The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Judo Federation is hard at work preparing to host the World Junior Judo Championships.

The event will take place October 17-21 in the Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, which has been designated as the Games Village.

"We have less than 60 days to go and we're very excited because we're getting a lot of contracts from various countries every day," said D'Arcy Rahming Sr, president of the federation.

"So far, 26 countries have been registered and out of that, two major countries, Russia and Japan, have indicated that they will be staying for nine days to enjoy what we have to offer as a country."

In addition to Russia and Japan, who are expected to occupy about 400 rooms each per night, Rahming said the Bahamas can expect to entertain at least 20 countries with similar size teams.

"It's going to be quite an amazing number of rooms and people coming in to enjoy the competition," Rahming said. "We're hearing that a lot of people are coming, not just for the competition, but to also enjoy what the Bahamas has to offer."

The maximum size of a team is 20 athletes, but normally those countries bring in an additional 20 to 30 persons who will be assisting the athletes.

Selection

As for Team Bahamas, Rahming Sr said the public can come out and watch a splendid display from the athletes, once the coaching staff makes their final selection.

Team Bahamas is currently working out at the federation's High Performance Centre at Holy Family Catholic Church on Robinson Road, under the direction of D'Arcy Rahming Jr. The head coach for Team Bahamas is Oneysi Portorreal Pons, a former national coach for Cuba.

"Our team is training about 30-40 hours a week and our staff compliment is about five professionals, who are training them, so we are treating this very special and we are looking forward to really winning the title," Rahming Sr said.

Although the team has not yet been selected, based on what he's seen in practice, Rahming Sr said he's confident that it will be a very competitive one.

"This event is a world event, so it's a couple notches up from the Commonwealth (Youth Games)," he insisted. "But I think that we will have some breakthrough athletes.

"This is also an Olympic qualifier, so anybody who breaks through here will get a shot at going to the Olympic Games (in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan). That's what we're hoping for, to get a couple of these guys to get through."

At least 14 athletes could get a chance to qualify in the various age group divisions, but Rahming Sr said it could all come down to what draw the Bahamas gets.

Tickets for the event are priced up to $20, but Rahming Sr said they will have discounted prices to accommodate students and they will announce those prices once school opens in September.