The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

stubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH more than 1,300 athletes from 70 countries expected in town July 18-23, the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is shaping up to be the biggest held in its history.

Bahamas Olympic Committee President Wellington Miller said on Monday, he and vice president Roy Colebrooke will head to Edmonton, Canada where they will meet with all of the countries coming to the Bahamas to ensure them that everything is in place and the government is lending their full support.

“We want to congratulate the government for sponsoring these games,” Miller said. “Usually these games are four years in the making, but the government took it on 18 months out and everything is going well.

“All of the 70 countries have confirmed their participation and this will be the biggest games ever held in the Bahamas and it will be the largest Commonwealth Youth Games ever held with two new sports being introduced – beach soccer and beach volleyball.”

Miller said they will advise the other countries that the Bahamian people will be waiting for them to come to the Bahamas next year and they will have a large amount of volunteers from throughout the Bahamas on hand to assist in making their trip here an enjoyable one.

Rommel Knowles, the chief executive officer for the CYG, said while they have not been able to pin down a price tag on the actual cost of the games, he said they will be going all out to ensure that the games are a success.

The games, according to Knowles, will run between $3-7 million to host and will serve as a mini-Olympics for the more than 100 athletes who will carry the Bahamian flag against their counterparts in front of their family and friends.

“The plans are progressing very well. If you pass in the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, where most of the activities will be for the games, you will see that the government has undertaken to upgrade and prepare the facilities,” Knowles said.

“Right now, the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium is about 95 percent finished for the games, the Betty Kelly Swim Complex would have undergone extensive repairs and upgrades, their about 80 percent upgraded and completed, the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium where boxing will be held, is just about completed and it will be the house for the local organizing Committee and the Commonwealth Youth Games committee.”

Knowles noted that Bahamas Football Association’s secretary general Fred Lunn has advised them that the beach facilities near the Sir Sydney Poitier Bridge is also undergoing repairs and should be completed by January in time for the World Beach Soccer Tournament.

And Colebrooke has promised to provide a scenic view for the competitors to ride when they compete in the road cycling competition as they ride along the beach front.

Judo is expected to be contested at Loyola Hall on Gladstone Road.

“We’re pretty much ready to go,” Knowles said.

In the next 30 days, he noted that they hope to have commissioned a 30-member team that will begin the 90-day stretch towards the lead up to the games. He said they will be going into the inner city to ensure that more youngsters get involved in some of the wholesome activities that will be displayed during the games.

“When these games are over, we want to ensure that every green space in the country have some space for these kids to play these sports that are going to be contested during the games,” Knowles said.

Knowles said the comradarie of the experience is what they are looking for when the games are contested.

“Yes, we’re going to compete, but it’s all about the cultural experience because we want the kids to go back to Europe and talk about their Caribbean experience,” he stressed.