Scotiabank and Sun Oil (FOCOL) teamed up with Bahamas Star Gymnastics (BSG) and Bahamas Gymnastics Parent Booster Club (BGPBC) to give the gymnastics program a tremendous financial boost.Scotiabank made their presentation to the club and directed the proceeds for the development of athletes who qualify under the Sponsor-A-Star Scholarship Program. The program is open to all government primary school students who earn a grade point average (GPA) of 2.50 or above. One of the first qualifiers of the program is Cheyanne Powell, a student of Gerald Cash Primary School, who will experience her first taste of international competition at Atlantis Crown Gymnastics Invitational as a flag bearer for The Bahamas in Level II.Leah Davis, Scotiabank's senior manager of marketing, product and public relations, was on hand for the presentation which was accepted by BGPBC President Rita Curtis and treasurer Yasmin Pratt. Kevan Dean, a parent volunteer and federation representative for the club, was instrumental in securing these corporate donations.Sun Oil executives Dexter Adderley and Clint Rolle made a formal visit to the BSG training facility to review the development of the program and to assess the effective use of their contribution. Adderley expressed that Sun Oil is committed to remaining a corporate partner and supporting the program based on the level of transparency and accountability that BSG and BGPBC have demonstrated.Sun Oil has contributed repeatedly to the gymnastics program since its inception in 2010. They have funded the Cheermania Primary School Cheerleading Competition, the BGPBC-Bahamas Star Gymnastics Invitational, the equipment fund and team travel to overseas competitions. The funding earmarked for the equipment fund along with donations from other corporate sponsors was utilized to secure additional apparatus for the Men's Artistic Gymnastics Program, launched in January 2012, such as pommel horse, parallel bars and rings. New acquisitions from seed money injected into the equipment fund also included general use training tools such as spotting blocks, octagons, backhand spring spotter and trapezoids. The benefit to the gymnasts and their coaches will be evident in their performance at the 2012 Atlantis Crown Gymnastics Invitational and future competitive meets.Also attributable to the generous donations of other corporate sponsors such as Castrol, McDonald's (DanBrad), Bahamas Welding, Dairy Queen and Mr. Pretzels is the certification program for coaches. All of the Bahamas Star Gymnastics coaches are safety certified through the American Heart Association's Basic First Aid/CPR/AED program. The majority of coaches have completed GymCert's Basic Safety and Levels 1-6 courses. GymCert is authorized by USA Gymnastics University to deliver on-line courses for the Junior Olympic Compulsory Level Program.
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