02292024 NEWS AND SPORT

Photo: Dante Carrer

Petroleum retailers continue to seek a 25 cent increase per gallon on margins

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association continues to seek a 25 cent per gallon margin increase compared to the previously sought 30 cent increase, with hopes of meeting with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis this weekend.

Vasco Bastian, vice president of the Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association, said he intends to hand deliver a letter to the Prime Minister by the end of the week. He declined to provide The Tribune with a copy of the letter until it was delivered.

Mr Bastian is pleading for the government’s assistance in providing relief and implementing the industry’s long-awaited margin increase. He is hopeful the government will grant their wish by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

“We have always been in

a desperate situation, but it’s getting even worse now because if you see, if you’re following closely, last week, every retailer had an adjustment in their prices because the price of crude oil is starting to rise again.

“After Easter, we’re gonna get right into the summer and that’s usually when oil prices tend to rise. And so, we’re trying to see if we can get some relief before we get into the summer months.”

With repeated calls for the government to grant a margin increase, Mr Bastian said fuel retailers can no longer afford to operate on the current margin regime due to increasing costs.

The last time petroleum dealers enjoyed a margin increase was in 2011 when the Hubert Ingraham-led Free National Movement (FNM) government granted a 10-cent increase per gallon of gasoline to take it from 44 cents to 54 cents.

A 15-cent increase per

gallon of diesel was also allowed. The government itself currently collects over $1.60 for every gallon of gasoline sold in The Bahamas.

“We are now operating in a negative and we’ve been operating in the negative for the last 10, 12, 13 years, it’s worse, it’s bad,” Ms Bastian said yesterday.

“Anybody who’s ever been associated with any gas station business or knows about this business knows that you have to have a more flexible margin, or the margin has to be reviewed every so often for the persons who run these gas stations in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, to make a profit.

“We should not be held hostage with a fixed margin.”

During last week’s weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, Simon Wilson declined to provide an update on negotiations, however asserted that they have not stalled.

THE Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association continues to seek a 25 cent per gallon margin increase compared to the previously sought 30 cent increase, with hopes of meeting with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis this weekend.

Witness ‘did not sign’ contracts

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carry out repair and painting works at its Blue Hill Low Level tanks.

The contracts were worth $263,000 each, the court heard yesterday.

“No, ma’am. I don’t sign like that,” Ms Demeritte said when shown letters of acceptance allegedly bearing her signature.

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier asked the witness if she ever authorised anyone to sign the documents on her behalf.

However, she said no.

When asked if she ever received monies for the contracts awarded, Ms Demeritte said she hadn’t.

“How did your company get those two contracts,” asked Ms Frazier.

The witness said that she did not know.

Ms Frazier asked her if she ever placed a bid or a quote for the contracts, but again she said no.

Ms Demeritte allegedly became a director and shareholder of Elite Maintenance in 2019 after being asked to join by Mr Gibson’s then fiancée, Alexandria Mackey, whom she met through Mackey’s mother.

She told jurors yesterday that Mrs Mackey dealt with the day-to-day operations of the company, including the execution of contracts,

while she only inspected the sites where landscaping and maintenance works were being carried out by Elite. Her duties also included taking photographs of sites where work was incomplete, she added. When asked about works at the corporation’s Blue Hill site, Ms Demeritte revealed that R&L Pools was subcontracted by Elite to repair and paint two tanks there.

However, she could not say how much they were paid or how long it took them to complete the work.

When questioned about landscaping contracts awarded to Elite, Ms Demeritte testified that she never received any payments with respect to the works done.

Ms Demeritte was also shown the company’s registration documents, which listed her as secretary and shareholder.

However, the witness said she wasn’t aware that she held those posts and asked the DPP to explain to her what a shareholder was.

Ms Demeritte was also asked if the company had any vehicles.

She said she only knew of the company’s truck and recalled when Mrs Mackey asked her to provide her identification documents for the truck’s purchase.

When shown a receipt allegedly bearing her name with respect to three vehicle purchased, the witness denied signing it.

When asked if she ever received money from Mrs Mackey, the witness said she got $2,000 for assisting her.

Ms Demeritte will return

for cross-examination at the next court hearing.

Mr Gibson, the MP for Long Island, is facing several charges concerning his tenure as WSC executive chairman under the Minnis administration.

The charges stem from Mr Gibson’s alleged failure to declare his interest

in contracts awarded by the WSC. The FNM politician is charged with Mr Elwood Donaldson, Jr, former WSC’s general manager, Rashae Gibson, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson and Jerome Missick.

Mr Damian Gomez, KC,

Demolition continuing at a baco ‘gaza’ Shanty town

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Buildings control officer Craig Delancy said yesterday that 65 structures, which included about four buildings “at the foundation”, were demolished. His comments came after the Ministry of Works on Tuesday began demolishing the 120 unregulated structures found in the Gaza shanty town, located near SC Bootle Highway, west of Murphy Town.

“Today, the contractor is back and has resumed the demolition. And right now, we hope to get rid of the remaining unregulated structures in this area by the end of the day,” Mr Delancy said.

More than 400 28-day eviction notices had been posted throughout the unregulated communities in Abaco called the Gully, Gaza, and The Farm near Treasure Cay.

Mr Delancy said the next shanty town officials are eyeing is the Gully. He

said people living in the unregulated communities don’t own the land and none of the structures had building permits. Asked what preventative measures are being taken so residents don’t rebuild in the cleared areas, Mr Delancy said: “Well, we hope to have some surveillance to start at the end of the clean-up. To ensure that we don’t have people coming back again. But that’s still in the infant stages as to exactly how we would carry out that monitoring.”

He also urged people in the other unregulated areas to evacuate from their homes so there’s a “peaceful transition” once the demolition exercise is done.

Meanwhile, Danielle Hanek, director of the forestry unit at the Ministry of Environment, said officials are assessing the estimated debris that will be left from the demolition.

Asked how long the cleanup process would take in

the Gaza area, Ms Hanek said: “We’re still determining as well because there are many factors to the clean-up. There are derelict vehicles, you have the debris from the homes, and then you have the other environmental concerns. Especially with the wells and the cesspits.”

She also noted that despite the impact of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 the pine forests in Abaco are healthy. She said the island’s environment is regenerating well compared to other islands.

The government’s push to demolish shanty towns in Abaco –– where Works Minister Clay Sweeting said more than 90 per cent of the homes reportedly lack running water –– comes after structures in the Kool Acres, All Saints Way, and Area 52 shanty towns of New Providence were destroyed.

Mr Sweeting said the action is not just a demolition exercise, but one that advises “people to adhere to the law”.

Mr Murrio Ducille, KC, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Ian Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants. In addition to Ms Frazier, the Crown’s lawyers include Cashena Thompson, Karine MacVean and Rashied Edgecombe.

35 Haitians found hidden in a boat near Arawak Cay

NEARLY three dozen Haitians were apprehended by police yesterday after they were found hidden inside a boat near Arawak Cay.

The group, comprised of 26 men and nine women, were discovered after police, acting on information, went to Arawak Cay where they searched a dark vehicle with three persons inside – a Haitian man and two Haitian women.

The male driver reportedly produced documents proving his status in the country while the other two women did not.

Police said this prompted officers to search a nearby 40ft vessel where they found 35 Haitians hidden inside.

The man was subsequently arrested while the Haitian migrants were detained and transported to the Department of Immigration for further processing.

Investigations are continuing.

ADRIAN Gibson outside of court yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

BUILDINGS control officer at the Ministry of Works Craig Delancy said yesterday that 65 structures, which included about four buildings “at the foundation”, were demolished, as dismantling of ‘Gaza’ shanty town in Abaco continues. Photos: MOW

Mother believes son’s murder retaliation for 2022 stabbing

Carmichael Road on Faith Avenue.

His mother, Maryse Newry, said her son had been bullied and suffered beatings from students at the time of the incident in 2022.

She said he played basketball at Anatol Rodgers High School, but she alleged that some of his team members beat him up. She told The Tribune: “He came home all tear up. They kick him, beat

him and one of them posted that on his status.” She claimed the stabbing occurred after a fight when he was 14 years old. She said: “It was four students against him. They start fighting, kick him on the floor and things like that, but he had a knife in his bag. Now when he get up and they turn back and when they going, he get up off the floor, he act like he walk away and pulled his knife out his bag and stabbed one.” Police reported at the time that a 14-year-old

boy was in hospital after he had been stabbed during a fight. The incident happened during a lunch break and involved junior high school students between the ages of 14 and 15.

The teen was charged before the courts and was put on probation for a year.

Mrs Newry said she got “no good results” when school administration was approached about the bullying.

In Monday’s shooting, the two teen victims were

reportedly in a backyard when two men entered the property and opened fire in their direction before fleeing.

Mrs Newry said her son was doing well as a student at Garvin Tynes Primary School. He was a prefect in the sixth grade and played basketball.

Before the stabbing, he was living in America where she said he was doing so well. She said: “I was afraid of The Bahamas. I sent him. I pay everything. I pay a lawyer everything.

Sent him to my sister for my sister to adopt him and now after a while my sister say he gotta go back to The Bahamas, my son could be still alive over here.”

Mrs Newry also lived in the US where her daughter is an American citizen. She said: “I pay rent right now. I have a good little job now. I said now I get ready now, waiting on my son to come back over here to come to school. You see to come to school so and he’s doing so well.”

She said he attended North Miami Middle

School and said the teachers loved him.

She said: “I had a nice big plan for my son. Big plans for him, but why I don’t really, I can’t be too much worry about this big plan because it’s vanity. So I have to keep still humble, stay under the Lord you know. Always calling upon the name of the Lord because it is only person I know it’s only we might know.”

The double shooting brought the murder tally for the first two months of the year to 30.

from page one

ANDREW Newry (pictured inset) died just outside this house on Faith Avenue when he and another man were shot to death on Monday evening.

Police urge men who are victims of domestic abuse to speak out

from page one

noting the “Men Speak Series” provides a safe space to talk about abuse.

Asked how the domestic violence unit force has been since established in 2022, ASP Whyms there have been several cases reported by females and males. She noted most of the reports have been from women rather than men.

“Men are very prideful, and then they look at being humiliated and shamed. So that is one of the main reasons why you find that a lot

of men do not report matters of domestic violence,” she said. ASP Whyms added so far this year she’s seen an increase in women requesting police action. She said the increase is rare because a lot of women would often make a complaint but wouldn’t take further justice action. A large number of male officers from the Royal Police Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, and the Department of Correctional Services were in attendance at the event.

At one point during the symposium, some officers were heard chuckling when a guest speaker said men get domestically abused too.

One officer rebutted: “That’s not funny.”

When asked about the laughing by some officers, Superintendent of Police Leonardo Burrows said that sometimes people laugh because they are masking something much deeper.

Supt Burrows explained the importance of the event is to normalise having

BA H A M A S CRISIS CENTRE JOINS MOE IN launching ‘circles of peace’ campaign

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A CAMPAIGN was launched yesterday aimed at creating “circles of peace” in schools to teach students about kindness, respect and courage.

The Bahamas Crisis Centre’s Green Ribbon Peace campaign aims to go to four or five primary schools a week during March.

Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson, the centre’s director, highlighted the crime issue in the country and how it stems from internal as well as external factors.

She said: “We are all concerned about the reports of violence in our country, increasing numbers of adults and more recently now young people. So we recognise the need to address it, and deal with it and not just wring our hands, oh my God, what’s happening to the country? What are we going to do? There are things that we can do, there are our actions... We have to and can make a difference.”

She said that the positive qualities we want to see in children need to be named.

She said: “We have identified what we call a KRC peace campaign, which is focusing on three key pillars: kindness, respect, and courage. We want children to buy into them, internalise them, understand them and behave with those qualities, behave with those thoughts.”

FOREST

She added: “So we have the presentations to the schools, the peace gardens where we hope that those schools that have space will create peace gardens in their schools. We have a competition - an essay, poem, song, logo, poster competition that will allow children to depict their understanding of the values.

“We have a parenting intervention where we will provide sensitisation to parents because there’s no use us letting children know that you need to be kind and you need to be brave, but parents need to understand.”

Noelle Nicolls, the peace programme coordinator, said a workshop has been designed and more than 150 volunteers from partner organisations have been trained.

She said: “We’re going to be going into 17 different schools simultaneously workshopping with the grade four and grade five students and this is going to be a massive operation that’s going to touch over 3,000 primary schoolchildren.

“In this workshop, what we are going to be doing is teaching the young people what we call to activate their superpowers because we want to give them the experience of actually the power of kindness. It takes no money to smile, to say something nice to somebody, to treat somebody with kindness. It takes no money.”

This campaign comes at a time when a number of teenagers have been the victims of murder. On Monday, two teens boys were killed at a residence north of Carmichael Road on Faith Avenue.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin said there is the tendency to externalise individuals’ role in what’s going on in the country.

She added that the government has a role and the criticism of the government is very apt in appropriate circumstances, but government cannot be blamed for social deterioration.

“When we see something like this thing with those two boys, and I know I’m not the only one who felt, I use the word disheartened, but disheartened doesn’t describe it. I’m not the only one. I know all of us felt some kind of way about two children with being blown away.

“We can’t say the government. We have to say, and you could say that, but you can’t just say that. We have to accept that we all have a role to play in this thing. Parents do. The church does. Corporate Bahamas does. The ministry of education does. We all have a role to play and nobody needs to be pointing no finger right now at no one. Unless no one’s doing anything. I believe a lot of people are working very hard. This effort today is the example of hard work.”

mature conversations about domestic violence, saying this is the time to rally together and speak out against abuse in all forms.

Asked how the “Men Speak Series” helps to break the stigma surrounding men being domestic violence victims, Supt Burrows said: “I think that sessions like these and opportunities provide a

platform to create change. However, it isn’t a oneday thing. So, what has to happen is consistency.” He added: “The first point is for us to prioritise standing up and speaking out. And standing up simply so that we can understand that we’re not going to tolerate domestic violence. And then speaking out so that perpetrators will know that we’re going

to do something about it. Then my second point is for them to normalise self-care because men are abused too.”

Meanwhile, ASP Whyms said she hopes in the future the domestic violence task force unit can expanded throughout the Family Islands, stressing physical, emotional, and psychological abuse happens everywhere.

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MINISTER of Education Glenys Hanna Martin and members of the Bahamas Crisi Centre at the launch of the ‘cricles of peace’ campaign.

Photo: MOE

SUPERINTENDENT Leonardo Burrows speaks to reporters during the Men Speak Series 3 Symposium hosted by the Domestic Violence Task Force Unit of The Royal Bahamas Police Force at Police Headquarters yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

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How to hack a warming planet

GOVERNMENT scientists have cooked up a new concept for how to potentially cool an overheating Earth: Fiddle with the upper atmosphere to make it a bit drier.

Water vapor — water in its gas form — is a natural greenhouse gas that traps heat, just like carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas. So researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA figure if they can just inject ice high up in the air, water vapor in the upper atmosphere would get a bit drier and that could counteract a small amount of the human-caused warmth.

It’s just the spark of an initial idea, said the lead author of a study in Wednesday’s journal Science Advances.

