With The Bahamas hosting a number of international sporting events this year, executive members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deemed it necessary to host a single-day workshop in The Bahamas regarding the importance of regulating corruption at the various competitions. The workshop is set for today at the Police Headquarters in New Providence.
According to Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) President Wellington Miller, an established council will meet with members from quite a number of the local sporting federations to ensure The Bahamas keeps its name clear of any sort of scandal.
"This meeting was just to ensure that all of the competitions that will be held here are fair," said Miller. "When the committee got a look at our sports calendar for this year they decided to drop in and do the workshop to ensure that none of the local athletes or federations take part in any sports betting, throwing matches or anything of that nature. It's easy for athletes and coaches to get sidetracked and fall into temptation, maybe taking some money to rig a competition, so we just want to ensure that we stay clean and away from scandal. It's just a precautionary measure at this point and we know that a lot comes with hosting as many events as we are set to host this year."
Some of the regional and international events that will take place before the summer include the CARIFTA Swimming Championships, the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Relays, the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Beach Soccer Championships, the CARIFTA Water Polo Championships, and the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) Beach Soccer World Cup.
Following these events, The Bahamas will host the largest international multi-sport event ever to grace the country's shores in July - the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games.
In a recent interview, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr. Daniel Johnson said that this year promises to be the most active in The Bahamas' history in terms of sports tourism events, as at least one international event is slated for each month.
"This business of sports is a seven trillion dollar industry, and we are in, so let's play ball," he said. "This is the most significant time in our sporting history. We have shown the world what we did with the world relays, we are going to show them what we can do with beach soccer, football and so on. We have for the first time year-round sporting activities."
A couple of sports tourism events set for the end of the year are the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl and the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian