This non-Olympic or individual world championships year has been scattered with great competition for The Bahamas.
In the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland, the first weekend in March, The Bahamas saw two of its athletes capture medals - a silver by Chris Brown in the 400 meters (m) and a bronze by Shaunae Miller in the same event.
It was certainly not our best world indoor performance, but it returned a little faith to the fans after the non-medal performance at the Moscow World Outdoor Championships.
The last time the nation did not win a medal in the world outdoor championships was in 1993 at the Stuttgart World Championships, when German sports historian, Michael Preisinger deemed the country, "The Bahamas, small country, great athletes". Then came the annual CARIFTA Games this past Easter, when the nation won no individual gold medals in the competition. Such a disappointment had not happened since 1973!
At the recent inaugural IAAF World Relays, although the nation only captured one medal - silver in the men's 4x400m relay - the nation was happy with the performances of the five other teams. It left residents with a sweet taste in their mouths which we believe will last quite a long time.
The road ahead
The road ahead for Bahamian international track and field competition for the remainder of the year looks bright.
July 4-6, Morelia, Mexico
Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Track & Field
Championships
The last championship was held in San Salvador, El Salvador, where the boys' 4x100m relay team set a new Bahamian junior national record. This event has the usual competitors from CARIFTA along with the Spanish-speaking nations. Hopefully we will "bounce back" from our performance at CARIFTA in Martinique and do well.
July 22-27, Eugene, Oregon
IAAF World Junior
Championships
Since 2008, Bahamian athletes have won medals at this event. In fact, at the last championship in Madrid in 2012, sprinter Anthonique Strachan won gold medals in the 100m and 200m, respectively - something that had never been done prior by any Bahamian athlete in international competition. At the end of the season, she was named the rising star of 2012 by the IAAF. It is the belief of the columnist that the squad selected can rise to the occasion and make us proud. There are still medals and national records possible.
July 23-August 3, Glasgow, Scotland
Commonwealth Games
Our team should be able to do well. The Bahamas team has done well in these games since Kuala Lumpur in 1998. It was in 1958, 40 years prior to Kuala Lumpur, when the great Tommy Robinson as a 'one man band' shocked the world with his gold medal in the 220 yards and silver in the 100 yards. It was just four years prior that The Bahamas participated in international track and field. In Vancouver in 1954, Irrington Isaacs, Leonard Dames and Cyril Johnson participated for the first time. That 60th anniversary is soon upon us. That is the responsibility of the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC). The BAAA does not have to scrounge around for money. The last games were held in New Delhi, India.
August 9-10, Kamloops, British Columbia
NACAC Under-23
Championships
We have numerous athletes at home and abroad who can make an impact on the team. The concept of a North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NACAC) Championships was discussed at a NACAC summit in September of 1997 and the only senior or "open" championship was held in El Salvador in 2007. The last NACAC Under-23 Championships was held in Mexico in 2012. Trevorvano Mackey made the Olympic 200m standard on the very last day of those championships. A senior championships is expected to be held in Costa Rica next year.
August 16-18, Nanjing, China
Youth Olympic Games
This is the second Youth Olympics to be held. In 2010 in Singapore, Grand Bahama's Tynia Gaither captured a silver medal in the 200m. The region selects our additions to the team from the CARIFTA Games. We await the announcement as to which Bahamians are on the team. The age requirement is under-18.
November 23 -30, Vera Cruz, Mexico
Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games
This competition is quite late in the season, just like it was in 2010. This is actually a different season, more than two months after the final competition in Europe. Last time the event was held in Guadalajara, Mexico, and The Bahamas did well. The Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) is also responsible for these games.
Fit teams
We have seen, as of late, many Bahamian athletes not fit enough to be named to teams or to participate after they have been named. This is certainly an issue that the "powers that be" need to be concerned with. It was for all to see last year in Moscow and at this year's IAAF World Relays that a number of significant athletes were not fit.
Team selection
It is usual that each event has a qualifying standard, which may be set by the federation, the IAAF, the Commonwealth Games or the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Even if athletes have made the qualifying standards earlier in the season, it is imperative that they are competitive at the time of the trials. The trials for the CAC Junior Championships will be held at the Fritz Grant Invitational on June 20 and 21 and the trials for the other teams, with the exception of the Youth Olympics, will be held at the BTC Senior National Open and Junior Championships, June 27-29.
Coordination
Some persons in the sport seem to think that fielding a team is easy. It is important that the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) puts great effort in assembling each and every one of our teams for the remainder of this year.
Support
It is anticipated that the stands will be filled with fans supporting our athletes.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian