Looking to light up Grand Bahama this weekend is a number of international stars, which, when added to the local flavor, is expected to create a first-class track and field meet that will kick off the season with a bang.
The Neymour Athletics Christmas Odd Distance Track and Filed Classic is set for this Friday and Saturday at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
Receiving the go ahead from the Ministry of Health three weeks ago, meet organizer Jerial Forbes said they are ready to welcome their international guests, some of whom are already in the nation’s second city for the two-day meet.
Listed on the program are the 60 meters (m), 150m, 300m, 500m, 60m hurdles, 300m hurdles, long jump, high jump, 4x200m and 4x400m mixed relays. All of the events, with the exception of the 60 and 300m hurdles, will be contested for all ages. The 60 and 300m hurdles will be held for athletes ages 13 and up.
The classic will run from 3-8 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. – until on Saturday, and will be the first international track and field meet of the season in The Bahamas.
“We want to make Grand Bahama one of the premier destinations for athletics in this region,” said Forbes, the head coach and president of the Grand Bahamian-based Neymour Athletics Track and Field Club. “This started off as just a youth base meet and persons kept reaching out to me. More and more coaches got interested in bringing their athletes here. Coaches were interested in bringing senior athletes, so we decided to stage an invitational event as more and more coaches reached out.”
Briana Williams, the World Junior Double Sprint Champion from Jamaica, is the biggest star booked for the meet. Also, Yohan Blake, the joint second-fastest man in history over 100m, and second-fastest over 200m, has committed Jamaican club TITANS International as one of the visiting clubs. The club is headed by former Olympic and World relay champion Michael Frater of Jamaica.
Also on the guest list are Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) youth sensation Skyler Franklin who trains with noted coach Gary Evans and Empire Athletics in Clermont, Florida – the same club of Bahamian World Champion Steven Gardiner; Jamaican former World relay champion Rasheed Dwyer, who was their national champion a year ago in the men’s 200m; and Sashalee Forbes, Olympic silver and former World relay bronze medalist for Jamaica.
Williams, 18, will be competing in the elite segment of the meet. The junior sensation, who simply dominated at the CARIFTA level over the past two years, said to 876 Stream – an online social media site in Jamaica – that she is super excited to be coming to The Bahamas and is eager to see what progression she made and how she has developed in the offseason. Despite restrictions from the advent of the coronavirus COVID-19 this year, and disruptions to training sessions worldwide, Williams’ coach Ato Bolden, himself a former Olympic sprinter for Trinidad and Tobago, said Williams has been doing extremely well in practices and is in line for significant improvement.
Blake, who is scheduled to arrive in Freeport tomorrow, is encouraging Grand Bahamians to come out and support the athletes. He expressed confidence in the ability of meet organizers to put in place the proper safety measures and social distancing protocols.
“Make sure come out and see all the exciting talent, and also talent from The Bahamas,” he said in a short video. “I know that this is a tough time with COVID, and everything that is going on, but the organizers are doing what they can to ensure that everyone will be safe and secured, so that there will be no outbreak. I’m looking forward to it and I believe that we will all have a good time.”
Forbes said the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA), the governing body for athletics in the country, has been very supportive of the meet.
“We are very grateful to the BAAA for their support. Our main challenge came from the Ministry of Health with this being a last-minute international meet taking place in The Bahamas,” said Forbes. “We got approval about three weeks ago. We have a medical team in place and they will ensure that we follow all COVID protocols and that we are safe.”
This is the first odd distance meet in Freeport since 2009, and Forbes said they are certainly looking forward to it.
“This feels surreal,” he said. “The kids have been locked down and isolated for months and for us to bring some form of normalcy back to their lives and give them an event to look forward to is a good thing. It makes me feel happy as a coach and an organizer. We are providing room nights for the hotel and the local economy will definitely benefit from this. Every coach should push to put The Bahamas on the map and these types of initiatives do exactly that. Also, we want to create avenues for these young athletes here in Grand Bahama and throughout The Bahamas. The kids are really excited to take part in an event like this.”
The Pelican Bay Hotel in Freeport is serving as the athletes’ village for the meet. All visiting guests will be staying there.
Forbes said that the staff at the hotel are adhering to safety and social distancing protocols as mandated by the Government of The Bahamas, and that they will follow the same procedures at the meet as directed by the Ministry of Health.
Also set for this weekend, on Saturday, December 19, is the BAAA Odd Distance Track and Field Meet at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. That meet gets underway at noon and is expected to run until about 6 p.m.
The post International stars headed to Grand Bahama appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/international-stars-headed-to-grand-bahama/
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