With the CARIFTA Games being held here in The Bahamas for a record ninth time, and with this being the 50th anniversary year of The Bahamas' Independence and of the CARIFTA Games itself, the host nation has every intention of being well-represented.
The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) ratified a full 80-member squad late Monday night and released those names to the public in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, and now the team will begin its final preparation stages for the 50th Oaktree CARIFTA Games.
The archipelagic nation of The Bahamas is well-represented with about a dozen athletes from Grand Bahama, two from Andros, one from Moore's Island, Abaco and the remainder from the capital New Providence. The 80 members represent the most ever selected for a Bahamian track and field team for the CARIFTA Games, and it is a relatively young team as more than half of the members are first-time CARIFTA athletes.
Named to the squad are: Under-17 Girls (16) – Jamiah Nabbie (100m, 200m, long jump), Shayann Demerritte (100m, 200m), Darvinique Dean (400m, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles), Ta'mia Taylor (400m), Akaree Roberts (800m), Erin Barr (1,500m), Madison Moss (100m hurdles), Bayli Major (400m hurdles, triple jump), Zoe Adderley (triple jump), Grace Komolafe (high jump), Tylah Pratt (high jump), Kamera Strachan (javelin), Dior-Rae Scott (javelin), Kenyce Scavella (discus), Danielle Nixon (discus, shot put) and Terrell McCoy (shot put); under-17 boys (20) – Ishmael Rolle (100m), Andrew Brown (100m, 200m, 400m), Cayden Smith (200m), Zion Shepherd (400m), Tyrone Conliffe (800m), Zion Hendfield (800m), Ross Martin (1,500m), Christopher Williams-Martin (1,500m), Quinton Rolle (110m hurdles, 400m hurdles), Kenny Moxey Jr. (110m hurdles, long jump), Zion Davis (400m hurdles), Joshua Williams (long jump, high jump), Demian Brice II (triple jump), Erris Pratt (high jump), Larouche Morley (discus), Jalen Stuart (discus, shot put), Rubin Bain (shot put), Javano Bridgewater (relay pool), Trent Ford (relay pool) and Eagan Neely (relay pool); under-20 girls (19) – Shatalya Dorsett (100m), Amari Pratt (100m, 200m), Lacarthea Cooper (200m, 400m), Javonya Valcourt (400m), Treasure Burrows (800m), Jasmine Mackey (800m, 3,000m), Akaya Lightbourne (1,500m, 3,000m), Lanaisha Lubin (long jump, triple jump), Apryl Adderley (long jump, triple jump), Koi Adderley (high jump), G'Shan Brown (javelin), Vanessa Sawyer (javelin), Calea Jackson (discus, shot put), Cailyn Johnson (discus), Annae Mackey (shot put), Essence Sands (heptathlon), Quincy Penn (relay pool), Nya Wright (relay pool) and Melvinique Gibson (relay pool); and under-20 boys (25) – Carlos Brown (100m), Adam Musgrove (100m, 200m), Zachary Evans (200m), Clinton Laguerre (400m, 400m hurdles), Philip Gray (400m), Raywind Winder (1,500m), Christopher Saintilus (5,000m), Tayshaun Robinson (110m hurdles), Otto Laing (110m hurdles), Shimar Bain (400m hurdles), Mateo Smith (long jump), Johnathan Rodgers (long jump, triple jump), La'Quan Ellis (triple jump), Kaden Cartwright (javelin, discus), Robert Deal (shot put), Nathaniel McCardy (shot put), Brenden Vanderpool (pole vault), Tyler Cash (pole vault), Lavardo Deveaux (octathlon), Reanno Todd (octathlon), Zion Campbell (relay pool), Johnathan Fowler (relay pool), Jeremiah Adderley (relay pool), Tumani Skinner (relay pool) and Berkley Munnings (relay pool).
There were multiple athletes who qualified in multiple events, and three in particular – Darvinique Dean, Jamiah Nabbie and Kenny Moxey Jr. – qualified in three events each.
