The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribvunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ hosting of the National Open Track and Field Championships in Grand Bahama was a great economic boost to the island, but Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest is hoping that from a national perspective, the government can inject more into the development of sports in general.

Turnquest, who serves as the Minister of Finance, was addressing a mirage of concerns for sports in the country during an interview with The Tribune at the BAAA Nationals last week at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex, although he was cautious that he was not at liberty to speak on behalf of Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Lanisha Rolle.

“We want to thank the organisers for bringing this meet to Grand Bahama,” Turnquest said. “For our island, it was certainly a lift because we have our struggles at the moment with a slow economy.

“So any bit of positive activities help to bring back that bit of spiritedness and hopefulness to our community. So we want to thank the organisers for bringing the meet here. The economic benefit is significant as it puts heads in bed, which trickles down to meaningful employment for our people.”

As the Member of Parliament for East End, Grand Bahama, Turnquest said they will be seeking to encourage more sporting bodies to stage their national championships in Grand Bahama to help share the benefits that normally are designed for New Providence.

“The athletes who participated were an inspiration to us, not just in Grand Bahama, but to the Bahamas as a people,” he stated. “We had world-class athletes who inspired youngsters to achieve more and to raise their standards higher as to demonstrate what discipline and hard work can produce.

“So for them to have this opportunity to see these athletes up close and personal is certainly very inspirational for all of us. So we are very happy that it’s here because it brought a lift of spirit here with their wonderful experiences.”

When asked whether the Bahamas Government is doing all it could for sports, Turnquewst said Rolle is better suited to answer that question, but he admitted that the country is facing some challenging times financially and they had to adjust their habits and spending accordingly.

“We believe that we have allocated significant funding to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture to be able to continue their assistance to the3 federations and to the athletes to ensure that they have the best opportunity to succeed on the international stage,” Turnquest disclosed.

“No matter where you live, it’s never enough. That’s the reality. But we have our mindset on a specific outcome at the end of our consolidation and we have to be disciplined to face up to it. If we can achieve the things that we have set out for ourselves going forward, it will mean that we will have resources that we can invest in sports and other human development initiatives.”

The message, according to Turnwuest, is that the government have not cut any subventions, whether to the athletes or the federations, but there have been some allignments that persons feel are difficult to accept in the scope of things.

In recent times, associations and federations have complained that they are not feeling the economic pie and their subventions from the government have been reduced, thus causing them not to be a position to carry out their functions and commitments to their athletes.

Turnquest, however, was adamant that it seemed to be some confusion or misformation surrounding team travel as deemed by the sanctioning by the associations and federations, who serve as the national bodies in their particular sporting disciplines.

“From what we understand in the past, the federations raised the necessary money for travel. The government brought along aq subvention, but it was not the main funder,” he said. “It seemed lately, for whatever reason, pretty more of the burden fall on the government.

“But we can’t budget for that sort of thing. So there have been some challenges and we recognize that. We are trying to do the best we can, but it’s important that we have community partnership and the corporate Bahamas come along and do their path.”

In the landscape of what our athletes have achieved on the global stage, Turnquest said he’s convinced that the government can do more for sports, both on the professional and the amateur ranks.

“We could never be satisfied that our athletes are given the kind of attention financially to assist with their training so that they can go out there and achieve their best,” he stated.

“We also know that more could and should also be done in the Family Islands where they lack the facilities and the talented coaches that they need to have the opportunity to excel as well.”

One argument in the local sporting circles is whether or not professional athletes should remain on subvention from the government, more particularly the Ministry of Sport,s or should they have included in a programme designed by the Ministry of Tourism?

“I don’t want to get in trouble with the Minister of Sports or Minister of Tourism, but I have a view,” he quipped. “I believe that any programme, whether it is sports or concession for business, there ought to be an end.

“The idea is not for us to continue to give social contributions. It is to give contributions for development to take our athletes to the level where they can start making money from it or they have been able to use it as a building block to go through university and representing the country.”

As a small country, Turnquest said people have to understand that the more spent on the upper end, the less there will be at the bottom end and so there will be fewer athletes who will get the chance to get the productive careers that others have enjoyed.

“So I think we have to look at it critically in terms of whether it is standard that we continue their support after university or the standards are increased for those who qualify for subvention,” Turnquest pointed out. “That’s a technical area that I can’t answer right now or with any type of authority.

“All I know that the monies allocated for subvention are only so big, so we have to look at how we can get these athletes into universities and colleges so that they can launch their professional careers. I think that’s the responsibility of the state. So maybe the Ministry of Tourism is the place for them because they are promoting the Bahamas brand that point.”

As for the rewarding of athletes for their accomplishments, Turnquist said there is only so much the government can do.

“I know there is a programme where we have been giving land. The problem with that is that there is only so much land available in New Providence,” he stressed. “So maybe we can look at something like that. I think that is a good incentive.

“But as far as the cash rewards, we have a growing demand for resources, so we have to be responsible and practical and real with ourselves in what we do going forward. We want to acknowledge and reward our athletes, but we may have to look at other ways to do it than what we are doing right now.”

Turnquest encourages the athletes to continue their athletic prowess and insisted that when it’s feasible, the government will do its path to ensure that they receive their just due under the circumstances that they find themselves in.