The 42nd version of the CARIFTA Games, staged here earlier this year, was yet another indication of the potential the Bahamian sports industry has. Our track and field athletes performed with the courage of lions.
The Bahamas' eight gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze medals (31 in total) were good enough for second to Jamaica's 29, 25 and 15 for a total of 69. The difference between Jamaica and The Bahamas was clear. The medal count demonstrated the superiority of our sister Caribbean nation. Bahamian observers were heartened however by a few signs.
Of course, there was the great junior athlete Shaunae Miller, who sent a message to the world about the talent in The Bahamas, with her sensational runs in the under-20 female 200 meters (22.77) and 400 meters (51.63). Miller will not be there for The Bahamas when the supreme Caribbean junior track and field event is held in Fort-de-France, Martinique next year. She has moved out of the junior category.
The talent depth is here, though, for others to emerge and give this country the numbers to make a stronger challenge against Jamaica for the title. Spectators, particularly Bahamians, would recall with pride the awesome combination of under-20 female sprinters Devynne Charlton and Carmiesha Cox.
Charlton zipped across the finish in 11.60, just a hair ahead of Cox (11.61) in the under-20 female 100 meters (m) final. They will be eligible for The Bahamas once again. They provide a prime example of the grit of the Bahamian athletes. Our athletes have always performed gallantly. They have demonstrated year after year, an unflinching spirit.
That indomitable characteristic was there to be found in Bradley Cooper and his teammates during the late 1970s, when The Bahamas began the surge to the top. During the early 1980s when the country arrived at the pinnacle of CARIFTA Games glory by winning (in 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1984), our athletes were not to be denied. The group of stalwarts who carried our banner in battle so magnificently included Mark Johnson, Wendell Lawrence, Joey Wells, Pauline Davis, Monique Miller, Whelma Colebrooke, Laverne Eve, Michael Newbold, Stanford Moss, Lynden Sands, Steve Wray, David Charlton, Fabian Whymms, Oralee Fowler and Maryann Higgs.
Sadly, while the talent reservoir in The Bahamas remains the envy of the region, the development program is nothing to brag about at all. In fact, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) does not have a vibrant national development program. Quite frankly, the athletes who do so well for this country are those who come out of the school programs. Others surface because their parents/guardians can afford to pay coaches to train them.
While the BAAA grabs the credit, the truth is well known. The time has come for the BAAA to focus on structuring a national program that reaches into every corner of every community in the country. There once was a time when a strong effort was made in that direction. There are those now associated with the BAAA, who know of the ventures made by the organization into a variety of islands to find raw athletic products.
Subsequently, several attempts at talent-search programs stalled. Today, the BAAA does not have a strong development program that covers the entire country. As a result, the CARIFTA squads are constantly with the make-up that has New Providence out-numbering all of the other islands collectively. This situation has to change.
If it does, then, and only then, will The Bahamas be able to put up an incredibly strong challenge against Jamaica and ultimately reclaim the top status.
o To respond to this sports feature, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at sturrup1504@gmail.com.
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