The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE fifth edition of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s Sports Awards Night is all set for tonight in the Crown Ballroom of the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island.

Under the theme for its month of activities: ‘Champions Among Us - Locally Grown, Globally Known,’ awards will be presented to deserving athletes in more than 15 categories, based on their performances during the course of the year, both locally and on the international scene.

The event is scheduled to start at 7pm and while it’s not an event that is open to the general public, all of the sporting bodies have been given invitations to send representatives.

A number of the athletes, who were nominated to receive awards, have also been invited to attend the event, which will be under the patronage of Lanisha Rolle, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.

Director of Sports Timothy Munnings said they’re looking forward to another gala event.

“We expect another exciting evening, similar to what we had in 2018,” said Munnings, who along with sports officer Oria ‘Big O’ Knowles, are planning a spectacular event.

“We will have lots of recognitions because we had a lot of athletes and teams who performed very well this past year and we want these persons and federations to know that we have not forgotten them.

“We want to show our small token of appreciation for their sacrifices to their sport as they develop their craft.”

Federations and associations were invited to nominate their candidates to the ministry. A committee was formed to view the list and determine the winners.

While the committee has completed its job, Munnings said the ministry intends to hold the final selections tonight when they will officially announce all of the winners.

“We’ve given a broad look at all of the sports and all of the athletes,” said Munnings. “Some categories are very competitive and so it has really made for an interesting night.

“The selection of the overall winners in each category has been very insightful. So we’re looking forward to a very exciting awards night.” Among the list of awards tp be presented are the Prime Minister’s Athlete of the Year, Male and Female Athlete of the Year, the Collegiate Male and Female Athlete of the Year, the Junior Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Rising Star award, the Olympic Committe award and the Special Olympic award.

Some of the athletes nominated are basketball player Buddy Hield and Jonquel Jones, track athletes Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Steven Gardiner, Tynia Gaither and Terrance Jones, swimmer Izaak Bastian, Carifta swimming and water polo team, judoka Cynthia Rahming; equestrian Eile O’Brien; boxer Tureano ‘Reno’ Johnson; tennis players Baker Newman and Sydney Clarke and cyclist Antience ‘Lilly’ Simmons, MMA fighter Giovanni Johnson, collegiate football plyer Mike Strachan; Athletes with disabilities Derron Forbers, Caitlin Romer and LaTonya Moss.

Among the coaches nominated are Quinton ‘Three Ounce’ Hall and Denycko Bowles; high schools CR Walker, CH Reeves, St Augustine’s College, Queen’s College, TA Thompson and Charles W Saunders and federations Bahamas Cycling Federation, Bahamas Association of Athletic Associat6ion, Bahamas Equestrian Federation, Bahamas Swimming Federation and Bahamas Basketball Federation.

As this is the International Year of Women, Munnings also revealed that the ministry plan on recognizing a group of women, who have contributed to the development of sports in the Bahamas.

The list of honorees has not been disclosed, but Munnings said they are excited bout the women and the role they played over the years in their particular scope of sports.