The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT IS not how you start, nor how you get there. Most importantly, it’s how you finish.

• The Finish Line, a weekly column, seeks to comment on the state of affairs in local sports, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

FOR the rest of the week, some of the top female golfers in the world will be teeing off at the Ocean Golf Club on Paradise Island in the fifth annual Pure Silk/Bahamas LPGA Golf Classic.

The week got started with windy conditions as Raquel Riley fell short and missed advancing out of the qualifying round to join the field of 108 golfers that include another Bahamian, Georgette Rolle.

Rolle, playing for the fourth time in the classic and her third straight after sitting out the second version as Riley got the local exemption, will probably not make the final cut when the second round is played today, unless she turns in an incredible performance.

But both players should be commended for the way they handled the home court pressure of playing in such a high level tournament, which kicks off the official calendar for the LPGA.

This is definitely no easy feat for both Riley and Rolle to overcome, considering the fact that they are based here at home, Rolle heading her own Fourteen Clubs Academy for juniors at the Bahamas Golf Association’s Driving Range and Riley, a teaching professional at the Baker’s Bay Golf Club in Abaco.

Both ladies have proven to be among the top professional female golfers in the country, but it’s obvious that for any of them to be real contenders, they need to get more financial support from the Bahamian community.

Rolle and Riley have had to abandon their plans to go on the pro tour and compete in the Futures events in a bid to stay competitive because of the lack of funding.

This has been the case with a number of top collegiate athletes, who have decided to stay in the United States and try to survive on the monthly subvention provided by the Bahamas Government.

Looking at the way they both performed this week, there’s no doubt that they both have the ability to compete against these women, who would have already had a warm up tournament to compete in before they came here and already have a list of tournaments that they will be going to compete in after they leave here.

This country, as we’ve seen by the amount of outstanding athletes we have produced in just about every sporting discipline, is blessed with talent in both the male and female categories.

Just imagine if we had the proper funding mechanism in place like a national lottery where we could provide the opportunities for our top notch athletes to access how much more professional athletes that we can produce.

I tip my hat off to Rolle and Riley for their effort in the classic this year. I just wished that they were in a much better position to prepare themselves so that they could last through the final two rounds.

This is a gruelling event to participate in and just their raw talent won’t be enough to get them over the hump. They need a little more funding to ensure that they get the experience competing against the world’s best in more tournaments, even if it’s just in the Florida area.

Let’s find a way to push them a little more, just as we do in some of the other sports like basketball, track and field, volleyball, swimming and baseball, just to name a few.

IMPROVEMENT

AT TAR STADIUM

Last week, the local coaches complained that their athletes were denied the opportunity to compete in front of their families and friends in the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium during the local BAAA club meets.

Over the weekend at the Roadrunners Track Classic, the National Sports Authority rectified the situation and erected the apparatus to allow the throwers to utilise portions of the infield.

The NSA also ensured that there is more law and order on the perimeter of the track with less athletes roaming freely about while the meet is being conducted.

There’s nothing that a little preparation won’t do to make a situation a little better as the NSA continues to work on the resurfacing of the infield at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

In moving forward, if only calmer heads prevail we can accomplish a whole lot more. After all, we are all working on improving things for everybody involved.

CONGRATS

TO OUR

ATHLETES

OVERSEAS

From basketball to track and field, swimming to volleyball to soccer to baseball, the Bahamas has already seen quite a number of athletes excelling overseas.

We need to continue to push them in their endeavours as they bring accolades to the Bahamas whether it’s on an individual basis, head-to-head or in a team concept.

The Bahamas is and will remain in the spotlight, not just because of the tremendous amount of events that are here and will be coming to our shores, but also because of the achievements of our athletes on foreign soil.

If you’re a sporting fanatic, you should love being a Bahamian. If you’re not, jump on the bandwagon because there are plenty accomplishments for you to celebrate.