The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THERE’S been a lot of excitement and disappointments, thrills and spills and triumphs and defeats on the sporting scene in the Bahamas as we bring the curtain come down on 2012 and we prepare to usher in 2013.

From the local scene to the Olympic Games, election of officers and the passing of prominent sporting personalities, there have been many significant stories that have unfolded. We relive the memories, in no particular order, of what has been some of the top headlines that have surfaced in the past 12 months.

Olympic Games

From the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China, the Bahamas Olympic Committee has not only seen a reduction in the sports participating from four to two, but so did the amount of athletes and the performances turned in this year in London, England.

In fact, the Bahamas’ 26 member team only ended up with one medal - a gold from the Golden Knights men’s 4 x 400 relay team of Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller, who upset the United States of America. The performance left the Bahamas tied with four other countries in 50th place on the medal table and second behind Grenada per ca pita.

Grenada, with a smaller population, surged to the top of the chart thanks to the gold from Kirani James in the men’s 400. The victory came over the double threat from Brown, who was fourth for another Olympics and Pinder, who had to settle for seventh in his first appearance in a final.

The only other Bahamian athlete to advance to the final was Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands, who was sitting in fourth place through the fourth round when his right knee gave up on him as he went through his jumping phrase into the pit. He had to be rushed to a local hospital where he underwent surgery and is now going through a rehabilitation process.

Swimming was the only other discipline that the Bahamas was represented with Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace finishing eighth in the final in the women’s 50 metre freestyle and just barely getting a double dose in the 100 free with a 10th placing in the semifinal.

Nevertheless, it was a historic meet for Vanderpool-Wallace, who became the first Bahamian swimmer to accomplish such a feat.

Carifta Games

Before the global world event took center stage, both athletics and swimming made their presence felt at the regional Carifta Games.

The Bahamas returned from Hamilton, Bermuda where the BTC Bahamas’ 66 member improved on their fourth place a year ago to second behind Jamaica.

For the second consecutive year, sprinter Anthonique Strachan was awarded the Austin Sealy award for the most outstanding athlete. She achieved the award, presented on behalf of the founder of the even, for her double gold medal in record breaking times in the women’s 100 and 200 metres.

Meanwhile, the Bahamas Swimming Federation hosted the BTC Carifta Swimming Championships at the Betty Kelly Kenning Aquatic Center where the Bahamas ended up third in the medal haul behind Trinidad &

Tobago and Guatemala and second in the point standings behind Guadeloupe.

World Jr. Championships

In extending her historic performance, Anthonique Strachan went to Barcelona, Spain in July where she was equally impressive to lead the Bahamas to a ninth place finish on the medal table with two gold and two bronze. Strachan captured the two gold with her world leading time in the 100 and her championship record breaking performance in the 200.

As a result of her performances, Strachan was named as the Female Rising Star athlete at the IAAF’s Athletes of the Year banquet that was also held in Barcelona in November.

Also from the IAAF World Juniors, Ryan Ingraham and Latario Collie-Minns came through with the bronze medals in the men’s high and triple jumps respectively.

Election of Officers

There were a number of election of officers on the dock age this year and while there were some rambling about the candidates and slate of officers, the results have produced some change up in the make up of both the BAAA and the BSF, two of the premier sporting bodies in the country.

In November, Mike Sands was returned as president of the BAAA, but his executive board will be made up of the majority of the slate of officers who were opposing him. Former Olympian Iram Lewis, who was his most fierce adversary, was elected as the first vice president and except for second vice president Foster Dorsett, all of the other officers were on Lewis’ slate.

The newly elected team had their first test when they put on the Year Ending Awards luncheon at the Sheraton Grand Hotel a week ago. However, they encountered some flack for the omission of some names like Shaunae Miller and Rashan Brown from Grand Bahama, who were not included on the junior athlete of the year list.

Despite the oversight, as outlined by Sands, the luncheon turned out to be one of the best ever held and the organising committee, headed by businessman Harrison Petty, must be congratulated. While the ballroom was packed to capacity, the BAAA had to actually turn away persons because there were no seats left.

This weekend, the BSF hosted its elections.

In a low-key fashion, Algernon Cargill was returned as president and will serve for a four-year period, instead of three, as mandated by the change in their constitution. John Bradley was also returned as first vice-president. But for the first time, a former Olympian has been elected with Nicholas Reese coming on board as the new second vice president.

Although Cargill was challenged by Cecile Greene for the top spot, the federation is faced with a greater challenge in the fact that both the clubs and the athletes are being charged by the National Sport Authority to use the Betty Kelly Kenning Aquatic Center for either training or competition.

The problem is: the BSF say the stadium was a gift to the Bahamian people by the late Betty Kelly Kenning and so they don’t feel they should be charged to utilise the facility.

Two organisations encountered some problems and had to postpone their elections until next year.

The Bahamas Olympic Association, which changed its name to the Bahamas Olympic Committee, had a constitutional issue to deal with as incumbent officers wanted the right to vote during the elections, but the membership knocked it down, agreeing to only allow the federation and association members to vote.

The elections had to go to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for ratification, which has forced the delay of the elections. No date has been set for the new elections.

And the Bahamas Volleyball Federation, which is still basking in the double success of the men’s national volleyball team in two major international tournaments this year, had to postpone its elections as president Don Cornish has not been able to set a date. Cornish is currently working as the Family Island administrator for Cat Island. In his absence, first vice president Joseph ‘Joe Mo’ Smith, has carried the load.

Passed Away

A number of sporting personalities died during the year. But of note, three prominent persons left earth in a short space of time.

First was former Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Charles Maynard. He died while on the campaign scene for the by elections in Abaco. Maynard was considered a vibrant and effective leader during his tenure in office. He was responsible for the opening of the new Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium in February.

But he and the Free National Movement government were criticised for staging a lavish ceremony that reportedly cost about $600,000 to host. What was disheartening for some was the fact that Robinson as not given an opportunity to address the jammed pack 15,000 seat arena that had another 2,000 on the outside waiting for a chance to get into the free of charge event.

Then there was Tom Berutti ‘The Bird’ Grant, who passed away in November after he went into a diabetic coma in hospital. The 71-year-old national icon, who played a number of sports in track and field, basketball, softball, volleyball, cricket and rugby and made an invaluable contribution as an coach, official and administrator, left behind two girls and five boys, who have all tried to carry on his legacy.

He was the first Bahamian recruiter for a major institute - St Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the first Bahamian to become an international certified volleyball referee. He was honored when a park in Yellow Elder was named the Tom ‘the Bird’ Grant Park in October, 2006.

Finally, the sporting community is still reeling from the passing of national sporting icon Thomas Augustus Robinson. He died in late November after a long illness with cancer at the age of 74. The government paid their final tribute with a state recognised funeral service for the sprinter who represented the Bahamas in four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1956.

At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, he won gold in the 200 yard dash and silver in the 100 yard dash. He again won silver in the 100 yards in the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

He also captured the gold medal at the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games.

What was so depressing for his family was that while they were just starting to mourn his death, culprits broke into his home in Johnson Road and sold some of his valuable memorabilia. The thieves didn’t show any respect on the man, commonly called the ‘Great One’ because of his accomplishments as a representative for the Bahamas.

Today, however, the new stadium is still draped with the huge photographs of Robinson and the black ribbons as workmen continue to complete the final landscape on the outside in preparation for the hosting of the 2013 Carifta Games by the BAAA during the Easter holiday weekend.

Hopefully, the BAAA will get the certification from the IAAF in time for the biggest junior regional meet as the Bahamas get closer to dethroning the mighty Jamaica, who has dominated the meet for more than a decade.