The Bahamas' Men's National Beach Soccer Squad, which reached the doorstep of qualifying for the prestigious FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, was named as The Nassau Guardian's Team of the Year for 2013, with 26 points.
With the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Championships being held here in The Bahamas, the upstart squad took full advantage of home cooking as they rode the momentum of the fans to a 2-1 record during the round-robin section of the tournament, barely missing out on a semi-final spot.
During the five-day tournament, The Bahamas defeated Puerto Rico and Guatemala, but lost emphatically to the eventual gold medalists, the United States of America. Only the pool winners and the best second place team advanced to the semis. The Bahamas was among the best second place teams, but lost the tiebreaker to the eventual silver medalists, El Salvador. Only the top two teams qualified for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup which was held September 18-28, 2013, in Papeete, Tahiti.
The Bahamas finished sixth in the CONCACAF Championships, but it was the best ever showing for a Bahamian team in beach soccer. Also, with the new national beach soccer facility at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge, there are expected to be many more opportunities for regional prominence in the future.
Professional field soccer player Lesley St. Fleur led The Bahamas in scoring with four goals during the CONCACAF Championships. Nesley Jean added three goals, and two other players contributed two apiece. The squad is hoping for a breakthrough in the future.
The men's 4x100-meter (m) relay team, which destroyed the national record this year, finished second in voting for The Nassau Guardian's Team of the Year for 2013, with 23 points. The quartet of Adrian Griffith, Jamial Rolle, Trevorvano Mackey and Shavez Hart, in that order, ran a blazing 38.92 seconds in the heats of the event at the 24th Senior Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Track and Field Championships, to qualify for the final with the fastest time and erase a 13-year-old national record of 38.98 seconds. That same quartet came back in the final to lower the national record to 38.77 seconds and win the gold medal.
At that same meet in Morelia, Mexico, Hart became the second fastest Bahamian ever as he ran a personal best time of 10.16 seconds in the heats of the men's 100m to qualify at the 'B' standard for the world championships.
At those Moscow World Championships, Mackey was forced to sit out, but the team of Griffith, Rolle and Hart, to go along with newcomer Warren Fraser, bonded together and pulled off The Bahamas' best performance in the event, ever. The quartet ran a national record time of 38.70 seconds to finish sixth in their heat, and 14th overall. It was the third time in two months that the national record was broken in the event after not being touched for 13 years.
All of the sprinters, with the exception of Rolle who didn't run much of the shorter sprint last year, ran under 10.30 seconds in the open century in 2013.
The Scottsdale Vixens which won a ninth consecutive New Providence Volleyball Association (NPVA) women's title this year, finished third in voting for The Nassau Guardian's Team of the Year for 2013, with 20 points, The Bahamas under-20 girls 4x100m relay team from the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships, finished fourth with 19 points, and The Bahamas' under-15 girls volleyball squad, which won the bronze medal at the Caribbean Volleyball Championships (CVC), rounded out the top five in the voting process, with 17 points.
The Bahamas under-20 girls 4x100m sprint team from CARIFTA, inclusive of Devynne Charlton, Shaunae Miller, Carmiesha Cox and Keianna Albury, ran 44.77 seconds for the gold medal, almost a full second ahead of second place finisher Barbados, and the under-15 girls volleyball squad shocked everyone at the CVC Youth Championships with their bronze medal performance.Team of the Year scores1st - Men's Beach Soccer Squad (Beach Soccer) - 26 points
2nd - Men's 4x100m (Athletics) - 23 points
3rd - Scottsdale Vixens (Volleyball) - 20 points
4th - U-20 Girls 4x100m (CARIFTA Track) - 19 points
5th - U-15 Girls CVC Team (Volleyball) - 17 points
6th - U-16 Boys FIBA Americas (Basketball) - 15 points
7th - U-17 Boys 4x400m (CARIFTA Track) - 10 points
7th - CARIFTA Swimming Team (Swimming) - 10 points
9th - Creter's Bulldogs (Softball) - 6 points
9th - MailBoat Cybots (Basketball) - 6 points
Others receiving votes: Men's 4x400m (Athletics); CAC Team (Bodybuilding & Fitness); Sigma Brackettes (Softball); Bommer G. Operators (Women's Basketball), Scotiabank Defenders (Volleyball) and Women's 4x400m (Athletics).
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