee

Quantum Plaza Soldier Road North Bahamas Olympic Committee P.O. Box SS-6250 Nassau, NP Bahamas

Ph: 242-394-8143 Fax: 242-394-8708 @BAHNOC E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.bahamasolympiccommittee.org

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