The Tribune

Cycling Club Bahamas. - Weekday rides, East, morning: Tuesday & Thursday leaving 5am sharp from Sea Grapes Shopping Centre, East Prince Charles Drive. This ride is a 17-mile loop to the Northbound Paradise Island Bridge and back again (Both bridges are sometimes incorporated depending on available time). Open to riders capable of 18+mph for 1 hour. Lights are essential.

Weekday rides, West, morning: Wednesdays & Fridays leaving 4:45am sharp from Fidelity Bank parking lot (opposite Cable Beach Police Station), West Bay St. This ride is a 20-mile loop. The route is varied. Open to riders capable of 18+mph for 1 hr. Lights are essential. Contact Shantell to confirm your attendance. Afternoon: Tuesdays & Thursdays leaving 5:30pm sharp from Old Fort Shopping Center east of Solomon’s Fresh Market. This ride is 18-20 miles depending on whether you choose to do a second loop. Recommended for strong riders capable of 20+mph for 1-1.5hrs. Intermediate Riders 18-22mph - see Spyda

Weekend rides: Saturday ride cancelled this Saturday, we will support the Potcakeman Triathlon.

Sundays leaving 6:00am sharp from Harbour Bay Shopping Centre in front of First Caribbean Bank (Starbucks) 40-50 miles headed East. This ride is not recommended if you have not cycled recently or first timers! P/I bridges optional at the end. The pace will range from 18–20+mph, 3-3.5 hour duration (cyclists are invited to join in anywhere along the route).

Upcoming events:

Youth Cycling Developmental Programme each Saturday at The Tracks. Contact Barron on 552-5128 for more information.

September 24 Track Race 9:15am at The Tracks (near Thomas A Robinson Stadium)

September 24 Potcakeman main event triathlon, Nassau, Bahamas.

September 25 - 6:45am Warriors Cycling Club 48-mile road race start/finish Goodman’s Bay, Elite 48 Miles, Masters, Juniors, 50+ Open Women 30 Miles.

October 8 - Exuma, Bahamas, The Run for Pompey, http://runforpompey.com.

October 30 - UWC Triathlon Clifton Heritage Park http://www.uwctriathlon.com.

November 5 - Conchman Triathlon 30th Anniversary Race & Party, Grand Bahama www.ConchmanTriathlon.com.

February 4 - 2nd Annual Bahamas Medical Center Dri Tri.

February 18 - Ride For Hope, Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera.

Rebecca Chapter No. 4. - The members of Rebecca Chapter No. 4, Order of the Eastern Star, Prince Hall Affiliated, made a presentation to the Child and Adolescent/Robert Smith Unit (CARS) recently, to include board games, clothing items, hygiene necessities, disposable diapers etc. Rebecca Chapter No. 4 is known for its “Mystery Soup Kitchen” which takes place every two months in the Bains and Grants Town communities.

“Our place is not only in the four walls of our building”, said Sister Tanya Smith-Cartwright, Worthy Matron. “We are mandated to go out and do benevolent acts that make a difference in the lives of the indigent. We will continue to visit the CARS Unit in the future and assist as best we can.

“We are thankful to nursing officer Frederica Wallace, for allowing us into the state-of-the-art unit to put a smile on the face of her clients. Members of Rebecca are committed to making those smiles continuous.”

Rotary Club of East Nassau. - The Rotary Club of East Nassau has implemented a Study for Success pilot programme at CI Gibson High School.

Rotarian Keith Sands proposed the idea after seeing young men hanging around shopping centres asking for sponsorship to travel to basketball tournaments.

“They should be doing something more productive, and I thought that if they were actually able to travel to these tournaments they might have an incentive to study harder and even an opportunity to get a basketball scholarship.

“Many of them have never travelled before because they can’t afford to. I felt this was a good avenue for Rotary to get involved in youth development,” he said.

Since East Nassau Rotary already helps to fund community service work in the Kemp Road area, Sands met with coach Kevin Johnson at CI Gibson Senior High School to discuss his idea. He spoke to the 15-member basketball team in the fall term of 2015, when there Study for Success programme was officially launched.

“Johnson’s players have to maintain a 2.5 grade point average to remain on the basketball team,” Sands said, “and he provides special tutoring classes for those who need help. His main purpose is for the players to get an education and possibly a college scholarship through basketball. He tries to build well rounded young men.”

The motto of the Study for Success programme is Play hard + Study hard = Success. A Rotary banner displaying this motto will be installed in the school gym as an encouragement to the team and other students.

Study for Success rewards students for making a strong team effort. All members of the team have to work together and encourage each other to do well.

Members of the basketball team had a combined grade point average of 2.61 in December 2015. The East Nassau Rotary Club offered a $2000 donation if they achieved a 2.75 grade point average. If they attained a 3.0 GPA or higher, Rotary was prepared to donate $5000 for tournament travel.

In this year’s summer term, team members achieved a 2.76 grade point average, which qualified them for the $2,000 donation.

Five players improved their grade point average in the single term since the programme started. And one of the grade 12 players (who graduated this year) achieved a 3.4 GPA.

So far, the CI Gibson team has played in two Orlando, Florida basketball tournaments with the help of East Nassau Rotary. They won both tournaments in their age category.

The first event was the AAU International Basketball Tournament at the Disney ESPN Worldwide of Sports Complex. The second was the AAU Destiny Hoops Basketball Tournament at the Orlando Magic training facility.

“We are looking to expand this programme into other public high schools as funds become available,” Sands said, “and would like to offer a separate school donation to encourage all students to achieve higher grades.”