The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

FORMER national tennis player Lori Roach has moved up from being the secretary general to now sitting in the chair as the first female president of the Bahamas Triathlon Association.

She replaced Dorian Roach, who opted not to seek another term in office during the election of officers that took place by a Zoom meeting on Thursday night.

For the next five years, Lori Roach will head the BTA with Grant Menzies, a past director, as her secretary general; Tricia Johnson,  new addition, as treasurer and Grand Bahamian Luna Maxi, the other past director, and Jacqueline Derbyshire, the outgoing treasurer, as the two directors.

“We have some members returning from the previous board in Grant, Luna from Grand Bahama and Jacqueline and our new member is Tricia, our treasurer, so we feel we have a very capable board of getting the job done,” Roach said.

“These are people who know how we operate, so it should be an easy transition for us in office,” said Roach. “Of course, we will miss Dorian, but this team is eager to go to work.”

As she embraces her new role, Roach said she’s excited because she just returned from Spain in October from the World Triathlon Association where they also voted in a new president as well.

“In Spain, I got to talk to a lot of people and we all talked about our problems as small countries and what the bigger countries are doing,” she said.

“It seems as if the countries in the Caribbean will be sticking together to get some help with programmes in the United States and Canada where some of our athletes will be able to go there and train.”

And with her new role as the president, Roach said she’s eager to pursue  the possibility of initiating such a programme as early as next year. 

Also under her term, which runs until 2029, Roach said the association is hoping to enter  male and female competitors into a qualifying race in Havana, Cuba, in February for the Junior Pan Am Games later in the year.

On the local scene, Roach said the association will host the Potcake Triathlon on March 30 and National Triathlon Championships in May. 

But she noted that right now there’s no island designated to host the CARIFTA Triathlon. When asked about the Bahamas, she said the government asked for a two-year notice, so she will be presenting her case for the Bahamas to host the CARIFTA Triathlon in 2027.

Additionally Roach said the BTA will also be looking at the possibility of hosting a developmental camp like what was done in Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados.

“It’s usually a week-long camp for one boy, one girl and one coach invited from each Caribbean country and a World Triathlon coach comes down and gives them their training for the week,” she said.

“They also train the coach as well as the athletes and you can also tack onto that a technical and official course. We definitely need more technical officials in this country, so we can get them trained.”

At the end of the course, Roach said the athletes get to compete and the officials officiate so they can demonstrate what they learned.Dorian Roach, who served for the past nine years, said he felt it was time for someone else to take control of the association as he concentrates on his role as the treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee.

“I decided that if I was re-elected to the BOC, I would not return for another term with triathlon,” he said. 

“I think the new president will do a good job.

“She’s been the workhorse for the association for the last nine years. She does all the hard work and so I think she will do a great job. 

“We have a great term working with her as well. So I think the association is in good hands.”

Lori Roach, then Feingold, was one of the top female tennis players who went on to represent the Bahamas on the Fed Cup, now known as the Billie Jean King Cup, for three years in 1991, 1993 and 1994.