Varel Davis was voted back into office for a fifth consecutive term, serving as the president of the Government Secondary School Sports Association (GSSSA). The members showed their confidence in her during the elections at C.H. Reeves Junior High School on Thursday.

Davis was overwhelmingly voted back into office, 14-1, over Shantell Rolle who opposed her. She said she is thankful for the members for supporting her and her team.

"They supported me and my team's plans in what they want to see accomplished. We are very grateful for them for supporting me. They know that this job is a lot of work and they know I put my all into what I do and that is why they supported me," Davis said.

Also being elected were Kendal Campbell as first vice president, Thurman Johnson as second vice Keesha Pratt-Johnson as secretary, Fiona Tucker as assistant secretary, Neketa Sears-Knowles as treasurer and Tyrice Curry-Davis as assistant secretary.

Davis, who has been at the helm since 2015, was happy to get another victory and she said they will be celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.

"It feels good to get another victory. I am excited to be back as president. We have a lot of things planned as it is our 30th year. I am excited that I have some persons around me who want to be a part of this and see us continue to do the work that we set out to do," Davis said.

She and her team want to have a retiree banquet for persons who gave their time to coaching or teaching and have now retired. She said there is no date set for the retiree banquet as yet.

One of the goals Davis has is to see more of the student-athletes receive scholarships to go off to college.

"We want to see if our coaches can get more of our kids off to school, especially when they graduate. We have some very athletic children in the high school sector so we need our coaches to give more effort into training so more athletes could get more scholarships," Davis said.

She added that the Ministry of Education & Technical & Vocational Training Sports Unit is looking to put on nationals in all of the core sports this year. Davis said they will be switching a few sports around this year. They are starting the year off with volleyball, and then cross country, basketball, track and field, softball, baseball and then soccer. There is the possibility of bringing on sports like golf, sloop sailing and rowing, she said.

Davis said they are looking to bring back a cheerleading competition. She also said they will look at the possibility of providing championship rings for the various winners, but that depends on the funds they are able to raise.

Less than a year after signing a professional baseball contract with a substantial signing bonus with the Texas Rangers, Bahamian Sebastian Walcott has impressed his club to the point where he has been promoted to High-A in Minor League Baseball (MiLB).

Walcott got the nod at just 17 years of age. He is coming off playing in the Arizona Complex League (ACL) at rookie-level baseball for the Rangers, and is the first minor leaguer for the Rangers to play the full season at 17, since Michael De Leon. De Leon did it in 2014 when he was promoted from Low-A to Double-A Baseball.

Walcott is now playing for the Hickory Crawdads in the South Atlantic League. They sit in third in that league and second in the south division with a 65-55 win/loss record on the season. The Bahamian made his debut on Sunday, and he was in the lineup as the designated hitter in a 9-0 trouncing by the Crawdads of the Greensboro Grasshoppers (65-58).

In that game, Walcott went 1-for-4 with a run batted in (RBI). His only hit came in the top of the first when he hit a double to left field that brought home Cody Freeman. The Crawdads went up 4-0 at the end of that inning and never looked back.

The Crawdads returned to action yesterday against Winston-Salem Dash in the first round of playoffs, but no score was available up to press time.

In the 35 games he played in the ACL, Walcott sported a batting average of .273, an on-base percentage (OBP) of .325 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of .524. He hit seven home runs and had 19 RBIs. He also had nine stolen bases in the ACL. Walcott had a short stint in the Dominican Summer League, playing just nine games before moving on to the ACL.

In his season in the Dominican Summer League, Walcott had a batting average of .253, an OBP of .338 and a SLG of .827.

The 6'4' infielder came into the league as one of the top 20 international prospects from the Major League Baseball (MLB) international signing period. He signed on the dotted line with the Rangers in January of this year. He has drawn comparison to Miami Marlins' outfielder Jasrado 'Jazz' Chisholm Jr., a Bahamian. Walcott is currently the 64th rank prospect on MLB's top 100 list and the number three prospect on the Rangers list.

Walcott is the fifth player at age 17 or younger to play a full minor league season in 2023, joining Nelson Roda (Los Angeles Angels), Ethan Salas (San Diego Padres), Colt Emerson (Seattle Mariners) and Tai Peete (Seattle Mariners).

Bahamian professional baseball player with the Miami Marlins Jasrado 'Jazz' Chisholm Jr. played a pivotal role in his team's 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals, on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep and going into their day off on Monday, in a three-way tie for the final wild card playoff spot in the National League of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Chisholm hit a grounder to the right side of the infield in the top of the ninth inning of a tied game on Sunday, and his speed forced an errant throw at first as the Marlins were able to avoid an inning ending double play. Luis Arráez, who leads the majors in hitting, scored the go-ahead run for the Marlins, giving them a 5-4 lead. After a stolen base by Chisholm, his 18th of the season, he came around to score a huge insurance run on a single from Bryan De La Cruz, to give the Marlins a 6-4 lead. De La Cruz was out at second on trying to extend the hit into a double, but the damage had already been done.