The idea of drying the upper atmosphere is the newest addition to what some scientists are calling a last-ditch toolbox to deal with climate change by manipulating the world’s atmosphere or oceans. Known as geoengineering, it’s often rejected because of potential side effects, and is usually mentioned not as an alternative to reducing carbon pollution, but in addition to emission cuts.

“This isn’t something that we can even implement right now,” said Joshua Schwarz, a NOAA physicist who is lead author of a study in Wednesday’s journal Science Advances. “This is about exploring what might be possible in the future and identifying research directions.”

The way it would conceivably work is that high-tech planes could inject ice particles about 11 miles high, just below the stratosphere, where the air slowly rises. Then the ice and cold air rise to where it’s coldest and gets the water vapor to turn to ice and fall, dehydrating the stratosphere, Schwarz said. So far there is no workable injection technique, he said.

At its maximum, injecting two tons a week, it could conceivably take out enough water vapor to reduce heating a small amount, about five percent of the overall warming created by carbon from the burning of fossil fuel, Schwarz said. It’s not much and shouldn’t be used as an alternative to cutting pollution, he said.

Schwarz is not quite sure about what side effects could occur, and that’s the

problem, other scientists said.

Purposely tinkering with Earth’s atmosphere to fix climate change is likely to create cascading new problems, said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who wasn’t part of the study. He said the engineering side of this makes sense, but he compared the concept to a children’s story where a king who loves cheese is overrun with mice, gets cats to deal with the mice, then dogs to chase away the cats, lions to get rid of the dogs and elephants to eliminate the lions and then goes back to mice to scare off the elephants.

It makes more sense to deal with the initial problem — the cheese or the carbon dioxide, Weaver said.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography atmospheric chemist Lynn Russell, who wasn’t part of the research, said the idea is worth examining, but the study “doesn’t have a lot of answers given all the uncertainties.”

Groups from the US National Academy of Sciences to the United Nations Environment Programme have looked at the ethics, side effects, legal complications and benefits of geoengineering with various degrees of skepticism and cautious interest.

At the UN environment assembly, nations are considering a resolution to study solar radiation modification –essentially putting particles in the air to reflect sunlight and cool the atmosphere – and possible regulations on countries or companies that would do it.

“If you’re going to do lab experiments indoors, maybe that’s all right,” UNEP executive director Inger Andersen told The Associated Press. “But we do believe, from a UNEP perspective, that the moment we step outdoors and we begin to do small- and large-scale experimentation outdoors we need actually need to have a global conversation.”

“I do think that solar radiation modification is a little bit like artificial intelligence,” Andersen said. “Once a genie is out of the bottle, you can’t put it back in. It’s a technology that is there. We do not think in any way shape or form that it should be considered as a climate solution.

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer

Our nation’s woes

EDITOR, The Tribune.

MY heart bleeds for the soul of my country. To witness how we have lost our moral integrity. How illegal migration is not properly addressed. And steps not taken to properly address it. How we are so steeped in hypocrisy. Is it wonder why appears to be out of control. While we sink to the bottle of the barrel and at the same time scraping the bottom of the barrel with the invasion of cultures who are not concerned with the cleanliness of their surroundings. Englerston is only the tip of the ice-berg. Regularly I drive throughout New Providence and it is filthy. Especially Englerston, Coconut Grove, some parts of Cowpen Road and many other parts of Nastiness are a part of the culture. I don’t expect for anything to change. It will only get worse. We are screwed buddy. The fear of crime and crime is paralysis to good decent law abiding people. The thousands of degenerates born everyday and groomed in this New Providence will be the nail in the coffin for what was once a beloved New Providence. Not no more.

Corruption seems to be the order of the day. Worst of all, accountability and transparency is out the window

PM Davis is a man on f re LETTERS

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE PLP was returned to power in 2021, a little short of three years ago, under the stellar leadership of the Hon Philip “Brave” Davis, KC, MP. The victory was anticipated, but not the lop-sided electoral majority.

The opposition FNM, under the halting leadership style of Dr Hubert A Minnis (FNM-Killarney) was badly decimated and left shell shocked. It has often been said that the voice of the people is the voice of God. I do not, necessarily, subscribe to that viewpoint even if God is ALWAYS in the mix of everything.

From day one, Mr Davis and most of his team have hit the ground running. The most urgent and pressing issues which confronted the Davis team was the safe reopening of the nation and the restructuring of our economy.

and we are not yet out of the proverbial forest.

