The Tribune

Brent Stubbs has covered many international track and field meets as The Tribune’s Senior Sports Reporter. This weekend’s World Relays in Nassau compare more than favourably to those he says and fully merits an A grade.

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture, Dr Daniel Johnson, said when patrons went into the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, they wouldn’t believe the transformation that had taken place for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) inaugural World Relays.

Over the weekend, Johnson was walking around as proud as a peacock as the spectators filled the stadium, which increased its seating capacity to about 17,000.

I can raise my hand to testify to the fact that I was more than impressed.

Having covered a number of international meets at the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games - and not trying to sound biased - the Thomas A Robinson Stadium and the surrounding facilities stood among the best that I’ve seen.

The security measures around the perimeter of the stadium brought a sense of safety that you expect from events such as these with the level of high-profile dignitaries attending such as the Prime Minister, his colleagues and the president of the parent body of the sporting organisation, the IAAF.

There were spectators who showed up that didn’t expect to go through the screening process where their bodies were patted down and personal items searched. It is just a precautionary procedure that is mandatory in the role of the volunteers to ensure that there are no prohibited items taken into the stadium.

At least, the spectators didn’t have to worry about the metal detectors and screening machines that are customary for events like this.

There is normally a lot of activity outside the stadium with fans milling around if tickets are sold out. In this case, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) announced in advance that the two days of competition were sold out. But even with an additional set of bleachers, there was still some space until late on the final night.

With the number of people taking advantage of all that was going on, I am sure many of them may have forgotten that they couldn’t get in.

Surprisingly, I didn’t notice any scalpers around trying to sell tickets for a higher price. If there were there, they did a good job of concealing their transactions.

After going inside the stadium, I was still trying to catch my breath. It was just unbelievable. I never envisioned seeing the stadium all dressed up, even though it is the norm for this level of competition. I just didn’t believe that it was being done right here in the Bahamas - and Nassau to be more exact.

The LOC must be commended.

And another thing that really shocked me was to see the sheer enthusiasm of the spectators. I’m sure the majority of athletes felt like they were competing at home because of the loud cheers they got , whether they were first, second, third or last. They screamed even louder for their own Bahamian athletes.

The athletes certainly were thrilled by the rhythmic sounds of junkanoo, something that has never been orchestrated at any sporting event. The banner has truly been raised for the hosting of this inaugural event.

From the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, which served as the main accreditation centre to the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium, where the athletes warmed up, everything was set up in close proximity, making it so accessible for everyone who had to traverse from one point to the next.

With the curtains drawn on the championships, if I had to put a grade on the entire weekend experience it would have to be an A.