The Tribune

It was a bittersweet weekend for the formation of the Bahamas Track and Field Alumni on their inaugural Gala and Awards Dinner on Friday night at the Balmoral Club.

After receiving an award that he shared with his wife, Maxine Munroe, for their commitment and service to track and field over the past 50 years, Adam Munroe passed away when he returned home.

The Adams were honoured along with Doyle Burrows, Martin Lundy, Keith Parker, Frank “Pancho” Rahming, Elaine Thompson, Neville Wisdom and Ronald Cartwright.

Also honoured posthumously were the late Livingstone Bostwick, Winston ‘Gus’ Cooper, Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson, Thomas A. Robinson and Monica Woodside.

Former athlete Cheryl Munroe-Jones, who returned home to attend the event that honoured her parents, said her 82-year-old father left the banquet and suffered a heart failure at home.

The news was anticlimactic to what was truly a night to remember for the many former athletes, coaches and executives who helped to shape the development of the sport in the country.

Munroe, through his family’s popular company - Cakes by Adam, located at No.22 Lobster Avenue, Golden Gates No.2 - made some invaluable contributions to track and field.

Munroe-Jones, who benefitted as well as one of the country’s top athletes coming out of St Anne’s High School, said her father had a CRT device placed in his heart on March 20 in Florida and he wasn’t feeling well and he wanted to go home to take his medication.

“My dad did a lot for athletes financially when they were going off to compete or to school,” she remembers.

“He was alway there supporting track and field.

“I was proud of both of them because my mom used to go as a chaperone on the CARIFTA team with Mrs (Moniva) Woodside. So they were all champions of track and field. I was really proud of them.

“I am going to miss my dad. When he picked me up from the airport, I didn’t think anything like this would have happened. We had tickets for the World Relays. We were at CARIFTA because I always come home, but I didn’t think this was going to be my last with him, so it hurts.”

Onesimus Strachan, who ran with an idea that was conceived in the mind of the late Finlayson, said they had no idea that those persons in the steering committee would emerge as the forerunners to carry out the vision of the former long-time Bahamas Association of Athletic Association executive.

“We exceeded the mark when it comes to putting on an event that is representative of that group of athletes and the work that they all put in,” Strachan said.

“I think that evening was beyond spectacular.”

Strachan, however, said it touched the hearts of so many of the people present to hear that Munroe passed away the same night that he got his award.

“His last memory on this earth was with us. He got to see all of these athletes who he helped to see rise up and become great citizens,” Strachan said. “He took his award home with him and then he passed away.

“He was there with us from the beginning in September when we started planning this and he was there to the end. He was a sponsor for the event and he was going to sponsor the farewell party at his home on Sunday. We couldn’t have it anymore, but we are thankful for all that he and his wife did for us.”

Troy Kemp, still holding the Bahamas national record in the men’s high jump, said he was pleased to be a part of the “golden oldies” as they got to reminisce on the past.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was really nice to see some of the individuals who got the awards, including my old coach Neville Wisdom and some people who passed away like Tommy Robinson.

“It was bittersweet to hear of Cheryl’s passing right away when he went home right after he got his award.”

Kemp said he was also delighted to get a chance to view the performances of the athletes at the sixth BTC World Relays Bahamas 2024.

“I thought it was an honour to be there to watch some of our athletes like Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner,” Kemp said. “This was my first time actually getting to see them run in person.

“So it was thrilling and what was more thrilling was to see how much the Bahamian people were so intrigued by it. Just watching them cheer on the athletes brought a lot of goosebumps for both myself and my wife Mary, and my daughter, Myria.”

Michael “Boy Blue” Newbold, one of the country’s premier male sprinters, congratulated the organising committee for putting on a splendid event and he indicated that it will become an annual event.

“It was well worth it,” said Newbold, who now resides in Memphis, Tennessee. “I didn’t expect it to be as big as it was. But once you got there and you saw how everybody was flowing with it, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

Wisdom, coach of so many of the top athletes in the country, said he was honoured to be asked to give the keynote address and to be honoured at the same time.

Speaking on the topic of “Intentionally Grateful,” Wisdom told the audience about the early stages of track and field in the Bahamas that included names like the late Charlie Major Sr, Henry Crawford, Skeeter Dames and the generation that followed with Doyle Burrows, Tom “The Bird” Grant and Charlie Wright and then the era of Perry Christie, Dr Timothy Barrett, Bernard Nottage, Gerry Wisdom and Leslie Miller.

He then got to the fourth generation of persons like Troy Kemp, Michael Newbold, Lavern Eve and the “Golden Girls.”

In being intentionally grateful, Wisdom apologised for the challenges they experienced in the past with sports politics, which he said could sometimes be more detrimental than the real politics of the nation.

Wisdom, a former minister of youth, sports and culture, called for people to give more back to the country and not try to make the sport an elitist one where they forget about the grassroot communities that produced so many former athletes who excelled over the years.

If there is more inclusion of athletes throughout the country and they are given more exposure, he doesn’t see why the Bahamas can not be contenders with Jamaica at CARIFTA, having beaten them before at least four times and to produce more Olympic and world champions like Troy Kemp, Frank Rutherford, Pauline Davis, Tonique Williams, the “Golden Girls” and the Golden Knights and now Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner.

“We have to continue the legacy. We can’t let it go,” he insisted. “Many of the people in the room benefitted from it. There were so many people there that I haven’t seen in a long time. It was a wonderful reunion.”

He also praised and offered his condolences to the Munroe family on the loss of Adam, who would have been a pillow to the sport as a supporter and financial contributor. He noted that he and Adam sat at the same table at the banquet.

Carmetta Mackey-Christie, who worked along with Strachan, Whelma Colebrooke, Jackie Edwards-Flowers, Philippqa Arnette and Munroe-Jones on the steering committee, said it was a collective effort and personal sacrifices to make the event a success.

“It was great to be a part of something that united a group of wholesome individuals who continue to give of themselves,” she summed up. “Next time we meet, I would certainly love to grill and chill for all the committee members in this group.”

Strachan said there are plans for the Alumni to do a lot more, including going into their alma maters and encouraging the athletes to be able to compete at their best for their respective schools.

He also indicated that they hope to provide incentive meets where athletes get to compete across the length and breadth of the Bahamas so as to showcase their talent on the national scene.

The Bahamas Track and Field Alumni also sat together and watched the World Relays in the eastern grandstand at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Among the sponsors were Fabian Photography, Cakes by Adam, Bahamas Track and Field Alumni, Mexicana Restaurant, Co.ina Insurance, Onesu=imus Strachan, Davis & Co Law Firm, Livingstone Marshall and All Kids Dentistry Inc.