Crime and inflation have emerged as the two issues which are of major concerns to the average Bahamian. As it relates to crime, honest people will readily admit that crime, per se, is not out of control to the extent bogusly portrayed by many deluded and mischievous Bahamians. The bulk of the crimes being committed are being perpetuated amongst socalled gang members and their allies. Revenge and retaliation are, seemingly, driving the statistics on alleged homicides. The average law-abiding citizen, basically, is not being negatively impacted by crime, especially homicides.

his recent hectic schedule reflects that. A new consulate office has been opened in California and the PM was right there. The following day the PM, as Minister of Finance, presented the mid-year budget in the House of Assembly. He’s conducted two recent walka-bouts in Carmichael and Fox Hill. He was in Guyana along with other Caricom leaders to participate in the 24th Heads of Government Summit also down in Guyana. Next week it is anticipated that the debate on the budget will begin in the House of Assembly.

buddy. Leadership is tragically lacking in my country that I love so much as I watch go down the tube. We are screwed. The middleclass is taking it on the chin. And is disappearing rapidly. Any good economist will tell you, with no middle-class. Can you say Haiti? We need effective leadership. We need transparent leadership. We need leadership with the balls to make laws and put policies in place to benefit real Bahamians. Say what you want about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is for America. He is for protecting the American border. He is for growing the American economy for Americans. I couldn’t tell you the last time I hear a Bahamian politician say this is for the Bahamian. When they stand up the first words out of their mouth “I rise on behalf of the great people of....”Wtf? Buddy we are in a mess cause Peter aren’t a bit better than Paul. So, wtf do we do? It saddens me to see how our country is deteriorating. Speaking about deteriorating some of you may know I am Centreville. Centreville has gone from the envy of New Providence to a breathing ground for criminals and criminality and filthiness. The roads are a challenge, driving at night there is no lights on

some roads, no stripping. The other night I burst a tire when I hit an Island with no white paint. No lights. While driving at night if one is not careful you may end off the road thinking you are still on the road because of a lack of stripping and lighting. We have a ton of challenges. We have to some decisions. I am pleased to see the department of inland revenue going real property tax(full disclosure I owe too). But here’s why I am pleased. It is wrong for the government to pressure the banks to pressure customers to cough up their real property tax. There is a process for the government to place a lien against a property if it in arrears with its tax.

Scotia bank and real property tax are separate and apart. A government ought to be responsible for collecting its taxes. So I guess a bank will withhold one’s conveyance if his/Her tax is not up-to-date? I remind the department of inland revenue while you are pursuing and threatening the regular man/woman on the street don’t forget those wealthy foreigners who owe millions, the ones who live in Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma. PATRICK

Nassau, February 27, 2024.

May I suggest that he/ they were successful in the reopening after Bahamians had been obliged to sporadic and draconian curfews and lock downs. Some say that they were necessary, but the sense of resentment which resulted amongst a large number of Bahamians, was politically fatal to the now semi-defunct FNM. The economy is now up and running, again, smoothly.

Whenever some Bahamians appear to compliment any other Bahamian, some unkind souls are prone to suggest that one is seeking some favour or advantage. Not so in my case. All of my help cometh from the Lord God. I need or want nothing from mortal man/ woman because it might come with some tight strings or baggy shorts. It should now be clear to most Bahamians that the Prime Minister is a man ‘on fire’ as he continues to serve the good people of this wonderful nation. There are still numerous challenges

At some point our hard working and visionary Prime Minister may have to consider “tweaking” the crime fight strategy of the Davis administration. I have complete faith in the current Minister of National Security and the current Commissioner of Police. They are, in my considered view doing the best that they are able under the prevailing circumstances.

I would love to see more rehabilitation projects put in place so as to encourage inmates to change their thinking and societal process. Building a bigger jail may sound populous, but it adds nothing to rehabilitation. I would also caution the current COP to stop his public uttering about bail and the judiciary. He may well be crying ‘Wolf’ too often besides his constant bemoaning may do more harm to the morale of his officers than good. I would also hope that the appropriate succession plan is in place for his inevitable retirement.

The PM is a dynamo and

The long vexing issues at NIB are being addressed and I fully expect rationalization under Minister Myles LaRhoda (PLP-Pinewood) before the second half of this year. BPL legacy issues are also being addressed by the Davis administration as are the long festering issues with the Public Hospital Authority, inter alia.

The issues and concerns which have plagued the Public Service for decades are being addressed by one of the most competent and efficient cabinet ministers in the form of the Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle (PLP-Golden Gates), the hard working Minister of the Public Service. These ministers are all performing admirably under Davis’ leadership.

Yes, the PM is a man on “fire” in his quest and zeal to better the overall conditions of all Bahamians, regardless of race; colour or creed. I have lived under the sway of all Prime Ministers to date and I am able to say, without the shadow of a doubt, that apart from the late great and incomparable, Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, that Brave is the second best one, bar all. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, February 27, 2024.

Wilchcombe funds

EDITOR, The Tribune.

SOCIAL media was rife when news broke that the Government had used money budgeted for our disabled community to throw a party for one of their own party faithful.

It was passing strange that about the same time that Obie Wilchcombe passed the baton of life that Dr Elwood Donaldson, one of the “Dissident Eight” also passed the baton in the competing lane of politics.

I don’t know if Chairman Sands has a Treasury Cheque Book and certainly a celebration of the life of Dr Donaldson at a swanky resort destination would not have been out of place, but instead Dr Sands had to hold the celebration of Dr Donaldson’s life at Party HQ on Mackey Street.

Dr Sands, of course, would not have countenanced using money earmarked for any Bahamian cohort even if he had

the right cheque book. The question that begs an answer, of course, is why was Obie’s life not celebrated on Farrington Road and paid for by the party instead of our disabled community.

It would appear that getting money from the Treasury is a pretty easy thing for the governing party, but is it legal?

