The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS a former athlete turned coach, Mark Humes wants to use his expertise to help forge a vibrant sporting programme for the constituency of Fort Charlotte that he now represents as the Member of Parliament.

Humes, elected as the MP for Fort Charlotte under the Free National Movement government in the May 10 general election, said he wants to restore the lives of their residents by creating and funding positive youth, young adult and adult engagement opportunities in the community.

"Those who are old enough to remember would remember that Fort Charlotte was once a sporting powerhouse with many of the sporting legends in baseball, softball, volleyball and track and field coming from the area," he said.

"Our vision is to create Fort Charlotte pride by making Fort Charlotte a sporting power once again and today's launch of our sporting branding competition is the start of making that vision a reality."

During a press conference Sunday at the Keith Archer Building in Chippingham, Humes introduced the members of the staff who will be working along with him to develop the sporting programme.They included Julius Minns, the athletic director for Fort Charlotte, Dianne Cooper, the track and field coordinator, Dwayne Weir, the archery director and Rommel Humes, the basketball director.

Minns said as they work on building their sporting programme in Fort Charlotte, they are initiating a logo design competition that will help to establish their athletic brand and they are inviting all residents of the constituency to take part.

"We are looking for the name, colours and mascot for all of our Fort Charlotte athletic teams and are asking for interested individuals to enter our competition," he said.

"All entries must be original works with a detailed explanation of why they chose the name, the colors and the mascot for Fort Charlotte athletics."

A cash prize of $500 will be offered to the winning entry, while $300 will go to second place and $100 for third place. The entry deadline for the competition is September 18 and entries can be submitted to the Fort Charlotte Constituency office on Providence Avenue or emailed to athleticsfortcharlotte@gmail.com. Winners will be chosen after all entries are received on September 18.

Humes said that while they welcome entries from throughout the country, they would allow the residents of Fort Charlotte to make the final decision on which banners they would go with because it would reflect their teams.

Once the banner is selected, Minns said they hope to use them when they showcase their teams as they prepare their teams to compete in the various night league competitions in basketball and softball in the 2017/18 seasons.

For basketball, tryouts will take place as follows:

Men and Women basketball - Tuesday- Thursday, September 12-14 at 7 pm at Christie Park; Tuesday-Thursday, September 19-21 at 7 pm at Rock Crusher Park and Tuesday-Thursday, September 25-27 at 7 pm at CI Gibson Park in Chippingham.

Rommwel Humes said they are looking for players in the community who feel they have the potential to play on the team to come out and tryout. He also noted that they also have a spot open for anyone interested in being the coach of the team.

Tryouts for softball will be announced.

But for those interested in track and field, Minns said their tryouts would take place on Saturday, September 30 on Fort Charlotte field on West Bay Street.

Cooper said she's willing to make an effort to work with the young people in the community because she believes that there is a lot of talent available.

She urged all former athletes in Fort Charlotte, not just in track and field, but all of the sports menrtione4d, to come forth and lend their assistance as they do their part in making Fort Charlotte a vibrant sporting programme.

Additionally, Minns said they intent to introduce both judo and archery, which will be headed by Weir. While these are two new sports in the community, Weir said he's confident that they can develop some sporting power.

Minns also noted that they want to start a baseball team for the young men in Fort Charlotte, but since it won't be possible for them to enter the Freedom Farm or Junior Baseball League of Nassau, they will be trying to form a constituency youth baseball league that will showcase the teams in other communities.

Humes said he intent to earmark $20,000 towards the programme out of the funds that is allocated for the development of his constituency.

Persons interested in getting more information or want to volunteer their time should contact them at athleticsfortcharlotte@gmail.com or they can follow them on their facebook page Athletics Fort Charlotte.