Over the past few years, The Bahamas has seen a drastic increase in the number of international sporting events gracing its shores. Under the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture's "Sports in Paradise" campaign, events such as the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, the IAAF World Relays, The Dan Marino and Friends youth summer camp and the LPGA Pure Silk Classic, have found homes here in The Bahamas.

But despite the success of the campaign up to this point, Minister of Sports Dr. Daniel Johnson said that Bahamians could expect even more in 2016, with a number of events already booked on the calendar.

"This year we plan to launch the greatest sporting and cultural year in the history of The Bahamas," he said. "We have 17 events planned over the next 15 months. The first will be this weekend's Susan G Komen Bahamas Race for the Cure, followed by the LPGA Pure Silk Classic.

"We just saw the Tiger Woods Hero Golf Challenge over at Albany and we know that we'll be seeing the Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational in a few months. The 60th anniversary of the Caribbean Golf Championships will be held in The Bahamas and we also have the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau and the Junkanoo Jam Basketball tournament in Grand Bahama."

The Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will also be returning for a third straight year, and is scheduled to be held at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium over the next five years.

The Pure Silk 2016 tournament is set for January 25-31 and features 120 of the world's top female golfers. The tournament will not only serve as the first stop on the LPGA's tour but will also help qualify the  golfers for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The contestants will compete at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island for a pure of $1.3 million. The Ministry of Tourism, which is the tournament's main sponsor, has signed on with Global Golf Management Inc. to keep the tournament in The Bahamas until 2018.

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