MONKEEDOO

Nassau, February 27, 2024.

THE SOUTH Korean Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatic team performs during the first day of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore, on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. Photo: Vincent Thian/AP

40-year-old man accused of soliciting sex from boy, 14

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 40-YEAR-OLD man was remanded in custody yesterday after he was accused of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old boy last week.

Assistant Chief

Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged Fred Williams with procuration. Williams allegedly procured an underaged male for unlawful sexual intercourse on February 22 in New Providence. The defendant was told that his matter would be

transferred to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). He will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the higher court grants him bail. The accused’s VBI is scheduled for service on May 25.

WOMAN MUST PAY NEIGHBOUR AFTER ATTACK BY UNSECURED DOG

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

compensate the complainant in this matter $200. She was further ordered to secure her yard so the dog cannot her loose again in the future.

The defendant is to return to court for report on these matters on March 13.

A MAN on bail for murder was fined $3,500 yesterday after he admitted to breaching his curfew five times this month.

Senior Magistrate Shaka

Serville charged Keontae Pinder, 24, with five counts of violation of bail conditions.

Regina Bonamy represented the defendant. Pinder was on release for two pending murder charges for his alleged involvement in the deaths of Rashad Bethel and D’Siorn Symonette in Pinewood Gardens on February 16, 2018. Pinder failed to obey his Supreme Court ordered nightly residential curfew five times between

February 10 and 27.

PRODUCT RECALL ISSUED

A PRODUCT recall has been issued for certain products made by Fratelli Beretta.

The announcement follows a report issued by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on February 12 for ready-to-eat meat charcuterie products containing coppa that may be underprocessed and which may have resulted in contamination.

The initial recall by Fratelli Beretta on January 3 related to possible salmonella contamination.

Recalled products will bear establishment numbers “EST. M47967 or M7543B” inside the USDA mark of inspection or in inkjet print on the front of the package. These items were shipped throughout the US, however, the Bahamas Agricultual Health and Food Safety Authority BAHFSA was notified on February 21 that some of the products may have been shipped to The Bahamas.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them, but to discard and/or return them to the place of purchase. The Department of Environmental Health

Services has also been notified and have confirmed that some of the products have been identified and removed from the market. The inspection process is ongoing.

DIOCESAN Bishop Dr Anthony Farrington and Transformation Ministries International members paid a courtesy call upon Governor General Cynthia Pratt on Wednesday, February 7. Pictured from left: Pastor Ann Rolle, asst general secretary; Elder Dr Gezel Farrington, first lady; Bishop Dr Anthony Farrington, diocesan bishop of the 39th Episcopal District of The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Council; Governor General Cynthia Pratt; Minister Denae Austin, general secretary; Lady Paulette Munnings, national treasurer; and Minister Shenique Roker, planning chairperson.

Photo: Letisha Henderson/BIS

The dizzying results of dumbing down

WHILE some may disagree with Rev TG Morrison, Pastor of Zion Baptist Church, on various social issues, many agree with a number of compelling points he made at the Majority Rule Day Service in January of this year.

Rev Morrison bemoaned the deleterious effects of having unqualified and utterly incapable people leading key institutions in the country. He was blunt in his critique, which included various public appointments made by both major political parties.

Because of the endless dumbing down of our institutions over the years, which continues to worsen, many of our core institutions are declining in esteem and less fit for purpose.

We are undermining our capacity for long-term development and the delivery of basic services. An extended parody is in order.

During the Summer Olympics, a dear friend is near incommunicado for almost two weeks, except when she reaches out to her friends by telephone in glee and excitement, or bitter disappointment, when one of her favourite athletes or teams triumphs with a gold medal, or experiences “the agony of defeat”.

For her and a global television audience of at least three billion, the Olympics is a celebration of human endeavour, talent, discipline, resilience, and dogged effort. We marvel at the skill, physical endurance, team effort, and athletic prowess of some of the best sportsmen and women in the world.

This year’s Games will be held from 26 July to August 11 in Paris. There will be approximately 10,000 athletes from over 200 nations competing in 32 sports in 306 medal events. The modern quadrennial Games, the world’s biggest multisport event, is the brainchild of Pierre de Coubertin, a French historian and educator. They were inspired by the Olympic Games of Greece. De Coubertin appreciated the role sports played in fostering discipline and character formation.

How does one qualify for the Olympics? According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC): “Some sports, like shooting and taekwondo, offer quota places for National Olympic Committees (NOCs) based on performances of individual athletes, but the NOC in question can select a different athlete to take that place at the Games. “In team sports, nations

need to earn their place through strong performances in either the World Championships or continental competitions or continental or global qualifiers …

“The IOC sends out invitation letters to all NOCs one year before the Opening Ceremony and those NOCS then submit entries for the Games who are then approved or otherwise by the IOC.”

Note that there are several levels of qualification. Athletes have to demonstrate competence and “strong performances”.

The Bahamas has punched above its weight at the Olympics, especially in track and field. We revel in our athletes who have made us proud, whether they medaled or not. They represent the best of The Bahamas and the world.

Because the Olympics represents a gold standard, consider a parody intended to suggest a few points about the talent required to build and sustain our Bahamas. The 2028 Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.

