The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With all of the COVID- 19 protocols in place and no spectators in the stands, Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) president Drumeco Archer said they lived up to their end of the bargain in hosting their Star Performers Time Trials Meet at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Saturday.

But after they got started, they had to halt the meet midway in between the under-13 girls’ and boys’ 100 metres after two members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the COVID-19 officers showed up claiming that they could not continue.

Apparently, they were charged with having 2,500 participants in the stadium, but the BAAA only had just over 200 competitors registered and there were no spectators in the stands.

So after deliberating for an hour and-a-half on conference calls with Mario Bowleg, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Wayne Munroe, the Minister of National Security and Dr Michael Darville, the Minister of Health, they were allowed to continue.

Once they did, one national record was achieved by Keyshawn Strachan in the men’s javelin and he was joined by almost 10 other athletes in attaining the qualifying standards for the CARIFTA Games set for Kingston, Jamaica, over the Easter holiday weekend.

“I think the government has put in place a system to ensure the safety of the Bahamian people,” Archer said. “There is an exception to the rule in legislation where there is a provision made for the ongoing sporting competition.

“We stood our ground there. We believed we were on the right side of the law and we didn’t commit any infraction so that escalated to the point where we had to challenge the interpretation of the act and I believed that calmer heads prevailed.” While he called it something that was “emotionally driven,” Archer said they easily got it resolved, even though it took a “little longer” than they had anticipated, but they got it done and he thanked all of the stakeholders for their assistance.

“I believe this is something that we could have easily resolved and I am happy with the intervention of all of the stakeholders for making this happen,” he stated.

“I believe this is an important precedent that establishes our standings to be able to host events like this in the lead up to the CARIFTA Games.

“I believe that the Bahamas’ team will be a very strong team and we would hope that we would not be denied the opportunity for our athletes to represent us at the international level. So it’s important for us to be able to put on these meets so that our athletes can attain the qualifying standard.”

Archer, a lawyer by profession and a losing candidate for the Free National Movement in the Fort Charlotte constituency, said they were able to convince the government that they should be allowed to continue with their meets without any spectators in a competitive way.

“I believe this may have been a necessary evil and I’m confident that if we can sit down like real men and we understand what the real game is all about, then we could arrive at good decisions in a win-win situation for everyone.”

Archer said he wants to assure the Bahamian public that the BAAA is running a smooth and prepared track and field campaign that is designed to bring out the best in the athletes, especially as they prepare for the return of the CARIFTA Games after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

“We are out here preparing our athletes. I believe we have the strongest protocol regimen in the country and we’re happy to note there is little to no COVID-19 cases in our track and field bubble,” he stated.

“It all bodes well for us because we have a big space to work with and the coaches have been doing a good job in abiding by the COVID-19 guidelines.”

The BAAA had to postpone all of its major meets in January and resort to putting on time trials to keep their athletes in tip-top shape. The next meet on the schedule is the Road Runners Meet on Saturday, February 19.

“This allows us to have unfettered access to competing without the interruption of the authorities since we have already gotten their approval,” Archer said.