The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FOR the next two years, Darnette Weir will serve as the new president of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association.

During the annual general meeting held on Thursday at the National Tennis Centre, Weir and nine of her slate of officers were voted in. Weir, the incumbent secretary general, replaces outgoing president Elwood Donaldson, who didn’t seek another term in office.

Joining Weir on the board are Ceron Rolle as first vice president, Terran Rodgers as second vice president, Bjorn Ferguson as treasurer, Timothy Dames as assistant treasurer, Chilean Burrows as secretary and Nadine Munroe as assistant secretary. Council members are Brent Johnson, Philip Major Jr, Perry Newton Jr, Marvin Rolle and Wesley Rolle.

“I had submitted a full slate before the elections because persons normally just show up to the AGM and they were nominated,” Weir said.

“I decided that I wanted to present a platform and so I selected the persons who I wanted on my team. In doing that, I think we would have the same vision and goals and the chemistry to fulfil those goals. That was why I took that route.”

In the end, it paid off.

“I wanted persons who I feel would be a worker because we have a lot of things to do and I want people who will be willing to take the association to the next level,” she stated.

“I think we have an ambitious platform and with the people we have on the board, I think we can transform or re-brand the association.”

For the next two years, using the theme: “Transforming the Tennis Arena,” Weir and her officers will use the following as her platform:

• To bridge the gap within the tennis community

• To focus on grass-root tennis in recruiting raw talent amongst underprivileged children

• To make the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association financially stable to implement needed programmes to grow tennis and to comfortably cover operational cost * To be a vibrant presence in the sporting arena in The Bahamas. Weir said she intends to meet with her executives this week so that they can chart the course of direction for the association together and not what is dictated by the president or secretary general.

“I’m involving everybody. I’m using their strength because I think by doing so, having people feel more valued, they will be more inclined to do the work,” she stated. “So I will use persons strength and I believe persons on the job have something to bring to the table. So we are all about transforming the association and those wedding out those deficiencies that we have.”

The mother of talented junior player Donte Armbrister said she would definitely like to focus on a more vibrant grassroot programme and will be looking at trying to install more courts at the National Tennis Center now that the parking lot has been paved. Once that is done, Weir said they will looking at reaching out of the friends of tennis by bringing back the glory days.

This is the first full two-year term that has been instituted in the BLTA after they made a resolution last year to increase it from one year because it wasn’t sufficient for any team in office to accomplish their goals. Weir said once they meet as a team, she will be able to articulate their plans for the this term and a long term goal for the next fie years.