The Tribune

8.45am: Welcome to day one of CARIFTA - with three days of competitive events ready to get under way at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. The Bahamas has a full 80-member team for the first time in our history. Among the first-timers for this year's event is Amari Pratt - who has a delayed start to her CARIFTA career. She was originally due to take part in the 2020 event, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She told The Tribune: "I know what I came to do. I am just going to execute my race the best I can and try to come home with the gold."

She is one of more than 50 first-time athletes on the team.

The first hour of events is scheduled to run like this - with the 100m hurdles heptathlon girls to lead the way. The final event of the day is due at 7pm. The Tribune's team of Brent Stubbs, Tenajh Sweeting, Moise Amisial and Austin Fernander is at the stadium and will be bringing you coverage throughout the day.

Photo Gallery

Carifta opening ceremony

Scenes from the opening ceremony of this year's CARIFTA on Friday night.

Friday night featured the opening ceremony of the games - with Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis addressing the crowd, saying: "We are now settling back into the joy of a sporting tradition which we have come to look forward to at Easter time."

There were cultural performances, and dignitaries including Governor General CA Smith in attendance, while the parade of nations saw teams enter the stadium with their flags.

Performers included Wendi, Sammi Star, a rushout by Genesis Junkanoo group, and more.

Some memorable moments of the Opening Ceremony were: recognising MaryAnn Higgs-Clarke as the “Mother of the Games”: she is the first Bahamian to win the prestigious Austin Sealy Award as the Most Outstanding Athlete at the 1978 CARIFTA Games; recognition of Pauline Davis as the Grand Dame of 50th CARIFTA Games, who is an Austin Sealy Award Winner, Gold Olympian and Honorary Life Council Member World Athletics; and the Induction of Mike Sands, President, North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC), into the Legend Walk. He was the first ever-gold medalist for The Bahamas at the 1975 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics; and participated in the Summer Olympics 1972 and 1976.

The countries represented at CARIFTA 2023 are: The Bahamas, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Maarten, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

9.45am:First event brings a first win for The Bahamas - with Kaily Pratt placing first in the 100m hurdles heptathlon girls.

Meanwhile, in the 100m octathlon for boys, it's a second place spot for Lavardo Deveaux of The Bahamas, and Shayann Demeritte is in third for the country in the 100m U17 girls heats.

9.49am:A first place in the 100m heats for the U17 girls - Jamiah Nabbie wins in a time of 11.75, and advances to the semi-finals, beating Barbados' Aniya Nurse in second and Natrece East from Jamaica in third.

9.53am: In the U17 boys first heat, Trent Ford of The Bahamas finishes second and qualifies with a time of 11.27. He finishes behind Tramaine Todd of Jamaica, who finished in 10.68. Both advance from the heat.

9.57am: In the second heat, it's another second place for The Bahamas, with Ishmael Rolle clocking a time of 10.79, just a fraction behind Ethan Sam from Grenada, with 10.77.

9.57am: The next hour of events includes more 100m heats plus high jump and long jump. Semi finals of 400m U17 girls at 10.40am.

Jamiah Nabbie is pictured at the stadium this morning. She won first place in the 100m heats for U17 girls in 11.75. The Queen's College student has a strong record through her career so far.

10.13am: In the final heat of the U17 boys 100m, Kasiya Daley of Antigua and Barbuda wins, with J'Den Jackson of the British Virgin Islands second. #CARIFTA50

10.20am: Shatalya Dorsett finishes in second in the second heat of the U20 women's 100m with a time of 11.92. She comes in behind Alana Reid of Jamaica, in a time of 11.57. Amari Pratt, in the third heat, is left to wait as she finishes fourth. Will her time of 11.8 be good enough to see her through after finishing behind Sanaa Frederick, Alexis James and La'Nica Locker? Waiting on confirmation.

10.24am: Five heats in the men's U20 100m - and The Bahamas' Carlos Brown leads the way! Finishes first in a time of 10.53. #CARIFTA50 http://bit.ly/3MqPr80

10.32am: IT'S A GOLD! Kaden Cartwright brings home the top medal for The Bahamas in the javelin.