Instead of fielding athletes based on experience, performance, capacity and discipline, we should choose our 2028 Olympic team based mostly or purely on political connections, party membership, or patronage, regardless of their competence or ability.

We should prioritise the families of Stalwart Councilors from the PLP or Meritorious Council Members (MCMs) from the FNM. Further, those who donate funds to the parties should be given a leading voice in those chosen to

While, “athletes have to demonstrate competence and “strong performances”... disturbingly, in the downward and dysfunctional spiral in our democracy, we continue to recruit and elect unprepared and incapable individuals to the House of Assembly, many of whom are appointed cabinet ministers, sometimes with terrible outcomes.”

represent The Bahamas. Athletes should no longer be chosen primarily because of their talent, experience, or capacity for growth and development. They should be chosen purely for who they know and as a matter of favoritism, nepotism, or paternalism.

The bar for becoming a member of our Olympic team should be as low as possible, and not primarily determined by merit or skill.

Thankfully, they would not qualify for the Olympics. Why then do we so often appoint individuals with scant expertise or experience to lead us, including at the cabinet level? Why do we have so many incompetent people leading public and private institutions?

Why do we grant a King’s Counsel designation or appoint as an ambassador those who do not deserve or qualify for such designations or appointments? Why are various key public boards led by individuals who lack basic capacities?

The IOC requires: “In team sports, nations need to earn their place through strong performances in either the World Championships or continental competitions or continental or global qualifiers.”

Yet, at the highest levels of The Bahamas, we have individuals lacking in basic skills and strong performance, who utterly, miserably fail to qualify for the posts to which they are appointed.

The Bahamas is not alone in this. There are patronage appointments throughout the world. But we have taken dumbing down and slackness to new heights. We excel in outward appearances, profiling, and lack of substance.

There is a story of a former cabinet minister who, upon arrival at a new post, spoke glowingly to public officers about her resume and supposed intellectual abilities. The minister proved highly incompetent and incapable, typically blaming others for

her failures.

The Dunning–Kruger effect, named for social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, is “a hypothetical cognitive bias”. People with low ability suffer from an “internal illusion [overestimating] their own ability …

“The miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self … It is related to the cognitive bias of illusory superiority and comes from people’s inability to recognise their lack of ability.

“People with high ability at a task underestimate their own ability … The miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others” being more capable.

The sport of competitive swimming is arguably one of the most disciplined of sports because of the daily routines required. Bahamian Arianna Vanderpool Wallace excelled in international competitive swimming.

Vanderpool Wallace is the only Bahamian swimmer to hold United States and NCAA records in swimming. She was the first swimmer in NCAA history to swim the 100 yard freestyle in under 47 seconds. Now nearly 34, Arianna started her swimming career as a nine-year-old in The Bahamas, never dreaming that she would one day be on top in any event among the most competitive swimming nations on earth. She participated in three Summer Olympics: Beijing, London and Rio. She made the finals in London, becoming the first woman from The Bahamas to make a semi-final and final in a swimming event and being ranked as high as third in the world in one of her events.

Besides becoming the youngest person from The Bahamas to ever qualify for an Olympic event, she also became the first Bahamian to win a medal at a World Swimming Championship, a feat that she accomplished with a bronze medal in December 2010.

Many of Vanderpool

Wallace’s early years were spent as a competitor for the Bahamas in the Carifta swimming championships. She holds the distinction at Carifta of winning every freestyle swimming event in her age group (50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres) two years in a row.

In most areas of professional life, training, certification and ongoing development are critical for success and service. We would be derelict, irresponsible in sending a completely unprepared teacher into the classroom or an untrained lawyer into the courtroom.

Yet, disturbingly, in the downward and dysfunctional spiral in our democracy, we continue to recruit and elect unprepared and incapable individuals to the House of Assembly, many of whom are appointed cabinet ministers, sometimes with terrible outcomes.

It is important to be respectful and considerate. But along with Rev. Morrison, there is a blunt reality we must face: there are too many dull-witted people leading private and public agencies and institutions, who are lacking in intelligence, experience, basic skills and good judgment.

Thankfully, we will continue to field our best talent in the Olympics and other athletic events. Arianna Vanderpool Wallace, Shaunae Miller Uibo, Steven Gardiner, decathlon athlete Ken Mullings, and Devynne Charlton, have demonstrated what we can achieve on the world stage in athletics.

If we can achieve this in athletics, certainly we can achieve this in myriad other fields. Can we at least try to do considerably better in recruiting, nurturing, and sustaining similar such talent in those fields critical for developing a country desperately in need of such expertise?

It will not be easy. But, the present disposition is failing us miserably.

No relief in sight as food and fuel prices remain high

HOW’S your grocery bill these days? Still uncomfortably high? How can that be? We keep reading that inflation is down in the US. Many of the problems that drove prices through the roof so far during this decade seem to have either been solved or simply subsided as the world’s economy tries to stabilise after the worst of COVID-19 settles firmly into the rearview mirror. What’s going on?

