The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas’ judo team to the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, will be a Rahming family affair.

D’Arcy Rahming, president of the Bahamas Judo Federation, will be travelling as the manager/coach of the two-member team that will comprise of his daughter Cynthia and son D’Arcy Rahming Jr. They are scheduled to compete July 24-26 at the SECC Precinct.

It’s not unusal for the Bahamas to have a family connection at these international games. In fact, the last combo was in swimming with Jeremy Knowles, who was coached by his father Andy Knowles.

But for the Rahming family, this is a special opportunity that they are all cherishing.

“It is very rare,” said Rahming Sr of the opportunity. “It’s a feeling of pride that I can represent my country in a sport that is new to the Bahamas and I am aware that there are families that went before us that really paved the way, but we are continuing the tradition for many to follow us in the future.

“So I’m really honoured to represent my country and I’m really honoured to have my children representing the country. Unfortunately, this is the tip of the spear and sometimes the tip of the spear gets all brushed up if it hits the wrong end of the spear. So we’re training for a good result. We just spent two weeks in Cuba training and we are expecting some good results, not just for us as a family, but for the country on the whole.”

Not to put any pressure on any of his children, but Rahming Sr is confident that his 20-year-old daughter has a better chance of excelling over his 24-year-old son.

“She is younger and has had a high level of training for a very long time,” said Rahming Sr, who is a 4th degree black belt. “DJ has been training as a coach and he took time off to go to university to complete his studies, so he has a harder chance. But in the Commonwealth Games, you have some very strong athletes coming from Canada and Britain, so with a good draw, we could do very well.”

In addition to being a part of a history-making feat as a family, Cynthia Rahming will be making her debut as the first female to compete in the discipline at the four-yearly games that sits next to the Olympic Games in terms of its international prominence.

“I’m really excited for it. I think this is the most I’ve been prepared for a tournament,” said the 1st degree black belt multiple national champion who made her debut at the 2010 Youth Olympics and has also qualified for the Central American and Caribbean Games set for November.

“I just got back from practice and we have been intensifying our training to prepare for it. We recently went to Cuba for a two-week trip where they have the best school in the world, so we got some really great training over there.”

For Cynthia Rahming, who currently attends San Jose State University, it’s a humbling feeling to be travelling with her family to compete.

“Previously, I travelled with my dad to the Youth Olympics, so we’ve been to a top level competition together, but my brother has never gone to something as grand as this,” she said. “We’ve been to the CAC in Puerto Rico several years back, but it’s an honour to have my family there as we compete in the Commonwealth Games.”

Don’t worry about feeling any pressure. Cynthia Rahming said she has one goal in mind and that is to win a medal, no matter what the challenge is ahead of her.

“I know a lot of the other athletes in the different sports are not travelling with their families, who can push them to where they need to be,” she said. “So having my dad and my brother there, I think it’s going to be a plus because they can keep me going, especially when the competition gets tough.

“I know the competition should be of a pretty high level, but I don’t think that it’s going to be that hard. I’ve been preparing and I’m mentally and physically ready.”

While Cynthia Rahming will be competing in the under-57 kilogram category, D’Arcy Rahming Jr will be competing in the under-66 kilogram division. For the son, he’s going to relish in the idea of having his family around him.

“I think we’re going to have a great time and have a lot of fun and bring back some medals,” he said. “We’ve been taking this very serious. I’ve been doing about three workouts every day for six days a week because I earnestly want to win a medal.”

Having less experience in the sport as a 2nd degree black belt and multiple national champion, who has also qualified for the 2014 CAC Games, D’Arcy Rahming admits that there’s some sibling rivalry that he has to deal with, but nothing that he can’t handle.

“I think that helps push us to do our very best, but at the same time we are very happy for each other when the other does extremely well,” said Rahming Jr, an electrical engineering major at Northwestern University. “There is the rivalry, but it’s all in good fun.”

And just like his sister, the brother says he will settle for nothing less than a medal.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I know the competition will be rough. I’ve been watching it, so I have an idea of what they are coming with. But being from the Bahamas, they are not expecting anything from us. We are playing the underdog roles, but we also have the element of surprise for them.”

The Rahming family will be travelling together this weekend for Glasgow as they try to get acclimatised to the environment and prepare for the competition.