10.32am: First place in the third heat for Adam Musgrove, of The Bahamas, in a time of 10.69, ahead of Dwayne Fleming from Antigua and Sanjay Weekes from Montserrat.

Kaden Cartwright raises his finger to show number one - and rightly so, as he wins the first gold medal for The Bahamas in the under-20 boys javelin.

11.01am: Darvinique Dean finishes fifth in the first heat of the women's U17 400m with a time of 57.44. Jamaica takes top spot through Jody-Ann Daley, with Grenada's Cheffonia Houston second and Kadia Rock, of Barbados, third. Top two qualify, then next four best times advance.

11.12am: Tamia Taylor came fifth for The Bahamas in the second heat of the women's U17 400m in a time of 58.99 and must wait to see if her time will see her advance. She finishes behind De'Cheynelle Thomas of St Kitts in first with 55.72, and Rosalee Gallimore of Jamaica in second with 56.03.

11.17am: Over in the men's U17 400m, it's Zion Shepherd for The Bahamas with a second place finish in the second heat in a time of 49.96. Only the top finisher in each heat automatically qualifies, in this case Nickecoy Bramwell of Jamaica - but the next five top finishing times also advance, so Shepherd is well placed.

Andrew Brown is the first Bahamian to be sure to earn his spot from the heats of the U17 men's 400m. He finishes first in the third heat, with a time of 48.94.

11.30am: Lacarthea Cooper finishes second for The Bahamas in the first heat of the women's U20 400m with a time of 55.01, behind Jamaica's Rickiann Russell (53.88) and T'Anna Liburd, of St Kitts, in 57.03.

11.38am: Javonya Valcourt finishes first for The Bahamas in the third heat of the women's 400m U20 with a time of 53.57. She finishes ahead of Kaelyaah Liburd of the British Virgin Islands in 55.56 and Victoria Guerrier of Haiti in 55.77.

11.40am: It's a fourth place finish for Clinton Laguerre in the first heat of the men's U20 400m with a time of 48.67. He finishes behind Delano Kennedy, of Jamaica, in first with 47.74, Elisha Williams of Grenada in 48.12, and Craig Prendergast of Antigua with 48.55.

11.55am: Rounding out the remaining heats of the men's 400m U20s, there are top three finishes for Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Barbados in the second heat, and Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago in the third heat.

12.02pm: That rounds off the morning session - action resumes at 4pm with the U17 women 100m semi-finals. We'll see you then!

Trent Ford qualified from his heat In the U17 boys first heat of the 100m - and is pictured both in action and reacting afterwards.

📸: Austin Fernander

Shatalya Dorsett pictured as she finishes second in the second heat of the U20 women's 100m with a time of 11.92.

📸: Austin Fernander

Tylah Pratt of The Bahamas in action in the U17 women's high jump - Shanniqua Williams of Jamaica placed first in the event. #CARIFTA50

📸: Austin Fernander

A blow for Jamaica as Bouwahjgie Nkrumie is wheeled away injured during #CARIFTA50 in a tough morning for the Jamaican U20 men's 100m record holder and the World Under-20 100m silver medallist.

📸: Austin Fernander

Ishmael Rolle of The Bahamas in action this morning - he finished second in the second heat of the U17 men's 100m in a time of 10.79.

📸: Austin Fernander

Looking comfortable - first place in the third heat for Adam Musgrove, of The Bahamas, in a time of 10.69, ahead of Dwayne Fleming from Antigua and Sanjay Weekes from Montserrat.

📸: Austin Fernander

Leading the way - the first heat in the men's U20 100m saw The Bahamas' Carlos Brown finish first in a time of 10.53. #CARIFTA50

📸: Austin Fernander

12.55am:

SWIMMING UPDATE:

By Brent Stubbs

Tribune Sports Reporter

After the first two days of competition at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Curacao, Team Bahamas is well on its way to completing a five-peat with a commanding lead in the medal rush as well as the most points accumulated.

In the gold category, Team Bahamas has accumulated a total of 18 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze for their total of 41. The Cayman Islands is sitting in third with 13 gold, 10 silver and five bronze for their total of 28. Trinidad & Tobago are in third place with 11 gold, seven silver and eight bronze for a total of 26.

A total of 18 countries have achieved at least one or medals in the games that will conclude on Monday.

