The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the Bahamas Olympic Committee’s election of officers all set for Saturday at the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s headquarters at 7pm, there will be three positions not contested – the presidency, secretary general and treasurer.

Romell Knowles, Derron Donaldson and Dorian Roach have all secured those positions by acclamation as there will be no opposition based on the list of nominations submitted over the weekend.

However, all of the other positions will be keenly contested, including the seven spots for vice presidents, with a record 17 candidates challenging each other. Among them are four women, three of whom are running for the first time, while one is seeking re-election.

The BOC, under it’s amended constitution, under article VIII - Electoral General Assemblies, number two and point F indicates that “at least two of the elected Officers shall be a female.” Those changes come under the amended constitution that was previously dominated by an “all boys club” with only men elected to serve.

Gina Gonzalez-Rolle, who has served on the board of the Bahamas Golf Federation for the past four years, said she decided to put her name in the hat because she felt that both men and women are both needed for various reasons.

“I think women have compassion and care and there’s a little more so than men,” she stated. “We have to reach out to our athletes when they travel and congratulate them, let them know we are looking out for them to do well and if they don’t place, or get in, we need to let them know that we still hold them high in esteem. I think all of that would have the country’s athletes to move forward.”

Additionally, Gonzalez-Rolle said she’s fighting for some of the smaller sports that don’t get the kind of recognition big sporting bodies such as track and field, swimming and basketball do.

“I have no issues with track and field, swimming,” she said. “I just feel like that we need to ensure that every sport is given the opportunity to bring a gold medal home just like we would with track and field or basketball and we see a great example of that in baseball.

“We have produced major leaguers and it puts a smile on our faces when we see what they have done. I feel that is what is needed. We look at every sport and consider it as good or give it the opportunity that we do to any of the other sports.”

Another candidate is Catherine Ramsingh-Pierre, who is the founding president of the Bahamas Equestrian Federation (2016). She said she decided to run in the elections for the post of vice president as well as assistant secretary general because this is the era of change and progress.

“The BOC plays a vital role in the development of sports in our country and as such requires progressive and inclusive governance that is best achieved through multiple viewpoints,” she stated.

Ramsingh-Pierre, who has been riding since the age of nine, said she believes that as a woman and the representative of equestrian, a relatively small, but growing federation, she can make a difference in the landscape of the BOC.

“I have the opportunity to bring the new voice to the table and energy and passion to the BOC’s initiatives as it fulfills its mandate for the development of Bahamian sport,” she said.

Three other women are vying for a position in the BOC: Jenny Isaacs-Dotson, president of the Bahamas Softball Federation; Lori Roach, the secretary general of the Bahamas Triathlon, and incumbent vice president Cora Hepburn, were not available for comments.

But Oria Wood-Knowles, the incumbent assistant general secretary, who will be seeking office in the same position, said she enjoyed helping and assisting the young Bahamian athletes and help to give them all of the encouragement that they need.

“We need people who are willing to humble themselves and go sometimes in some very uncomfortable places and encourage them and be there to ensure that they have every advantage to succeed,” Wood-Knowles said.

“I’ve given most of my life to sports and I am honoured and privileged to have been grouped with a set of persons who are very kind and extremely generous, persons who have worked extremely hard to push the growth and the development of our athletes, both locally and internationally and to be behind our athletes to ensure that they achieve out there.”

As a former versatile athlete, who represented the Bahamas in various sporting disciplines, Wood-Knowles said it’s important to encourage the developing athletes, especially when they are away from home. Making a phone call and providing an encouraging word helps to make a world of a difference.

“I’m just humbled to have been nominated again by the Bahamas Baseball Association,” said Wood-Knowles, who served as a long-time executive. “I’m going to do my best to more.

“In the first time around, I had lots to learn – the language I have come to understand and the purpose and the reason behind what I’m doing. And to have to leave my family and to go be in these small villages, uncomfortable beds and climbing steps for days, just to ensure that things are in place for our athletes who are striving to do their best.”

With a vibrant president in Romell Knowles and a young and energetic secretary general in Derron Donaldson, Wood-Knowles said she’s learned a lot. She hopes that she can continue the path they have taken as the Bahamas remain “numero uno” as a “small, but mighty” nation on the global stage.