The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FTX Digital Markets made a major contribution to youth development and the CARIFTA movement as the country’s elite junior athletes prepare for regional competition.

The organisation announced a donation of $120,000 which includes an allocation of $100,000 to the overall effort of being present at CARIFTA and $10,000 each to the respective federations that will be participating.

Both events will be hosted concurrently April 15-18, with the Swimming Championships hosted in Bridgetown, Barbados while Track and Field takes place in Kingston, Jamaica.

“This is the first gift that FTX is going to be making as it specifically relates to athletics here in The Bahamas. We are finding ways to make a contribution and support the government of The Bahamas and their efforts to get our athletes to the CARIFTA Games,” said Valdez Russell, FTX vice president of communications and corporate social responsibility. “In addition to the funding we will provide to the Government of The Bahamas we are also going to inject $10,000 to the Bahamas Swimming Federation and another $10,000 to the BAAAs specifically to go toward the athletes and the causes that will go toward them delivering impressive performances in the coming weeks.”

Russell added that FTX will continue to seek ways to solidify its position in the Bahamian community as a socially responsible corporate citizen.

“At FTX our commitment is to support Bahamians and the incredible things they do in meaningful ways,” he said. “We are committed to doing our part to making an impressive difference in our communities. We will continue to do this and we will continue to partner with organisations that are influencing change to improve the quality of lives for Bahamians. It is my hope that as they return to The Bahamas in the next few weeks, they will bring home every possible gold medal.”

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg said both teams will look to continue their recent levels of success after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID- 19 pandemic.

“The Bahamas are the defending champions in swimming. It is unfortunate that our water polo teams will not get an opportunity to defend their titles because that segment of the championships was cancelled due to insufficient team entries. Our swimmers will definitely make a splash, will successfully defend their title and return home with the title as expected.

“The Austin Sealey award is presented to the most outstanding athlete at the track and field championships and the Bahamas has won this award seven times. We are looking forward to adding another to our collection,” he said. “These achievements by our athletes will not go unnoticed and I am pleased to know that companies such as FTX have taken up the baton and have partnered with the Government of the Bahamas and federations to ensure that these teams can make this trip possible.”

Bahamas Aquatics recently named a 36-member team to compete in Barbados. Team Bahamas is hoping to go for their fourth title after winning three straight before the event was halted for the past two years.

Travano McPhee is the head coach, assisted by Camron Bruney and Andrew Loveitt.

The team manager is Andrea Strapp.

Courtney Barr is the female chaperone and Patrick Ferguson is the male chaperone.

In 2019, The Bahamas scored a total of 889.5 points to take the title with a total of 73 medals - 35 gold, 18 silver and 20 bronze.

At the conclusion of the CARIFTA trials this weekend, the BAAA is expected to select, ratify and name the final team that will represent the country at the return of the games in Jamaica.

The trials are scheduled to begin 5pm Friday and conclude with the final session, starting at 2pm on Saturday.

BAAAs President Drumeco Archer added his thanks to FTX for the investment in both programmes.

“My heart is warmed and my soul is dining with glee to see that through your contributions today, we have invested in the future prospects of team Bahamas. As we pack our bags with tennis shoes and spikes, with the aquamarine, black and gold uniforms, with the BAHAMAS written on the front of our shirts, we intend to bring a bountiful yield and a glorious return on your investment.”