Registration is now open online for the ninth annual Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas (SIMB), to be held in 2018.

The race will be held on January 14 at 6:00 a.m. It will start at Junkanoo Beach and end at Arawak Cay. The 26.1 mile race will take endurance runners along the northern coast of the island.

SIMB features three events – the marathon, half marathon and relay and comes on the heels of the Susan G. Komen Bahamas Race for the Cure® 5K, which is held a day before.

Organizers are encouraging local residents to register early to secure a spot.

SIMB is a 2015 Tourism Impact Award winner and was named by Runners World UK as one of the “50 Best Races In The World” outside of the UK.

For more information on the race, or to register, visit www.marathonbahamas.com.

First place winner in the male 30-34 age category, Chris Bond; Sunshine Insurance VP of Development, Dwayne Swaby and Marsh Senior VP, Ed Cotterell. (Photo/Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas)

Rogan Smith
Marketing Coordinator | PR Chair for Sunshine Insurance Race Weekend
Sunshine Insurance Agents & Brokers Ltd. (Marsh Correspondent)

Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) hosted its inaugural Invitational Swim Meet at the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre on Saturday 18 January 2017. 287 young athletes participated in more than 50 races that included all four competitive strokes - freestyle, backstroke, breastroke and butterfly. The event was a major success for the school and the LCIS Swim Team. There are plans to host the meet on an annual basis.

The meet featured 12 swim clubs from around The Bahamas: Lyford Cay Swim Club, Alpha Aquatics Swim Club, Barracuda Swim Club, Grand Bahama Tritons, Swift Swimming, The Dolphin Swimming Club, Team Orca, St Anne’s School Blue Waves, Mantas Water Polo Club, Blue Marlin Aquatics, Freeport Aquatic Club, and Sea Waves Aquatic Team.

The aptly timed event offered great practice to athletes who will be representing The Bahamas in the upcoming Carifta 2017 Swimming Championships to be held in Nassau. All swimmers performed exceptionally, with many of them swimming Carifta-qualifying times.

LCIS is especially proud of the performance of its athletes during this event, the school’s first invitational meet. Many students improved upon their personal best times, even though for some of them (as young as 5 years old) this represented their first experience in an Olympic-sized pool and competing against swimmers from other clubs. The tremendous support of the parents, faculty and staff of LCIS greatly assisted in the coordination of the event, as well as provided encouragement to competing athletes.

Coordinator of the Elite and Developmental Sports (EDS) Programme at LCIS Mr Javier Lamas expressed his appreciation for the event’s success, stating, “We are very proud that in our first attempt at hosting an event of this size everything has run so smoothly, and we have received so much support and positive feedback from local swim clubs. We are deeply appreciative of the turnout and sportsmanship of the many athletes who participated, with some coming from as far as Grand Bahama to take part in our meet.”

The EDS Programme at LCIS has greatly contributed to the improvement of the school’s athletes. Swimmers as young as 5 years old are able to hone their strokes and techniques during weekly training sessions, in an on-campus pool, with highly qualified professional coaches who are dedicated to their growth and improvement. LCIS Assistant Principal Mr Frederic Bournas has witnessed the programme’s impact on students firsthand: “The EDS Programme really has made a difference in the performance of our athletes. As we continue to develop and improve upon our sports programme, LCIS will continue to engage in competition with local and international schools and clubs to ensure that our students take part in transformative experiences that will lead to their success as athletes.”

Founded in 1962, Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) is a fully accredited international day school located in western New Providence offering an educational programme that inspires, challenges and transforms students. LCIS is the only school in The Bahamas to offer three International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes. Upon graduation, LCIS students move on to top colleges and universities around the world, with 100% of students being accepted to their first-choice school. Visit: www.lcis.bs

O'Niel Bain

Communications and Development Assistant

Lyford Cay International School

A group of students from the Bahamas Down Syndrome Center got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, playing beach soccer with some of the top players from The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States on Tuesday.
A total of 17 children and adults afflicted with the genetic disorder attended the Bahamas Beach Soccer Foundation Clinic at the new state-of-the-art Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility, and received one-on-one training from the soccer stars who are playing in this week's CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) Beach Soccer Championships.
With the help of the players, the students took turns shooting at the goal and learned some passing drills before playing a full game in the stadium. The oldest student, 48-year-old Sonya Davis, said she had the time of her life.
"It was awesome," she yelled excitedly after the hour-long session ended. "I scored nine goals."
Throughout the session, the students laughed and gave each other high fives when someone would successfully complete a task. Waydel Hepburn, 28, said she wants to become a soccer player. Her friend, Joy Turner, 48, shared the same goal.
"It was fun," said Hepburn, who scored several goals as well.
The younger students also enjoyed the activities and were all smiles as they interacted with the players who were equally as excited. President of The Bahamas Down Syndrome Association Cheryl Newell, said the opportunity to interact with the beach soccer players was good for the students.
"They had a great time. Just feeling important enough to be asked to come to something special like this and for people to take the time to embrace them and connect with them is great. I'm happy that they got to have some fun while getting a little exercise as well."
Newell said the group will be out at the stadium this week to cheer on Team Bahamas and all the other players who they played with on Tuesday.
Starting striker for Team Bahamas Lesley St. Fleur said he was grateful for the opportunity to work with the group.
"It's great to be there for the kids and show them some skills," St. Fleur said.
In Monday's game against Guyana, St. Fleur scored three of The Bahamas' four goals.
Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) Head of Competitions Josep Ponset congratulated St. Fleur and other players who joined the community effort.
"The kids love it," he said. "We love to share with them what we love, beach soccer, but it is about more than just the game; it is about connecting with the community and leaving something behind when we leave; hope and inspiration."
The training session was organized and funded by BSWW with help from the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) and the Local Organizing Committee of the CONCACAF Championships.
The CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships continue until Sunday February 26. Team Bahamas' schedule for the rest of the week will be determined on Thursday evening.

Some awesome photos from today's beach soccer clinic. Beach Soccer World Wide's Beach Soccer Foundation hosted 15 students from the Bahamas Down Syndrome Centre this morning.

The kids and adults got the unique opportunity to kick around with beach soccer players from Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and USA in the brand new Stadium at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility.

Photo credit: Lea Weil - Beach Soccer World Wide

Nikia Deveaux

Senior Manager Communications

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism