The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net SOME things are worth waiting for. The New Year is one of them. It's always an exciting time of the year, especially as you start the planning for the long haul over the next 12 months. As we prepare for the new year, here's my expectations for the local sporting scene: * JANUARY* A Bahamian will emerge as the overall winner of the Marathon Bahamas that will be held on Sunday, January 15. Why not? Who knows our roads better, plus there will be sufficient support from the local community to propel one of our elite distance runners to the top of the victory stand. * FEBRUARY* The Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic will be one of the most exciting ever. For the first time, a Family Island team will advance to play in the final four, but as usual, the showdown for the final will come down to a Grand Bahama versus New Providence match-up. * MARCH* In preparation for the Olympic Games, the Bahamas will have another world champion at the IAAF World Indoor Championships that will take place in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bahamas will once again show that the country is still one of the nations to watch in the sport. *APRIL* The Bahamas Swimming Federation will have a lot to celebrate at the Carifta Swimming Championships. With the four-day meet being staged at the Betty Kelly Kenning Aquatic Center, the Bahamas will go head-to-head with the French Antilles for the overall title and eventually win it. *MAY* While the topic of the National Lottery will not be on the agenda for the Government of the day after the elections, they will submit sufficient funding in their budget to ensure that all of the sporting bodies have adequate funding to take care of all their travel expenses for the various national teams that will represent the country. The Olympic Games will be the top priority, but there are a number of other important events for the Bahamas to compete in and everyone of them will be attended with the best possible teams selected. *JUNE* The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will finally get the full use of the newly opened Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium and to the surprise of everyone, the stands will be filled. All of the elite athletes will return home to compete and for the first time in quite some time, there will be marquee match-ups in all of the events contested, not just the female sprints and the men's quarter-mile. * JULY* A Bahamian will once again ascend the medal dais as the top performer at the 14th IAAF Would Junior Championships that will take place in Barcelona, Spain. It only shows that although the Bahamas doesn't have the capacity to raise to the top of the medal country, our small nation continue to produce great athletes. * AUGUST* During the heat of the competition in London, England, the Bahamas will produce its best showing ever with a record four relay teams competing in track and field. At the end of the three weeks, the Bahamas will once again claim the title of country per capita with the most medals won based on its size. *SEPTEMBER* The Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation fell short of winning the overall title at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships. But this will be the year that the Bahamas regain the title that has eluded the country for the past few years. Additionally, a Bahamian will emerge as the overall champion and become the next competitor to earn their professional card in the process. *OCTOBER* Either heavyweight Sherman 'the Tank' Williams, welterweight Jermaine 'Choo Choo' Mackey or lightweight Meacher 'Pain' Major will get a chance to fight for a major international title, preferably for the British Commonwealth title in the resurgence of boxing on the local scene. The show will be held in the new Thomas A. Robinson Stadium and will be dubbed: "The Bahamas Clash of the Titans" as it will feature all of the top competitors on the undercard, fighting for the various national titles or against top ranked visiting competitors. *NOVEMBER* Touring pro Mark Knowles will finally put together a solid year that will get him back into the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals where he and his partner will be one of the top eight ranked teams in London, England. With his career starting to wind down, Knowles will prove that it ain't over until it's over as he play in the tournament for the first time in three years when he last played with Indian Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009. He won the tournament in 2007 with former Canadian partner Daniel Nestor. *DECEMBER* A gala year ending awards banquet will finally be held when all of thesporting bodies will come together and honor their most outstandingathletes. Eventually, a committee will be established that will determine the most outstanding male and female athlete of the year. I know these sound far fetched, but could imagine if these feats are actually achieve. As I indicated from the on-set, there are some things that's worth waiting for. I can't wait to see these predictions come to fruition.