Hundreds took part in fifth Atlantis Crown Invitational

Mon, Dec 21st 2015, 12:10 AM

Even though nearly 900 athletes participated this year's Atlantis Crown Invitational, organizers say thousands more will join the event as it grows over the next five years. According to officials, the invitational started with just 250 people. The athletes come from Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, the United States and The Bahamas.

Honorary guests this year were three-time Olympian Svetlana Boginskaya of Belarus; 2012 Olympian Sam Mikulak; and the Region 5 Elite Ambassador Team of Nia Dennis, Gabby Perea, Shilese Jones and Amelia Hundley. Organizer of Atlantis Crown Invitational Cindy Scharns said the competition has grown 100 percent.

"The competition is going to continue to grow. The number now is 870 and we anticipate 1,100 next year, and I think that I am being conservative. I would say we've been averaging 200 athletes a year and I think we will average a couple thousand a year. That goes with the partnership that is helping us grow with Atlantis and so we are excited about that," she said.

Scharns said the competition has brought more families to the event than ever before.

"When I set up a meet, I always anticipate at least two people coming for each athlete, but in this case, we have families. We are looking at 4,000 to 5,000 on top of the 870 athletes," she said.

National Coach Trevor Ramsey spoke about the success of the program for Bahamians this year. Gymnasts Kianna Dean and Simone Hall represented The Bahamas at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, this year.

"Both of the athletes trained in the U.S. for a year before that competition. It started with us traveling to the Pan American Championships and Cindy was instrumental in helping the kids to gain confidence," he said. "The meet has been very exciting every single year. We are really excited and really helped to grow the sport and helping kids to see where they can grow in the sport. We are all very excited about these things."

Senior Director of National Planning and Special Projects Carla Stuart said she was pleased to see the competition grow.

"Staging this event on an annual basis is no small task, we are very much aware of that but you continue to do it and you do it exceptionally well," she said.

It is anticipated that next year's event will accommodate over 1,000 gymnasts.

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