The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With just 100 days left before the “Bahamazing” return, the Bahamas Government and the local organising committee announced plans for the second version of the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s World Relays, which promises to be more exciting than the inaugural one last year.

This year’s signature event for the Bahamas is now scheduled for May 2-3 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, but will have a change in the starting time to 7pm. In addition, the 4 x 1,500 metres events that produced two of the three world records last year are being replaced with the distance medley.

A joint press conference was held yesterday at the stadium where Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) president Mike Sands unveiled plans for the biggest global event to be held in the Bahamas.

Making up the organising committee for this year’s event are Parker, Sands, Lionel Haven, managing director, Simon Wilson, chairman of the Finance Committee, who is assisted by Lynden Maycock, Grafton Ifill, the government representative, Drumaco Archer, legal advisor, Calvin Balfour, permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Carl Oliver, secretary general of the BAAA, Pauline Davis-Thompson, the IAAF Councilwoman, Rommel Knowles, secretary general of the Bahamas Olympic Committee and Leroy Archer, chairman of the National Sports Authority.

Bahamazing, according to Sands, who also serves as the CEO and the vice chairman of the organising committee, said the hosting of the event in the Bahamas for the second consecutive year speaks volumes of the confidence that the IAAF has in the Bahamas and, in particular, its member federation, the BAAA and the government of the Bahamas.

“That confidence is placed in us due to the tremendous execution of the inaugural event a year ago,” Sands said. “When we embarked on this, we knew that it would have been an awesome undertaking and one that required total involvement of the government of the Bahamas, the BAAA, Bahamian professionals, volunteers, corporate community and the public at large.”

As they prepare to venture into the second event, Sands said the LOC is looking forward to once again producing another world class international event, which rivals other international events hosted in other parts of the world.

“We expect a large contingent of IAAF representatives from around the world to attend as well,” Sands said. “Many countries will use this opportunity to gauge the progress of their relay teams, while others will seek to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing later this summer as well as the Olympic Games in 2016.

“Also, this year is an election year for the IAAF for the council members and the presidency and this will permit the membership seeking office the only time where the world will gather in one place prior to the elections, so we are confident that this year’s World Relays will play host to a number of dignitaries.”

At the inaugural event last year, the winners of both the men and women 4 x 100 and 4 x 400m relay teams automatically qualified for the 15th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, scheduled for August 22-30 in Beijing, China. This year’s winners will qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games, set for August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Minister Johnson said the IAAF World Relays is just one of five mega sporting events that will be coming to the Bahamas this year, which costs between 5-10 million dollars each to successfully host,” he said.

“Our infrastructure has been sorely lacking for decades. We spent about five million fixing up the infrastructure in and around the space and we spent about another five million putting on the event, but we made in that one week, about one million dollars for the Bahamas,” Johnson said. “That’s how it works. So every time we do it, we will get better and better and we can do more and more.”

Johnson said the hosting of events of this magnitude hammers home the point that has been the hallmark to the international world that it is indeed “Better in the Bahamas.” After a successful launch last year, Johnson said the trick is now being able to maintain the status and assured the LOC that the government has given its stamp of approval for the event.

After hosting a successful debut last year, carried live in parts to more than 161 countries around the world, Parker said a journalist from the United Kingdom coined the event in his magazine called ‘Spikes,’ Bahamazing because it was, in his opinion, the most successful meet ever.

“Our relationship with the IAAF is excellent. We have great cooperation and we have to get approval for everything from the IAAF,” he said. “They are very easy to get along with. They have very strict rules to follow, but they are willing to change things.”

Parker said they requested for a change in starting time from 5pm to 7pm to accommodate the fans who had to endure the heat in the eastern stands. Despite the international television coverage of the event, Parker said the IAAF has granted their wish.

The LOC has increased the cost of its tickets, including VAT. According to Parker, the cheapest ticket will be priced at $12 for general admission, while the most expensive will be $65 for VIP.

Additionally, Sands said in consultation with the IAAF, they agreed to replace the 4 x 1,500m, which saw Kenya set both the men and women world records, with the distance medley. Comprising of legs for the 400 (one-lap), 800 (two-lap), 1,200 (three laps) and 1,600m (four laps), Sands said it will provide an opportunity for more countries to field teams where it was obviously harder to do with the 4,000m race that required four good long distance runners.

While the Bahamas only fielded teams to compete in the 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m and 4 x 400m relays last year, Sands said the management team for the Bahamas, which should be assembled within the next week, will have the task of identifying the group of athletes to be used in the relay pool, thereby determining exactly what events the host country will compete in.

Ministry of Tourism on Board

As the host for a number of international events, including the college football bowl game, the Tiger Woods Golf Tournament and the Pure Silk Golf Tournament for Women, Ministry of Tourism’s permanent secretary Harrison Thompson said they will be throwing their full support behind the event.

“We are advised that the number of athletes coming this year is more than 1,000, which means more heads in our beds and more returns on our investment,” Thompson said. “We are always pleased that we have events like this to promote the Bahamas. The Bahamas is no longer just sun, sand and sea. We have reached the stage where we are promoting mega events.

“So as we partner with our team here, we in the Ministry of Tourism will assist wherever possible with logistics and marketing and whatever we can do because it is important for us to show the Bahamas in the best light possible. From all of us at the Ministry of Tourism, you can rest assured that we will be here to lend our support.”

The United States of America compiled the most points last year to cart off the Golden Baton. The award will once again be presented to this year’s winner. It’s estimated that because of the success of the inaugural event that more than 1,000 athletes from 50 countries will participate this year.

On both days, the BAAA will also hold a high school segment of the competition featuring athletes from throughout the Bahamas, prior to the start of the actual championships.