MOSS TOWN, Exuma -- Exuma could be the gateway for athletes in the Central Bahamas to qualify for regional and international competitive sports. This was echoed by sporting officials, including Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr. Daniel Johnson at the recently held Sandals L.N. Coakley Track and Field Invitational Classic.
"I think Exuma can host the central regional sports championship of The Bahamas and we look forward to it soon," Minister Johnson said.
The high hopes to revitalize the stagnant sports programs in Exuma is coupled with the ministry's Family Island Sports Complex Project initiative that Johnson promised would come to fruition in 2014.
"You are going to get a proper facility, you are going to see a sailing academy and proper sports management," he said.
Dr. Johnson emphasized the importance of such improvements in Exuma, saying sports opens doors for students to have opportunities of exposure and advancement.
Similarly, administrator within the sports unit at the Ministry of Education in charge of after school programs, Evon Wisdom, told athletes that they can pre-qualify for the CARITA Games and other junior regional and international meets, in Exuma. He said that Exuma has great potential to host international competitive sports meets.
"The importance is the central location, in terms of the island itself. The Onion Bowl, even though only an asphalt surface, is so picturesque and we find this centralized location ideal for all schools within The Bahamas to come to, and we only see growth in this area for the island of Exuma.
"We can get a fairly large inter scholastic golf championship, a sailing championship for all athletes in the world."
Wisdom also stressed that the success of such events would rely heavily on the collaboration of Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Ministry of Tourism and the Sandals Emerald Bay Resort.
The meet featured athletes from L.N. Coakley High, St Andrew's School, Forecast Academy International of Exuma, C.V. Bethel High School and several local primary school teams.
Coaches Ednol Rolle and Ann Bullard were the organizers of the event. Rolle said: "Next year, the plan is to invite more schools; my dream is to continue the trend every year to give students of Exuma the opportunity to get exposure and to compete."
According to Rolle, athletes in New Providence have a greater advantage because they compete more often than those in the Family Islands.
The invitational, which once hosted hundreds of athletes from across the length and breadth of The Bahamas, was resuscitated after a decade long hiatus, with Sandals Emerald Bay as its main sponsor. General Manager of Sandals Emerald Bay, Jeremy Mutton, expressed that the sponsorship is a continuation of the partnership between the resort and the island's lone government high school.

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