The sweet aromas of teas and flowers wafted on the breeze.  Elegantly dressed women socialized while sipping on delicious teas, munching on finger foods and "drinking" in the perfume from the flowers that hung in the air.  That was the scene at the recent Sir Victor (Bahamas) Heart Ball Committee's 5th Annual Tea Party & Fashion Show at Government House.

It was a different scene than Peresse Seymour is accustomed to.  The 20-something who modeled at this year's event says while she spent most of the day inside, whenever she ventured outside, she found the tea party and fashion show "interesting", especially as it was different from her usual outings.

Seymour is the niece of Wanda Gomez, who attended her third consecutive tea party, which she finds very British and nice. Gomez was invited to her first tea party three years ago by the chairperson of the Sir Victor (Bahamas) Heart Ball Committee, Portia Nottage, and the plant lover's attention was immediately caught by the way the tables are decorated.  It's those decorated tables that have kept her going back three years later.

"They always have a table contest, and to see the ideas some of the women come up with... they have to be very creative," she said.  This year she was enamored of a table that had a wreath in a heart with dark red bougainvillea flowers.  "It's just amazing the ideas they come up with," she said.

The hat competition is another treat for Gomez, and the way the women dress also amazes her.  "They don't just put on the hat ... it's their attire, their gloves, their handbags, their shoes, and they walk around very ditty.  It's all very important and very British; it's really nice.  And then you get to see people you don't get to see all year as well.  And it's an outing. It is fun," she says.

The tea party and fashion show, held under the theme "Flowers of The Caribbean", jumpstarted The Sir Victor (Bahamas) Heart Ball Committee  fundraising activities.
The fun-filled afternoon of elegance consisted of a fashion show, a hat parade and a table decorating contest. Teas were provided by the Island Rose Teas, Pasion Tea Ltd., Twinings Tea and native teas from Beth Stuart of Beth's Kitchen.

Guests were mesmerized by fashion as models showed off clothing pieces from BCBG Boutique and The Seventeen Shop.  Additionally, they modeled jewelry from Nadia Campbell Jewellery. The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation is a non-profit organization that assists children with the treatment of heart repair.  The Heart Ball Committee is the fundraising arm of The Foundation.

In preparation for the annual Heart Ball, the public can submit a written nomination, explaining why their nominee should be awarded the 2011 Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award which recognizes individuals who have selflessly given of themselves to promote human welfare and dignity, making life better for their fellow men.  The deadline for the award is January 13, 2012. The award will be presented at the 48th Annual Heart Ball, February 18, 2012 at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort.

Former Olympic Champion Tonique Williams-Darling continues to give back to St. John's College, the school where she started her track and field career. The gold medalist in the women's 400 meters (m) from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games hosted the 1st St. John's College/TWD Cross Country event, this past Saturday. The meet, which she hopes to be a permanent fixture on the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations' (BAAA) calendar, attracted more than 400 young athletes from various schools and track clubs throughout New Providence.

Coaches from schools such as R.M. Bailey, C.C. Sweeting, L.W. Young, C.V. Bethel and St. John's College, used the meet as a training session, hoping to get their athletes in shape before the start of the track and field season.

Runners were divided into five divisions, and the course stretched from one to four kilometers based on the age groups. Taking home top honors in the primary division was Cleveland Eneas. The L.W. Young Golden Eagles won the junior title, and the R.M. Bailey Pacers won the senior division.

Cleveland Eneas scored 23 points to win the Under-10 boys, the Giants had 13 points and runners from the TWD Track and Field Club scored 12 points. A total of 37 points were scored by members of the Striders Track and Field Club, giving them the win in the Under-12 girls division. Finishing second, with 17 points, was the Giants, who took the Under-12 boys division with 62 points. Cleveland Eneas placed second in that division with 10 points.

The A.F. Adderley Tigers won both the Under-13 girls and boys divisions with 33 and 15 points respectively. The Queen's College Comets was second in the Under-13 girls and the T.A. Thompson Scorpions finished third. S.C. McPherson and the Giants both scored 14 points in the Under-13 boys, leaving the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves to settle for fourth, with 12 points. The top school in the Under-15 girls division was the Scorpions with 27 points, the Giants team posted 21 and the Sun Blazers Track and Field Club had 12.

"We saw it fit to have an event, since no other private school actually hosts a cross country meet," said Herbie Brown, the head coach for track and field at St. John's College. "We knew the timing was right, so we joined up with alumnus Tonique Williams-Darling and put the event on. We had approximately 450 student-athletes. The turnout was far more than we expected. We thought that we would have anywhere from 250 to 300 participants for the first year, so we exceeded our expectations."

As for former Olympian Williams-Darling, who said it is a pleasure to give back to St. John's College and The Bahamas, hosting more events will only help the athletes.

"TWD is on the move, all of my athletes took part in the event," she said. "It is just a joy to give back to a country and school that has done so much for you. The coaches and principal at St. John's College approached me last year about hosting a meet. They really want to get their athletic program up and running again, so the first steps were taken last year and this is the final one made, hosting the event. This is just the first part of our initiative, getting the kids involved again. The future is bright for them in the sport and I love assisting them."