In the points spread, The Bahamas has earned a total of 546 points. The Cayman Islands is sitting in second with 383, followed by Trinidad & Tobago with 246. Barbados is in fourth with 239 and Jamaica round out the top five with 231.

Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis and Lord Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, at Carifta enjoying a light moment as they watch the Saturday morning competition.

Photo: OPM

3.10pm: Ready for the action to get under way again? Less than an hour until we're back with the 100m U17 girls semi-finals. 4pm start for that. That hour will also see the semi-finals in the U17 boys 100m as well as the U20 100m semi-finals in both categories. On the field, there will be discus, triple jump, shot put and high jump.

4.04pm: Back in action - and Naomi London of St Lucia comfortably wins the first U17 women's 100m semi-final. The Bahamas' Shayann Demeritte finishes in sixth with 12.26.

4.10pm: In the second semi-final, Jamiah Nabbie running out of lane four - but it's a false start to begin with.

4.13pm: Not the strongest start but Jamiah Nabbie comes home in first for The Bahamas in the semi-final of the 100m U17 women. Powered through in the middle of the race to finish in 11.67.

4.14pm: First semi-final of the men's U17 100m sees Ishmael Rolle going out in lane 5.

Some nerves out there perhaps? Another break at the beginning to reset. Green card on show with no one at fault.

4.18pm: Comfortable win for Tramaine Todd to win the 100m U17 semi-final in 10.55 - but Ishmael Rolle automatically qualifies too with a second-placed finish. Stumbling start for Rolle but able to ease up by the line in 10.80.

4.20pm: Trent Ford up next from lane three in the second semi-final.

4.22pm: And it's a second place finish for Trent Ford in 11.05, behind Ethan Sam of Grenada in 10.87. Ford gives a double thumbs-up after the finish line.

4.28pm: Over to the U20s, with Amari Pratt running in the 100m women's semi-finals.

4.31pm: Was that third? Did Amari Pratt get third with the dip? YES! Yes, she did. Good comeback effort to chase it down on the line. Sanaa Frederick of Trinidad and Tobago wins in 11.52, Alexis James second for Jamaica in 11.72, Pratt in 11.80.

4.33pm: Good turnout in the stands - and more people expected to come as the evening goes on. Certainly building up with some good races right now.

4.36pm: Fourth place in the second U20 women's 100 semi final for Shatalya Dorsett in 11.75 - as Alana Reid almost jogs over the line by the end in 11.50 after the Jamaican blows away the field in the opening of the race.

4.48pm: How's that for a tight finish in the U20 men's 100m first heat? Ajani Daley just edges out The Bahamas' Adam Musgrove, but only a fraction between them - Daley in 10.47, Musgrove in 10.49.

4.52pm:

A false start for Deandre Daley of Jamaica - and he's disqualified after falling flat off the blocks.

4.54pm: Carlos Brown runs a strong race to finish second, though edged out just on the line by Davonte Howell of the Cayman Islands. Brown through though and led most of the race. 10.41 for Howell, 10.45 for Brown. #CARIFTA50

BRONZE MEDAL FOR BAHAMAS! The U17 1500m women's final sees Barbados win through Ashlyn Simmons in 4:51.65, but The Bahamas' Erin Barr rallied from deep to take third in 4:54.09.

5.26pm: No joy for The Bahamas in the U20 women's 1500m with our entrants back in sixth and seventh - but a brilliant finish by Barbados runner Layla Haynes who came off the final bend to chase down Jamaican Kishay Rowe to grab the win.

5.39pm: Ainsley Campbell of Jamaica wins gold in the 1500m U20 men's race, holding off a challenge in the final 200m to claim the victory.

The 400m up next - here's your schedule for the rest of the evening's events. #CARIFTA50

6.28pm: BRONZE FOR THE BAHAMAS! Andrew Brown clocks 48.68 to finish third behind winner Nickecoy Bramwell of Jamaica in 47.86 and St Kitts and Nevis' Jaylen Bennett in 48.59 in the U17 men's 400m final.

6.28pm: SILVER AND BRONZE FOR BAHAMAS! A tough battle in the U20 400m women's final, but Rickiann Russell of Jamaica (51.84) just edges out The Bahamas' Javonya Valcourt (52.12). And Lacarthea Cooper in 53.12 picks up the bronze medal too!

