The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER the success of its inaugural event last year, the Bahamas Golf Federation is eager to get the second annual National School Golf Championships underway next month at the BGF’s golf club at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

Plans were unveiled by the BGF yesterday in the foyer of the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. They were joined by Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowle, Zane Lightbourne, minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Bahamas Olympic Committee president Romell Knowles.

Some of the players from both the primary and high schools, both public and private, were on hand to participate in the ceremony as they prepare for this year’s tournament, scheduled for March 21-25 at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

One of them, Zachary Joseph, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Claridge Primary, had a chance to speak and he thanked Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy for introducing him to golf.

BGF vice president Anthony Hinsey, who served as the master of ceremonies, said Joseph is the second best player in his age group and they’re looking forward to some great things from him.

Georgette Rolle-Harris, the chairman of the Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy who is one of the organisers of the tournament, revealed that the private primary boys and girls teams will play on March 21, followed by the public primary boys and girls on March 22.

Each day, the top three schools and the best individual players will advance to the championships scheduled to be played on Friday, March 26.

The public junior and senior high schools will compete on Wednesday, March 23 when the top three schools and individual leaders will advance to Friday’s final. And on Thursday, March 24, the private high schools will compete to determine who moves on to the finals on the final day of competition.

“Last year, I think we had just over 130 students advance to the finals,” Rolle-Harris said. “Our goal this year is to max out to 150 players.”

To ensure that they get the maximum performances out of the players, Rolle-Harris said the nine-hole golf course will be designed for the players to play from distances that are suitable to their ranges.

Bowleg, having also graduated from Claridge Primary, said his ministry joined hands with the Ministry of Education in assisting the BGF in the hard work in putting on the second annual tournament.

“The Bahamas Golf Federation is one of the associations who are leading the charge in finding the diamonds in the rough,” he stated. “There is no other sport in the country where they are composed of all age groups.

“This is the first national all-age competition and I’m very impressed with the number of inner-city kids involved, considering that this is an expensive sport. So to get the inner-city kids involved shows that golf is going places and we’re looking forward to seeing some future Olympians very soon.”

Lightbourne, in recognising all of the players in attendance, said this is what the future looks like and he’s proud to be a part of it.

He said he never had the opportunity to play the sport, but with the potential and opportunities available to the children, the BGF has to be commended to put on this tournament, especially in the coronavirus pandemic that is still prevalent in the country.

“We know that in order to develop a strong presence in the sport, you have to begin with the foundation and the foundation and growth of every country is their youth,” he said. “This is an awesome opportunity for our youth.”

If this event was never implemented, Lightbourne said the country would not have known or seen the potential that is available, considering the fact that many of the players never picked up a golf club in their lives.

“To have 200 players participate in a golf tournament is awesome,” he added. “We have to give our children more opportunities and we have to diversify sports in our country. Get into something new and go bold with it.”

Lightbourne promised that his ministry will continue to support the BGF and they will be looking at ways that they can get the sport inclusive into the curriculum in the school system.

Knowles called it a “red letter day” as it pertains to high school sports as he commended the BGF and both ministries for their joint venture in getting so many youth, especially out of the grassroot areas, to participate in golf.

While he said the second event is momentous, he noted that with so many social issues that the young men and women are experiencing today, it’s refreshing to see the positive changes being made and he pledged the full sport of the BOC in their future endeavours.

Clara Storr, who heads the primary school division at the Ministry of Education, said the second annual tournament now represents a milestone and that only means that the best is yet to come.

She noted in particular that they entered 15 schools into the tournament and with only 10 weeks of preparation, the public primary schools dominated with competitors in the top four rankings.

Evon Wisdom, director of sports in the Ministry of Education, said he was surprised to see that there were about 1,000 persons who came through the programme.

And Wisdom said he’s looking forward to another stellar event this year.

Gina Gonzalez-Rolle, the BGF’s chairman of the Junior Gold programme, thanked Tim Munnings, the director of sports, Marcellus Taylor, the director of education and Rupert Gardiner of the Ministry of Education, for their assistance in pulling off the initial tournament last year.

“On March 21 to March 25, we will be hosting our second annual National Schools Golf Championships and believe me, that will be an event like you’ve never seen before,” Gonzalez-Rolle said.

She noted that Bahamas Waste will be providing the reciprocals for persons to use to sanitise once they arrive at the facilities and everyone will have to wear their masks.

She noted, however, that there won’t be any spectators allowed and that the players will be separated when they show up to play in an effort to avoid overcrowding.