Prime Minister the Right Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie officially opened the first ever Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships on Thursday morning, March 10, reminding Bahamians that no matter where they come from in this archipelagic nation, we must all do what we can in terms of nation building.
“We are all Bahamians! We all ought to see ourselves as having something in common, that on occasion such as this there should be no difference between those who are FNMs, those who PLPs and those who are whatever,” he told a packed house attending the opening at the St. George’s High School Gymnasium.
Some 26 teams inclusive of seven female squads are in Grand Bahama for the classic. Islands represented include North and South Andros, Abaco, Cat Island, San Salvador, New Providence and Grand Bahama.
The nation’s leader reminded those assembled that “one of the ways of building a nation is through sports, through the connectivity and the linkage that sports give you. So we have some young men and young women from different schools, from different parts of the Commonwealth, but they have all come here for a championship.
“A team will win. All the others will come second, third, fourth, fifth, they would have participated. But when they leave here, they leave with the common experience of having come together as young Bahamians in the fulfillment of the tenets of this championship -- to be the best they can at a given time when they are playing,” he said.
The second message offered to the athletes by the PM was that in developing their talents it would also be determined “how really good you are, and some of you will have a career made for you from sports.”
The Prime Minister then told the story of Sir Sidney Poitier, a Bahamian who excelled in movies and his struggle getting into the field of acting. He recalled Sir Sidney having to teach himself how to read, with the help of a waiter at a restaurant where he worked.
Mr. Christie added that Sir Sidney related the story to him and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues recently in Los Angeles, even to the point of questioning what he would have become if not for the help of that waiter at the restaurant.
“The second message is, believe in yourself. No one could get in your head to get you to do what you can do, to be the best that you can.”
TOURISM MINISTER and Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe is pictured as he addressed the large audience attending the opening of the Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships on Thursday morning, March 10, at the St. George’s Gym. Mr. Wilchcombe and the Government of The Bahamas were applauded for their efforts in causing the tournament to take place -- a first for high school players in the country. Some 26 teams from Andros, Cat Island, Abaco, San Salvador, New Providence and Grand Bahama are participating in the tournament. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
He told the teachers, parents that like that waiter was for Sidney Poitier, “you are the ones to encourage him or her that there is no limit to what they can become.”
The Prime Minister took note of the dreams held by former NBA stars Mychal “Sweet bells” Thompson, Rick Fox, and others, to be great. He said, Oklahoma Sooners standout Chavano “Buddy” Hield, who hails from Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, is focused and continuing his dream. He also mentioned other Bahamian standouts in other sports who dreamed of being the best.
The Prime Minister also touched on his own story, not having the opportunity to finish high school, because teachers at the time deemed that he wasn’t smart enough. He recalled how the late Donald Davis approached his parents and he went to night school and was able to pass a number of exams.
“Now this story is about not giving up. Whatever you are doing you must never give up,” he said.
He also recalled how he joined the Valley Boys Junkanoo group and became the best dancer. And how he built a jumping pit in the yard because he found out that he had a talent for jumping further than anyone else.
“The lesson I learnt both from Junkanoo and athletics is that you can do nothing and be successful -- unless you prepare, unless you have dedication, unless you are serious about being the best that you can.
“So to each of you who are playing basketball in this tournament, having a gift of coordination, shooting, and energy needs to be developed; and the only way for you to be the best is to prepare, put the time and the dedication in,” he stated.
He applauded the organizers of the tournament saying it will bring to light the uneven development in terms of sports facilities in many of the Family Islands and that Government must cause that development to take place.
Mr. Christie also pointed out that while basketball was the topic for discussion Thursday, there were other sporting activities like track and field, baseball, softball that have the potential for producing great athletes and providing economic power.
BASKETBALL OPENING – Prime Minister the Right Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie is pictured center at the opening of the First Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships held at the St. George’s Gym in Freeport, Grand Bahama, on March 10, 2016. The Prime Minister is pictured along with Tourism Minister the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, Transport and Aviation Minister the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Education Minister the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, Grand Bahama Minister the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, and members of the planning committee for the tournament. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
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