The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH they have to qualify, the athletes selected to Team Bahamas for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, still have to wait for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations to submit their recommendations to the Bahamas Olympic Committee for their final ratification.

Following the National Open Championships on Friday and Saturday night at the new Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, the BAAAs Selection Committee held their meeting on Sunday and are expected to complete their list to submit to the BOC this week.

But BAAAs president Rosamunde Carey, who sits on the selection committee, said it won’t be a cut and dry process because of a few variables that they have to consider. “We want to thank the NSA (National Sports Authority) for allowing us to be in this place,” Carey said. “And the Royal Bahamas Police Pop Band for coming out and entertaining the crowd. The crowd had some mixed reaction because we were expecting every athlete who wants to make the Olympic team to show up and compete in the trials. Even if you have already qualified, it’s mandatory that you come out and compete to at least show your fitness level.

“We had to cancel a whole event because we didn’t have the athletes show up and that is a very big concern for the federation because when the public is paying those athletes on subventions, we expect for them to come to our national trials and compete. The question is will those athletes who didn’t show up for the trials, by recommended by the federation and will the BOC take our recommendations into consideration.

“The BOC has also said that every athlete who wanted to make the Olympic team had to come home to compete. For those who didn’t compete, we need to know why they didn’t compete. Are they injured or are they just not interested in competing. We had one or two athletes who submitted a medical certificate ahead of the trials indicating that they are indeed injured, but we also had one or two athletes who sent in their certificates on the day of the trials. So that is a concern and something that the federation has to address.”

Carey said it’s imperative that all athletes on subvention should be accountable to the government of the Bahamas by ensuring that they come home and compete in the trials. During the athletes meeting on Saturday morning, Carey reiterated to the athletes the importance of them coming home and competing in the trials. 

“One of the things that they have to do is that it is mandatory that they have to show up and compete in the Nationals, so they leaved themselves with a question mark behind their names about whether or not they will be able to make the Olympic team.”

Ralf McKinney, the BAAA’s recommended team manager for the Olympics, statistician Rupert Gardiner, recommended assistant coach Tyrone Burrows, were among the list of persons who sat on the selection committee.

“This is an Olympic event and in order for you to be selected, you have to qualify,” Carey stressed.

However, the BAAA will have to make a selection on the pool for all four of the relay teams, even though there is no qualification times for them to run in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 metres. They have to post one of the top 16 times in the world in order to secure a spotg for Rio.

“We do have a meet in the BVI (British Virgin Islands) where we hope to field a women’s 4 x 400m team to compete because they were sitting in the 13th spot, but they have now dropped to number 25,” Carey said. “The window closes on July 11 so we are hoping to take them to BVI where we hope they can improve on their time.

“We also have the Blue Marlin meet here on July 10 where we will run the four relay teams. We have Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago and possibly the United States, so we hope to have some stiff competition for them to competed in. We need at least three countries to run in the raced in order for the times to be official.”

So Carey said the selection process is still not cut and dry following the trials. It’s still going to be a wait and see who will make up Team Bahamas for Rio in August.