The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DO you think it's time for our sporting bodies to come together and form one organisation that will be solely responsible for finding the necessary funds to assist our national teams when they travel?

Or do you think these individual sporting bodies, especially in the core sports, should look at finding full time paid administrators, whose responsibility is to secure their own funding?

I think one or the other should be considered because the way we are doing business right now is not indicative of the successes our athletes are achieving.

And they could be achieving even more if the necessary funding was in place for them when they travel.

There's just too many complaints about who is and should be responsible, when, at the end of the day, it seems as if whoever is mandated to do it is not doing it, or they are not doing a proper job of it.

Case in point.

Athletes from track and field have complained about the unfair treatment they received from the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and the Bahamas Olympic Committee at the recent Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, as opposed to the team that the BAAA sent to the North American and Central American and Caribbean Games in Toronto, Canada.

And just after the women's volleyball team returned from the CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) Championships in Parimaribo, Suriname, the Bahamas Volleyball Federation found themselves in a financial crisis where there wasn't sufficient money in the kitty to send the men's team.

At the 11th hour, the team was able to travel, avoiding a disaster that could have resulted in sanctions for the Bahamas. There could have been some fines to pay, which may have cost almost as much as the trip.

Journey

As a result of making the journey, Team Bahamas earned the silver medal, losing to hosts Suriname for the second time in the tournament. The first defeat came in a round robin game that lasted about two and a half hours.

Along the way, however, the Bahamas dethroned defending champions Trinidad & Tobago. And, at the end of the tournament, Renaldo Knowles captured Team Bahamas' only individual award when he was named the best receiver.

The team, coached by Lloyd Davis and Kurkwood Greene Sr, should be commended for a job well done, despite coming up short in the final against Suriname.

Despite the circumstances surrounding their travel, they stayed focused on their goal to try and win the gold. Maybe, if they had gone better prepared and on time, the outcome might have been different.

As for the controversy surrounding the BAAA and the BOA, both organisations claim that there is no animosity between them, but rather there's someone out to cause some mischief.

From all indications, the BOC was responsible for the trip to Colombia, but it was revealed that the BAAA was aware that they had to bear some of the cost in providing per diem for some of their athletes.

From what I discovered, all of the organisations, including the BAAA, agreed to the arrangement, but it only became a problem when the BAAA had to obtain a $40,000 loan for the trip to Toronto for the NACAC team.

Both BOC president Rommel Knowles and BAAA president Rosamunde Carey have indicated that there is no rift between them or their organisations, but rather some mischievous persons within the BAAA trying to cause some confusion.

That's why I believe that to avoid any controversy when it comes to teams travelling overseas, it's time for our associations, especially disciplines such as track and field, basketball, softball, volleyball and swimming, to either engage with a full time administrator or form some alliance to secure the necessary funding.

We're at the stage in our development where there shouldn't be any concerns for our athletes, coaches and management as to whether or not they will travel and if they will receive any stipend when they do.

Not only that, these trips, unless there is a qualification from one event to the next, are placed on notice at least a year in advance so there is ample time to put the necessary funding in place to get the teams to and from the games.

If we're going to continue to enjoy the level of success that we are achieving, we have to ensure that we do whatever is necessary to get our athletes as comfortable as possible so that they can compete to the best of their abilities.

Condolences

I wish to offer my condolences on behalf of The Tribune Sports department to the family of the late Greg Christie and the softball fraternity.

Christie, 70, passed away on Monday at the Princess Margaret Hospital as a result of heart complications.

Throughout the years, I got to know him when he served as a Bahamas Softball Federation executive from Grand Bahama before he emerged as the president. During that time, he's always been the same consistent, easy going, soft spoken gentleman who wanted the best for the sport.