The head coach of the squad is John Ingraham from Freeport, Grand Bahama, and he will be assisted by Noel Pratt, Earl Rahming, Rachante Colebrooke, Patricia Rolle, Nekeno Demeritte, Andrew Tynes and Alexis Roberts. The team leader/manager of the team is Pharez Cooper from Freeport, Grand Bahama, and he will be assisted by Sophia Higgs and Mildred Adderley. The chaperones for the team are Dazelle Munroe, Quincy Gray and Garfield Morrison.
"The look and feel that you would have experienced over the last three days was simply world-class. Many are called but few are chosen and I believe that concept will create more tension and expand the size and competitiveness of making the track and field team. It's unprecedented when you have 50 years celebrating CARIFTA, and it's unprecedented when you have a team this size. I don't believe we have ever carried an 80-member team, but I could say that it is well-structured and came with a lot of consideration. I expect nothing but the best from this squad," said Drumeco Archer, president of the BAAA.
Following the ICS Security Concepts Bahamas National High School Track and Field Championships/CARIFTA Trials over the weekend at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, there were 56 qualifiers for Team Bahamas for the 50th Oaktree CARIFTA Games. Not all of those qualifiers were named to the team because there were some events that had up top five and six qualifiers. Only two athletes could represent any nation in any particular discipline and the maximum size of any team for CARIFTA is 80. Additionally, there were a number of non-qualifiers who were named to the team.
"This year's team we expect to be a great team. We have a large team that is made up of athletes who stretch from across the length and breadth of The Bahamas," said BAAA Vice President of Business Operations Pharez Cooper. "In the past year, the BAAA started an initiative where we did a talent search throughout the length and breadth of the country, and as a result, we have one of our largest representations of Family Island members on this team. We expect good stuff. We came to defend our turf and win gold and that is what we intend to do."
Speaking on behalf of the Local Organizing Committee of the 50th Oaktree CARIFTA Games (LOC), its chief executive officer (CEO) Lynden Maycock said they are very excited and are indeed looking forward to what they expect will be a golden representation for The Bahamas at the CARIFTA Games. The junior regional athletics meet is less than two weeks away, set for April 8-10 at the Thomas A. Robinson stadium.
"These young men and women named to this team would have been inspired in their journey to be named to this team and we in the LOC congratulate all of them," said Maycock. "We welcome the rest of the region to The Bahamas and we wait for them to come and experience the greatest junior athletics competition in the world. We look forward to the competition and we certainly wish Team Bahamas all the best at the 50th Oaktree CARIFTA Games."
ICS Security Concepts Chief Financial Officer (CFO) John Fowler brought remarks on behalf of the title sponsor of the CARIFTA Trials/High School Nationals and Team Bahamas.
"On behalf of the board, we see this as another opportunity in our corporate and civic duty to support organizations such as the BAAA, and in this regard, CARIFTA and Team Bahamas," said Fowler. "We support the BAAA in their tremendous effort in encouraging young people through sports and selecting the best of the best to represent us and to bring home gold. We're not just here to defend the turf, we're here to win gold. We at ICS are the same way in the things that we deliver. We have reached out to CARIFTA in a tangible way to assist them financially in a fantastic effort with our young people. ICS Security Concepts is one of those companies that believe in excellence and believe in young people and having said that, we are in total support of Team Bahamas for the 50th CARIFTA Games. We're not just investing into Team Bahamas but we're investing into the future. We're excited and we believe that victory is ours already."
The LOC will stage a float parade and pep rally for the 80-member squad at 4 p.m. this Thursday. The parade will start from Caribbean Cultural Village at the Eastern Grandstand of the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, and following the parade which ends back at the stadium, disc jockeys Manni and Crush will provide entertainment at the pep rally.
Tickets for CARIFTA itself can still be purchased online at the website www.carifta50.com or in person at the box office at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. Daily rates start at $5 and go up as high as $50 for the VIP section. There are also tickets available for all three days that start from $40 for the bronze section and go up to $130 for the VIP section.
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