It's another Olympic Games year! It seems like just a short while ago, but it has been nearly four full years since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stepped into the long-standing impasse between the previous administration and former president Sir Arlington Butler who appeared more closely associated at the time with member federations. The issue was resolved in July of 2008 and the transition was amazingly smooth.
Wellington Miller who served as a vice president under the old administration, felt the organization needed a change at the top to go forth properly. He threw his support behind the member federations and emerged as president. The BOC will hold elections later this year. Miller is comfortable with the strides made by the BOC in some noteworthy ways and the manner it has ensured continuity of all that was positive from the previous group of executives. He said that now is the time for reflections.
Miller is particularly satisfied that despite the fact that there will always be the situation whereby opposing views are expressed around an executive table, the team of BOC officers have done the kind of job that all and sundry would accept as worthy of praise. To prove his point, the IOC sent in a team to do a general audit and concluded that the BOC had a B+ rating. "That was important for us. It established the point that the group of executives understood how the IOC expects national bodies to operate and we functioned in that regard.
The high rating assured us that we are performing up to a quality standard and we just kept going on," said Miller. Never inclined to criticize the old administration, he does point out readily however that his group has been more aggressive in going after development options available. The Olympic Solidarity Fund has been high on the agenda and Miller's administration has pursued the options with gusto. "Because of our aggressiveness, we have been able to get more funds for development.
For instance, we got $60,000 for a two-year softball development program. We staged a walk-run event in North Andros. That was in keeping with our pledge to involve the Family Islands more in the Olympic Movement," informed Miller. It is a contented Miller who reflects on the difference he and the other executives have made in the interest of the national development of sports. For certain, the communication with federations has seemed much better.
He speaks to the "vested interest" federations now have in the BOC. It's not all perfect within the BOC but the cloud of suspicion about what goes on in the most powerful national sports organization in the land is no longer there. Around the Caribbean and the wider sports world, there is indeed new respect for the Bahamas Olympic Committee
No longer does the mention of the Bahamas Olympic Committee draw snickers and remarks that are not complimentary at all. This was definitely the case during the high water mark of the controversy during the mid 2000s. No more though. The Olympic Movement in the country is back on a good course and sailing steadily ahead. To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at fredericksturrup@gmail.com.
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