STANIARD CREEK, Andros, The Bahamas -- Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon. Desmond Bannister said on September 19, 2009, that the First Annual North and Central Andros Back to School Basketball Classic is an event to bring together residents from all over Andros, and showcase the four recently-repaired basketball courts.

?We wanted to do something special for Andros and we decided that we were going to start with sports,? Minister Bannister said during a visit to Staniard Creek, Andros. ?What we decided to do was get the basketball courts together, so that young men and young women in our communities could have meaningful, athletic activities to be involved in.?

Minister Bannister was the keynote speaker at the opening of the event in Staniard Creek, Andros. Almost 15 schools and teams from throughout the districts are slated to take part.

Also traveling to the island for the event were Minister of State for Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon. Charles Maynard, Member of Parliament for North Andros and the Berry Islands Mr. Vincent Peet, Member of Parliament for South Andros Mr. Picewell Forbes, Mr. Lavarity Deveaux, contractor Mr. Emile Knowles of Knowles Construction and Ms. Global Bahamas Jamie B. Morris.

Ms. Morris, whose family hails from South Andros, also threw up the ball for the tip-off.

Minister Bannister said that it was great to be in Staniard Creek, the settlement of his birth. He added that he was grateful that the Ministry had been able to start with the Staniard Creek court.

?Next week, we will be in Red Bays and the competition will continue in Lowe?s Sound and then the grand finale will take place in Fresh Creek,? Minister Bannister said.

Senior Deputy Administrator for Central Andros Mr. Jackson McIntosh said the tournament is an example of the drive of the people of Andros.

?Look at what we can do when we stand together with true commitment,? he said.

Senior Deputy Administrator for North Andros and the Berry Islands Dr. Huntley Christie said the activities that day were history making, especially in the light of the positive effect that the event and the basketball courts will have on Androsian youth.

?Good, clean sports is like a magnet,? Dr. Christie said. ?It will draw people together.?
These small initiatives will go a long way in making things better in our districts?

Mr. Peet said the events of the day were even more special because they brought together North and Central Andros in one area -- Staniard Creek, the Garden of Andros.

?This is just the beginning and I am sure that we will get even more involved in other areas (in Andros),? Mr. Peet said. ?Communities must work together and we must learn to respect each other. Let us use this occasion to re-commit ourselves to helping each other and to bringing tourists to Andros.?

Mr. Forbes commended the efforts of Minister Bannister and all those involved with the initiative and hoped to the event is expanded.

?We would like to see this expanded, where can we could bring persons and teams from Nassau to come here to compete and we could have weekends away where persons could come here and buy local handicrafts and good ?down-home? food and fill up all of our bone-fishing lodges and hotel rooms here in Central Andros,? Mr. Forbes said.

Mr. Deveaux, who represented his brother former Member of Parliament for North Andros and the Berry Island the Hon. Earl Deveaux, noted that both his brother and Minister Bannister are ?sons of the soil? in Staniard Creek -- a settlement that produced several notable Bahamians.

Also, he applauded Minister Bannister?s efforts in Andros, including the repair of the four basketball courts.

?It was his dream to reach out to the youth of Andros,? Mr. Deveaux said. ?It was his drive that made this happen in his home and all the way to Red Bays.?

Minister Bannister encouraged the participants to do their best and to ?shine? as the spotlight is on them.

?I want you guys to highlight your skills because, when we go back in the House of Assembly on the 30th, I am going to be bragging about what I saw in Andros this weekend, particularly what I saw in Staniard Creek,? he said.

?I am really proud of you and I hope that by next year, this tournament is going to grow and you could get some Nassau teams here, so you could beat up on them, too.?