Tanner Scott replaced Sandy Alcantara, who had gone eight innings for the Marlins, and got into a l'il bit of trouble before closing the door on the Nationals. He struck out Lane Thomas swinging to end the game.

Batting in the clean-up spot, Chisholm finished the day with a hit in five at-bats and scored two runs. He batted .316 for the series, going 6-for-19 with a home run, five RBIs (runs batted in) and five runs scored. Chisholm is up to .249 for the season with 14 home runs, 36 RBIs and 37 runs scored. The Marlins (70-67) are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants, both with identical 70-67 win/loss records, for the final wild card playoff spot in the National League.

It doesn't get any easier for the Marlins though. They still have series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies - three of which are division leaders, and the other, the Phillies, lead the wild card standings in the National League. The Marlins will host the Dodgers in a three-game set at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, this week, before traveling to Philadelphia to play the Phillies on the weekend.

As for the game yesterday, the Marlins went up 3-0 early as Arráez hit a leadoff home run and Chisholm lifted a ground rule double in the top of the first. The Nationals got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first and went ahead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Marlins pulled even at four-a-half inning later, and some late game heroics gave them the much needed win.

Alcantara picked up the win for the Marlins and Scott recorded the save.

The playoff race in the National League remains tight as six teams are separated by just five and a half games in the standings. Those six teams are battling for three playoff spots, and the Marlins are right in the mix, looking to advance to the postseason for the second time in four years, following up on their appearance in the bubble in 2020. It would also be just the fourth time in the playoffs in their 31-year existence.

Their four-game sweep of the Nationals came a weekend after losing two of three to them.

With just 25 games remaining, the Marlins are looking to finish strong and cement their ticket to the postseason.

If they are successful in advancing to the playoffs this season, it would be just the fourth time in the franchise's 31-year history. On two of those trips, they went all the way and won the World Series - in 1997 over the Cleveland Indians and 2003 over the New York Yankees.

Both were in wild card seasons, and the Marlins are hoping that history repeats itself this year.

BUDAPEST, Hungary - The 19th World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, might be over, but the season continues for a number of Bahamian elite athletes.

The start lists for the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League Meet at Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich, Switzerland, are out, and a couple Bahamians will be in action.

Fresh off her fourth place finish at the world championships, Devynne Charlton will be back in action, competing in the women's 100 meters (m) hurdles, and looking to book a lane in the Diamond League Final, set for September 16-17 in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Once again, Charlton will be up against a stacked field.

In the race are World Champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica, world championships silver medalist and Olympic Champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, of Puerto Rico, world championships bronze medalist and former world record holder Kendra 'Keni' Harrison of the United States, world championships finalists Nia Ali of the United States and Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland and Americans Alaysha Johnson and Tia Jones.

The only other athlete in the field in Zürich this Thursday is Pia SkrzysZowska, of Poland.

It will be a tough race for Charlton as six of the ladies have run faster than her this season. She recently went on social media to express thanks and appreciation for the support she has received this season and to profess her love for country.

"I'm proud to wear these colors and proud to represent my country," she said. "I'm proud of the series of rounds I put together - running three of my four fastest times ever this week, along with one of them being a new national record. Coming into the meet, I wasn't even projected to make the final but by the end of the second round, I was in medal contention. I'm proud of the season I've had so far, and even though it was shaky at times, I remained focused on the bigger picture, stayed the course, and held the faith in the process. As always, I'm forever grateful to those around me who supported me through this season. It means the world."

After Zürich, Charlton will likely line up in the Diamond League Final in Eugene.

The other Bahamian in action in Zürich this Thursday will be Anthonique Strachan in the women's 200m. She will be joined by the second-fastest woman in history over that distance, and two-time World Champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica. Also in action in Zürich in the women's 200m will be Daryll Neita, of Great Britain, and five Americans inclusive of world championships silver medalist Gabrielle Thomas, Twanisha Terry, Tamara Clark, Brittany Brown and Kayla White.

Strachan has a season's best and personal best time of 22.15 seconds, but five of the other seven ladies in the race have run faster than her this year.

Like Charlton, she is vying to book her ticket for the Diamond League Final. Following Zürich, the inaugural Wanda Diamond League Xiamen will be the next Diamond League Meet on the calendar. That meet will be held at Egret Stadium in Xiamen, People's Republic of China, on September 2.

The Allianz Memorial Van Damme Diamond League Meet will be held at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, on September 8, and the Diamond League Final, the Prefontaine Classic, will wrap up the Diamond League season at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, September 16-17.