Williams-Darling is the head coach in the TWD Track and Field Club. She plans to host a local and international meet next year.

For three straight years, the Junior Baseball League of Nassau (JBLN) had its eyes set on starting a girls/ladies softball division. What makes this year different is the fact that they have the help and support needed to finally get it off the ground. This year makes 24 seasons the JBLN has been active in providing youth baseball to young boys and girls.

Over the past six months, a lot of time and effort has been put into getting ladies to practice and register. These young ladies range from 12-20 and come from both the public and private schools. Thanks to the hard work of Stephen 'Bishop' Beneby and his wife Sherry, these young ladies have been getting the practice and training needed to start playing softball on Saturday, January 14, 2012.

During the last three to four months, a total of 60 girls have registered as part of the new JBLN Girls Softball Division. Young ladies came out on registration days that were held at the JBLN Field of Dreams Complex, in Yamacraw, and turned in their forms. The young ladies who have registered have been divided into five teams of 12 girls.

JBLN would like to thank the following companies for stepping forward and sponsoring these girls teams: The Sports Center, Nassau Agencies Limited (Seven Seas), Bahamas Waste, and Island Wholesale. Thanks to these, the girls will have uniforms sponsored. The young ladies will be sporting long grey pants, jerseys with sponsor's name on the back, belts, socks and caps.

Games will begin for JBLN ladies softball on Saturday, January 14 (Opening Day) and end on May 12. They will play a total of 15 games that will be played Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on the softball field at the JBLN Field of Dreams Complex.
JBLN has high hopes for its new ladies softball division and wishes them all the best in their inaugural year. Team names are the Sports Center Players, Seven Seas Oilers, Bahamas Waste Queens, Island Wholesale Distributors, and Snapple Snappers. The public is asked to stay current with the JBLN as the season begins in January 2012, for updates and pictures at www.jblnbaseball.com and on Facebook under the search word 'JBLN'.

JBLN has a total of 32 baseball teams and five girls softball teams scheduled to play this season. In baseball, there are six Tee Ball teams, five Coach Pitch teams, six Minor League teams, six Major League teams, five Junior League teams and four Senior League teams. The Tee Ball Division will play regular season games at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays; the Coach Pitch Division will play games at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays; the Minor League Division will play games at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, with the Minor and Major League alternating from week to week; the Major League Division will play games at 10:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays, with the Minor and Major League alternating from week to week (3:00 p.m. after March 11 Daylight Savings Time); the Junior League Division will play games at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays; the Senior League Division will play games at 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays (3:00 p.m. after March 11 Daylight Savings Time), and the Girls Softball Division will have its games at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

The Bahamas will have another two years to directly influence global maritime affairs through its re-election to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London last week.

The country landed one of 40 council seats on the 170 country-member IMO - a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with the safety and security of shipping and prevention of marine pollution by ships.  There is stiff competition and considerable lobbying for the 40 seats, according to Ian Fair, the chairman of Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA).

He said the accomplishment attests to this nation's reputation in the international maritime arena.

"We are very pleased to report that we were re-elected to the council," Fair told Guardian Business.  "The Bahamas is well regarded in the IMO for the positive contributions it makes.  To be one of the 40 [elected for the Council] represents the high regard of The Bahamas in the maritime sector."

The bid for an IMO Council seat is the most important international candidature for The Bahamas, Fair told IMO members ahead of the vote Friday.

The Council is the executive body responsible for supervising the work of the organization, under the authority of the assembly.  The Bahamas will serve for the 2012-2013 biennium of the council.

The IMO breaks-out three different categories of membership on the council.   Members in category A, for which 10 seats are allocated, have the largest interest in providing international shipping services.   Category B is for member states with the most significant international seaborne trade interests, with 10 seats on the council.

The Bahamas was eligible under category C, for which there were 20 seats.  It's open to member states that were not elected under the other categories, have special interests in maritime affairs, and will help to ensure all major geographical areas are represented on the council.

Breaking out the vote, Fair said 26 countries vied for a category C council seat, The Bahamas being the eleventh to secure its place.  The country garnered 118 votes from the 155 eligible voting states - five more that it did in its last successful bid for council membership two years ago.  Fair explained that each voting country could cast 20 votes in category C.

The vote took place at the 27th assembly of the IMO held November 21-30 at IMO headquarters in London.  The assembly generally holds a regular session once every two years to elect a new president and council, approval of the IMO's work program, and to vote the budget.

The lobby effort was well supported by the contributions The Bahamas has made to the IMO, recently with representation on all of the organizations committees and subcommittees.  High Commissioner, Paul Farquharson, is the permanent representative of the IMO, and served as vice president of the assembly these last two years.

In presentations at the assembly last week, Fair said The Bahamas was an archipelago and a nation of seafarers "intrinsically linked to the sea and the real marine environment".  He reported over 56 million tons of ships on the register - from cruise ships to bulk carriers to high-tech advanced dynamic position ships used in mineral extraction from the seabed.

The Bahamas has the fourth largest ship registry in the world.