The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S not how you start, nor how you get there. Most importantly, it’s how you finish.

• The Finish Line, a weekly column, seeks to comment on the state of affairs in the local sports scene, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

The Bahamas’ 42nd Independence celebrations came and gone and there was very little going on.

The majority of the people were in North Andros attending the All-Andros Regatta in Morgan’s Bulff. The regatta turned out to be the sailing extravaganza for the island.

But here in New Providence, had it not been for the Lady Panthers Volleyball Club, there would not have been any sporting activities at all.

What happened to the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s Independence Tournament?

Remember when the tournament provided an opportunity for those players who came home from school and even in the professional ranks, playing in the various leagues around the world, to come home and showcase their talent as they teamed up with the elite local players.

Why can’t that return as a staple event on the sporting calendar?

We have sufficient players who would have participated on various teams before they left to come back and reunite themselves with their former teammates to participate. If not, they could have formed one or two teams to play against the local teams that have already been establshed.

The tournament could have also served as a fundraiser for the federation, which has an ambitious programme for the future.

Kudos to the Panthers Vollyball Club, headed by Jason Saunders. They were able to satisfy the appetite of some of the sporting fanatics by putting on a top notch tournament for men and women. The model that was used in the past by the basketball federation was used as players who are off were able to return and play together.

The Panthers’ away team, comprising of players who are off to school, were successful in winning the ladies’ title over the perennial kingpins Scottsdale Vixens. The men’s division was won by the Scotiabank Defenders, who showcased Byron Ferguson, the country’s only professional player.

Obviously, the timing wasn’t condusive for athletics as the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations has a number of teams preparing to travel to the various international meets, so it would not have been possible to put on a major track meet, which is why the inaugural Blue Marlin meet was held the week before.

In any event, the Independence holiday could have used some more sporting flavour.

Talking about flavour, there was enough to go around on the international scene as the Bahamian athletes were doing some fantastic things. Quarter-milers Shaunae Miller and Steven Gardiner have been lighting up the charts with their fantastic performances in the women and men’s 400 metres.

If that’s any indication, they should be the talk of the town in Beijing, China when the IAAF World Championship is held at the famous Bird’s Nest at the end of August. The duo are set to lead the Bahamas’ charge at the championships, the first major competition to be held in Beijing since the 2008 Olympic Games.

Miller, by the way, will be riding her impressive win over American Sanya Richards-Ross in her last outing in Lausanne, Switzerland when she became the third Bahamian female to dip under the 50-second barrier in 49.92 when she contests the same event at the Monaco Diamond League meeting today.

THE WEEK

AHEAD

This week, the Pan American Games got started in Toronto, Canada and is now in high gear with Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace already placing the Bahamas on the medal chart with her bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle. It wasn’t what she anticipated, but it just shows how competitive the event is.

Vanderpool-Wallace still has her specialty coming up today in the 50m free where she is hoping to make a splash for the five-member swimming team.

Also this weekend, the three boxers - Carl Hield, Keishno Major and Rashield Williams - will begin competing. They have a veteran coach in Andre Seymour, assisted by Valentino Knowles, one of the most successful amateur boxers now turned coach, so it will be interesting to see how well they perform.

The Pan Am Games is the third largest in the chain of operation by the International Olympic Committee, following on the heels of the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. So this should be quite an interesting event for the Bahamas to showcase its skills.

So far, they have with one medal by Vanderpool-Wallace and a new national record by Dustin Tynes, who shattered a 15-year mark held by Jeremy Knowles. Look for some more fantastic feats as the games heads into the athletic competition next week.