6.51pm: It's a Jamaica one-two in the 400m U20 men's with Jasauna Dennis pipping teammate Delano Kennedy to the line. Amal Glasgow of St Vincent and the Grenadines in third. The Bahamas' Philip Gray Jr in 7th. #CARIFTA50

7.02pm: An unusual situation in the women's U17 400m, with the final being run in two sections. Why is that? Here's The Tribune's Brent Stubbs with an explanation: "Guyana just arrived today. They had a run off and they got in, so they had to split the race in half to accommodate the athletes."

7.07pm: And after that late arrival for Guyana, runner Tianna Springer arrives late down the outside to take the U17 women's 400m gold medal in a time of 54.32! Jamaica's Jody-Ann Daley takes silver in 54.81 and St Kitts and Nevis' De'Cheynelle Thomas takes bronze in 54.46. The Tribune's Brent Stubbs adds: "There was a protest lodged because of the decision that could have eliminated one of the athletes who competed before the run off, so they added the competitor and so they had to split the race because there isn't nine lanes on the track."

7.32pm: First day rounded off in both the women's heptathlon and the men's octathlon ahead of day two's events tomorrow.

In the boys octathlon 400m, The Bahamas came third with Reanno Todd notching a time of 52.30. Meanwhile in the girls heptathlon 200m, Essence Sands for The Bahamas came fourth with 26.50.

7.42pm: Up now it's the Special Olympics 100m - the first of the 100m events as we near the end of the first day.

Dancing at the finish line after the end of the Special Olympics 100m. Great camaraderie between all the participants in the race.

7.54pm: GOLD FOR BAHAMAS! Jamiah Nabbie wins in the U17 100m in a time of 11.67.

8.07pm: A gold one-two for Jamaica in the U20 women's final, with Alana Reid taking the top spot in 11.17. Alexis James in 11.53 in second. Sanaa Frederick for Trinidad and Tobago takes third in 11.65. The Bahamas' Shatalya Dorsett in fifth and Amari Pratt eighth.

8.10pm: SILVER FOR BAHAMAS! Ishmael Rolle clocks 10.62 to finish second in the U17 men's 100m.

8.13pm: SILVER AND BRONZE FOR THE BAHAMAS. But it's Cayman Islands' Davonte Howell that edges out Carlos Brown into second, and Adam Musgrove into third.

The times on those runs in the U20 100m final are 10.38 for Carlos Brown and 10.44 for Adam Musgrove - with Davonte Howell's 10.30 just enough to pip them to the gold.

Competitors in the Special Olympics 100m on the first day of #CARIFTA50.

📸: Moise Amisial

Jamiah Nabbie won gold in the U17 100m in a time of 11.67.

📸: Moise Amisial

SILVER AND BRONZE FOR BAHAMAS! Javonya Valcourt won silver in 52.12 and Lacarthea Cooper won bronze in 53.12 in the U20 400m.

📸: Moise Amisial

The U17 1500m women's bronze medal winner Erin Barr.

📸: Moise Amisial

The Bahamas' Lavardo Deveaux on his way to second in the 400m in the octathlon - with four more events to come tomorrow.

📸: Moise Amisial

Amari Pratt in action, left, in the evening session as she qualified from the semi-finals of the U20 100m.

📸: Austin Fernander

Trent Ford in action, second right, for The Bahamas as he qualified for the U17 100m final.

📸: Austin Fernander

Lanisha Lubin in the U20 triple jump for The Bahamas.

📸: Austin Fernander

Carlos Brown on his way to a second place in the U20 men's 100m heat.

📸: Austin Fernander

Adam Musgrove, centre, on his way to a second place in the U20 men's 100m heat - he went on to win bronze in the final.

📸: Austin Fernander

Women's U20 triple jumper April Adderley in action.

📸: Austin Fernander

That concludes the first day of CARIFTA coverage - join our team of Brent Stubbs, Tenajh Sweeting, Moise Amisial and Austin Fernander tomorrow for day two! You can join in the discussion in the comments on our website - or get in touch via our Facebook and Twitter pages. See you tomorrow!