The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THROUGH Scotiabank's continued sponsorship, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) will be able to assist all of the Grand Bahama and Family Island schools taking part in the 24th National High School Track and Field Championships. With the championships scheduled for March 15-17 at Thomas A Robinson stadium east (the old stadium), the bank's third consecutive yearly sponsorship has enabled the BAAA to present each participating school with a donation of $500 towards their travel expenses or have their registration fees waived up to that amount. BAAA vice president Sherwin Stuart said they will make every effort to see that schools from every island, from Inagua to Bimini and from Mayaguana to Grand Bahama, is represented in the championships. "We expect to have many records broken at this event as well as athletes competing at the World Junior and Olympic standards," Stuart said. "As the Carifta Games in Bermuda is fast approaching, it is anticipated that numerous athletes will take the opportunity to make the Carifta standards." With the new Thomas A Robinson Stadium officially opened, Stuart said they had anticipated having the championships staged there. But while it is not quite ready for competition, Stuart said they envision that it will be for the Scotiabank Olympic trials June 22-23. "We anticipate seeing excellent competition between perennial winner St Augustine's College and challenger Queen's College for titles in the four divisions," Stuart said. "We also anticipate seeing top performances from Grand Bahama and the Family Islands." Stuart was accompanied at the press conference by BAAA president Mike Sands, treasurer Laura Charlton, public relations officer Alpheus 'Hawk' Finlayson and special projects officer Linda Thompson. Leah Davis, senior manager of marketing, product and public relations at Scotiabank, said they are delighted to once again be affiliated with the BAAA as a title sponsor. "In tough times such as those, we are both excited and pleased to once again demonstrate our commitment and in giving back to the young people in the Bahamas," Davis said. "We do believe in doing our part and have a long-standing partnership with the BAAA and a track record for on going support for youth and development of sports in this country." Davis said the championships is a bright initiative for Scotiabank and it affords them the opportunity to provide for the young people of this and the next generation. As they did last year, Davis said Scotiabank, through its sponsorship, will once again present special awards to the male and female athletes of the meet. Last year, Scotiabank presented ipods. Using a tag line 'Discover What's Possible', Davis said the statement embodies what they can achieve collectively for the good of the sport during the championships. Sands said the championships will be keenly contested with the full participation from Grand Bahama, which will make it a keenly contested event. "From where we sit, it's going to be a very, very exciting event," he said. "The individual performances, like Shaunae Miller, the Devynne Charlton, the twin brothers, we will have a very exciting track meet. It will also serve as a Carifta trials, so the coaches are getting the athletes to peak at the right time. So we are looking forward to the performances during the course of the three-day event." Stuart said this year, the BAAA has secured the full participation of the schools in Grand Bahama who have all indicated that they intend to bring a full slate of athletes. "We are also in discussions with the Ministry of Education so that we can get their full support to ensure that we have a wide participation from all of their members." The championships are scheduled to start at 9am on Thursday and Friday (March 15-16) and 3pm Saturday (March 17).