The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) election of officers over and done and a new administration in place, the athletes are now waiting to see how well the transition goes, especially as they gear up for the 2016 season that will culminate with the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

During the BAAA election of officers at the end of its annual general meeting on Saturday, Rosamunde Carey dethroned Mike Sands as the president, winning the top post 44-40. All but two of her United Purpose slate, including first vice president Tonique Williams, was voted in office for the next three years.

Not elected were incumbent secretary general Carl Oliver and Troy McIntosh, two former quarter-milers. They were beaten by Sands’ One BAAA candidates Drumeco Archer and Grand Bahamian Norris Bain, the highly acclaimed basketball coach of the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons.

Although she has been retired since the days of the “Golden Girls,” Eldece Clarke, who still makes a contribution as a member of the Ministry of Tourism’s Sports Division, was the first to welcome the female combination of Carey and Williams as president and first vice president, the first Bahamian tandem in any of the major sporting bodies in the country.

“Mrs Carey and Tonique both have a wealth of knowledge. Tonique is a former premier athlete, who has worked in the trenches and is a university graduate with a college degree,” said Clarke of her former team-mate. “I feel like this is their time and they should do very well together with the rest of the executives in place.”

Quarter-miler Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown, from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, said it was overdue and he called it a divine intervention. “I want to first congratulate the United Purpose team on their victory,” Brown said. “I think it was long overdue for someone to pass the baton on. I think they have a vision, they have a plan and they are athlete-friendly. Each one of them knows what their responsibilities are and they know what the athletes need and want.

“I feel like now we will start to see when you ask for something or you want something, the support will be there and not someone who will hold you back from achieving. You have junior athletes who are looking up to join the team and so it’s a straight up congratulations and I’m happy that they won. Their victory was a blessing from God.”

Brown, who is preparing to open his season during indoors in January, said the new administration has his full support.

Sprinter Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie from Houston, Texas, said it should all be about the athletes.

“I understand at the end of the day, it’s so easy to talk about the past president, but it’s not my deal, it’s not my thing,” she said. “It’s either he does the job or if he’s not doing the job, he should step aside and let somebody else get the job done. Obviously, everybody who has voted realised that maybe he wasn’t doing the job. I think the results speak for that choice.

“As far as my concern, I want to focus on the solutions. I don’t want to focus on what didn’t happen. I think we need to focus on what is good for the organisation and make it better for the athletes and in turn, make it better for the country. So at this point, that is my focus.”

Ferguson-McKenzie, who is preparing for her final year of competition in Rio, said she’s prepared to work with the new administration and as she congratulates Carey and her executives, she reminds them that they are now in a position to make the right decisions.

“We as a country are looking for what’s best for the athletes,” she said. “That’s the main thing. I think people like new things and with new things, you have new dreams and new hope. So having that hope, it’s the one thing that people should never lose. So it gives you that strength and that energy to fight again.

“In the background, we know that we can get the job done. We’re a country that is known for being small with great athletes and so we want to be able to show that to the world and showcase it and so we should not be concerned about what the association is not doing and all this negative stuff.

“Let’s focus on supporting the athletes as they go out to try and get medals which, in turn, will showcase the country. So I just want to encourage all athletes to give their best and train hard. It’s an Olympic year and so we all need to work harder to keep the Bahamas in the forefront.”

Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands from Auburn, Alabama, said it’s time for a change. “I feel good about it. I think it’s about time. I think you should give people a chance. I think it’s time for a change because I think new people bring new ideas,” Sands said. “So I feel it’s going to be a great thing. We need a chance. It’s about time. I know I’m ready for the change and I just wish them all the best. I know that they will do a good job. With them being new, I think they will work out good for the athletes and I just hope that they maintain that level of respect that they have given us when they talked to us prior to the elections.”