With a focus of promoting Caribbean athletics globally, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is spearheading a 'Day in the Life' Series, featuring some of the best athletes in the region. A number of those athletes will be here in The Bahamas this weekend for the inaugural International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) World Relay Championships. Local Organizing Committee (LOC) members are anticipating a fantastic show.
Members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of The Bahamas' first truly global sporting event are beaming with pride as the event draws closer and closer.
Two and a half years of planning and preparation is about to come to fruition as the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014 prepares to take off this Saturday and conclude this Saturday at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. Nearly 800 athletes from 42 nations are set to compete, and the 15,000-seat stadium is expected to be filled to capacity. The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) has ratified a 26-member team for the championships.
All of the amenities are in place, and some of the world's best athletes are already here. The United States has been filing in all week, and countries such as Kenya, Jamaica and Great Britain will arrive today. This is the first ever International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) World Relay Championships, and it promises to be truly exciting.
"This is a huge undertaking for us. It is the biggest event that we have ever hosted, and we are all delighted to have an opportunity to show the world that we can organize an event of this magnitude," said LOC Chairman Keith Parker. "We are determined to do everything that we can to make the athletes feel welcomed, and for them to compete at the highest level, and secondly, we want to do everything that we can to accommodate the press properly. Too often, the press is left out, and we want to change that and make you guys as comfortable as you need to be so that you can do work effectively. Those are two key areas, and if we do those things well, I thank that can set the stage for more events of this nature to come to The Bahamas and to the Caribbean."
Parker said that it's amazing that a small country such as The Bahamas is being granted the opportunity to host such a grand event, but they in the LOC truly embrace the chance to prove to the world that The Bahamas is indeed capable of hosting such a world-class event.
"The confidence shown in us is encouraging by the IAAF, and it is up to us to prove to them that we are capable hosts. The biggest challenge for us was the track itself, being uprooted and replaced," said Parker. "Once that was completed, everything else just fell into place."
Parker's deputy, BAAA President Mike Sands said that he is honored to be serving as the president of the host federation at a time when a historic undertaking, such as the world relays, unfolds.
"To have an event like this at home is truly fantastic," said Sands. "Our athletes always take pride in competing at home. When you look at our fans, they have always seen our athletes compete on the world stage on television, but they hardly get to see them compete at home. From that perspective, I am extremely excited.
"A number of our top athletes are committed to taking part in this event, so we certainly expect the performances to be up to par, particularly with our athletes competing on home soil. The Bahamian fans can be very demanding, and they expect a lot, but I believe that our athletes will live up to those expectations."
With the relays being held before the national championships, Sands said that they had to decide on a system of selecting the top times from the season in finalizing Team Bahamas for these championships.
"What we did was sent out the criteria for team selection, and then we sat back and monitored the results from the various meets this season," said Sands. "I think that we have a well-balanced team with the opportunity for athletes to double up because our pool is not as deep as some of the bigger countries. We're looking forward to some really great performances. This event bodes well for the future of track and field right here in The Bahamas, because when you look at the junior segment of the world relays, they will get an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best athletes in the world, and that could do wonders for their careers."
There were numerous concerns regarding the bloated budget for these inaugural championships, and The Bahamas' ability to put it all together, but Sands said that he would never sell the country short in terms of hosting such a grand event.
"With an event of this magnitude, once you would have the support of the IAAF and our various partners and sponsors, the logistics and everything else would fall into place," he said. "As you can see, everything has come together on one accord for these world relays. I have no doubt that we will be able to stage a very successful event."
When John Bull Group of Companies was forced to pull out as a sponsor for the event, there was some initial concern seeing that their sponsorship was at the national partner level, but since then BTC has stepped up to the plate.
"What happened is that John Bull is a major supplier of many products, and one of the products that John Bull carries competes with a product of one of the partners of the IAAF. As a result of that, they had to withdraw their services," said Sands. "It was unfortunate, but we have to respect the fact that the IAAF has legacy partners. Thankfully, it didn't hinder the progress of the event. The government of The Bahamas is the primary sponsor of this event. They have been committed to the world relays from day one, and we're pleased to have their support."
Grafton Ifill Jr., who acts as a liaison between the government and the LOC, said that sports tourism boost that can be felt from the world relays is tremendous, and the economic impact could be huge.
"The government of The Bahamas gladly throws its resources behind these world relays," said Ifill Jr. "The financial resources are there, the human resources have been designated to the program, and we certainly look forward to hosting what we regard as an excellent event.
"When the idea was first thrown about, The Bahamas, as a country, immediately jumped on it because this is a touristic destination and we saw the opportunity to attract tourists to the country. We are also known for our prowess in track and field, and we saw this as an excellent event in bringing together some of the best athletes in the world. For us, it was an easy decision to make," he added.
In total, when taking into consideration athletes, coaches, trainers, team officials, technical officials, IAAF delegates, and family and friends of the athletes, more than 1,000 visitors are expected to grace these shores this week.
"We are in the process of liaising with experts who have developed a product for us, that will enable us to measure both before and after the event the impact that it would have had," said Ifill Jr. "With the budget, we're taking a very close look at that, because we want to ensure that the government gets its return on investment. It's a significant sum, but it is one that the government feels is well spent. We have preliminary indications that the return on investment will be reasonable. Once the data is put into the system and we do the post evaluation, we should be able to have some solid numbers going forward."
It is estimated that the world relays ran a total cost of $10-12 million. Whereas that might be a hefty price, hardly anyone could argue with the far-reaching impact that the event will have on the country. The Bahamas and its new stadium will be on center stage, as the world relays will be seen by millions around the world.
It is certainly a time to feel pride as a Bahamian.

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