The Tribune

IN an address on the eve of their Bahamasair charter flight to Martinique for the CARIFTA Swimming Championships, major sponsor and ‘send-off event’ host Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) CEO urged the youngsters to ‘make us proud.’

“Make us proud of you,” Leon Williams told the anticipatory young competitors at the POOP Deck Restaurant West, “make this a three-peat as CARIFTA champions and wear your national colours of gold, black and aqua, with pride.”

Algernon Cargill, president of the Bahamas Swimming Federation, also addressed the national teams, reminding them to stay focused and singular in their individual goals to bring home the championship.

“Do your best, that’s all you have to do - it’s got you this far, continue to stay focused and give it your all, that’s all we ask of you.”

Last year, BTC entered into a four-year financial sponsorship with the Bahamas Swim Federation, providing funds to facilitate the federation’s events and initiatives each year through 2018.

Regional championship events include the annual Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC) and Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Federation (CCAN).  

“The country is fortunate to have such a good and dedicated corporate citizen who not only believes in the multi-level potential of the youth of the country but is prepared to back it up with very meaningful sponsorship to aid in their development through various sporting organisations and events.

“The four-year partnership benefits the Federation in many ways; it alleviates a great deal of the worrisome burden of finding development funding for our swimmers. It also allows our swimmers to concentrate on reaching their goals without having to worry about finding the funds needed to get them there.”

The Federation president said in June, over 400 athletes from The English, French, Dutch and Spanish Caribbean islands and also from some countries from Central America will be in The Bahamas as it hosts the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC).

“This is a first for The Bahamas; we will host over 400 athletes for the CISC, and again the BTC sponsorships plays into this. We’ll be the home team which should give us extra impetus to garner the gold!

“Martinique and Guadeloupe have the home advantage at CARIFTA this year, and it’s a very competitive field across all nations. Fortunately, we have over one hundred supporters in the stands waving the flag and cheering our team on. I certainly believe that this year’s Team Bahamas has the athletic prowess and skills to deliver a three-peat CARIFTA championship.”

Sports fans in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean looking to cheer on their country in the 2016 CARIFTA Games will be able to watch up to the minute television coverage in High Definition (HD) on FLOW TV, Cable & Wireless’ (CWC) television brand, has signed a partnership with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) to be the exclusive media partner and sponsor of the Flow CARIFTA Games and will broadcast the three day sports event live across the region, including here in Bahamas via The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) FLOW TV and BTC’s website. Bahamians in islands where FLOW TV is not yet available will be able to access the live coverage at the “BTC TV” webpage on BTC’s website: https://www.btcbahamas.com/btctv.

Persons with BTC’s FLOW TV in Bimini and Inagua, and those testing the new product in Rum Cay, Cat Island, Andros, Long Island, and Nassau will be able to watch the CARIFTA Games on the Flow channel. BTC CEO Leon Williams said that the company is proud to give Bahamians across the country the chance to support their young athletes from afar, especially in events where they have performed so well.

Flow’s sponsorship of CARIFTA adds to an ever-growing line-up of sport partnerships signed over the past year that includes the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, CONCACAF 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, Premier League Soccer and Manchester United.