A woman in the supermarket this week had an easy explanation. “What’s going on?” she repeated the question with an arched eyebrow. “I’ll tell you what’s going on. The grocery stores, all the transportation people and various middlemen, even the farmers and the ranchers in the US, they’re not going to give our money back in the form of lower prices.

“They’re going to keep their higher income. They want a better life for their families just like we all do. We’re just going to have to live with it.”

Maybe this lady seems a bit cynical. But is she wrong?

As February turns into March, it’s clear that in the US, Americans are talking less about inflation. Prices for gasoline and used cars have dropped over the past year. But prices for groceries haven’t declined. Naturally we feel that pinch here, too. US government data shows that grocery prices have risen by 25 percent over the past four years. According to that same data, the overall inflation rate in the US economy has been measured at 19 percent during that same period. And now inflation is receding into the recent past while the grocery bill stays high.

STATESIDE

with Charlie Harper

The US Department of Labour Statistics reports particularly painful price increases for beef, baby food, sugar and bread, among other items. Prices for milk and eggs have declined, so the news isn’t all bad. But younger and lower-income families spend 31 percent of their income on food, compared with roughly 8 percent for wealthier ones, so baby food and bread prices will hurt them especially hard.

But why is this happening? According to a recent analysis in the Washington Post, grocery prices remain

elevated due to a mixture of several factors. These include hangover labour shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; ongoing, persistent though reduced supply chain disruption; droughts in several regions around the world; the ongoing war in Ukraine; avian flu outbreaks in the US, and other factors seemingly far beyond the control of worried planners and economists in Washington. There’s another factor.

Consolidation in the supermarket industry in recent years means large chains have the ability to keep

prices high, according to government economic policy experts who have been trying to explain stubborn high grocery prices to reporters.

One example of growing government concern over this merger trend came this week when the US Federal Trade Commission filed a formal objection to a proposed takeover of the Albertsons supermarket chain by Kroger. Albertsons was a major grocer in Florida from 1974 until they sold most of their stores to Publix 16 years ago. The chain now operates west of

Biden may benefit if voters despise Trump more

STUBBORNLY high food prices and voter concern about them has remained a steady source of material for television pundits during the current US political campaign. This is a problem for Joe Biden, since he is the incumbent president and the current state of the US, whether good or bad, is his record to defend.

Donald Trump, when his many court appearances don’t keep him off the campaign trail, advocates policies like resuming a tariff war with China that will drive up prices all over the US economy. But at this point, no one seems to care.

High food prices are Biden’s fault.

And as analysts continue to predict a close November presidential election race that will likely be decided in a handful of “swing states”, everyone is looking for a particular factor that

will determine the race. The New York Times came up with a doozy this week. Here’s the gist of their theory.

Biden may be poised to benefit from an almost paradoxical situation, given his current low popularity ratings. And ironically, the previous beneficiary of just such a situation was Donald Trump, eight years ago.

As was consistently the case with Trump in 2016, the polls show that a clear majority of voters do not believe Biden is an effective president. Partly as a result, he faces potential defections from Democratic-leaning constituencies. Much is made of this in the media.

So far, polls show Trump leads because he’s appealing to young, black and Hispanic voters relatively better than he did four years ago. But here’s the heart of this

theory: Just as Hillary Clinton was not a great fit for the Republican-leaning voters who were unconvinced by Trump in 2016, Trump is hardly the ideal candidate to win over these disaffected Democratic voters. It’s clear they don’t like Biden, but will they really vote for Trump? That seems unlikely.

So what does the past teach us about the present? Trump was seen as unfit for the presidency in 2016, but won anyway. Voters may have had deep reservations about Trump, but many Republicans ultimately voted for him against hated Democrat Hillary Clinton. This time around, Biden will hope Dems’ intense dislike of his own opponent will work for him in the same way.

It’s not ideal if you win because voters despise your opponent more than you. But Biden would take it.

the Mississippi River, mostly in California. But this company is still one of the largest supermarket chains in North America, so the anti-trust implications of the proposed merger are apparent. Albertsons has been ranked 53rd in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue in recent surveys.

“Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today,” said Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Essential grocery store workers would also suffer under this deal, facing the threat of their wages dwindling, benefits diminishing, and their working conditions deteriorating.”

Will grocery prices decline anytime soon in the US? Maybe not. The lady in the supermarket might be right.

“I think people are waiting for prices to return to what they call ‘normal’ — and with the exception of a few things, like eggs — we’re not going to see that. We’re going to see prices stabilize, and that’s likely about all there is to it,” said Dawn Thilmany, an agricultural economist and professor at Colorado State University in speaking with reporters. Customers need to deal with it.”

And those high grocery prices will remain a big worry for Americans.

According to a November 2023 survey by Yahoo Finance/Ipsos, concern about food costs concerns Americans by much more –50 percent – than any other

surveyed issue. Gas prices are also a continuing concern, despite overall price stabilisation. While they have declined since the worst of the pandemic years, CBS News reported that there is a lot of volatility in the Florida retail gasoline market of most concern to us in The Bahamas.

CBS reported that according to the American Automobile Association, two weeks ago the Florida state average jumped by 21 cents per gallon. Then last week, the state average fell 5 cents, before jumping another 8 cents. By midweek, the state average reached a new 2024 high of $3.37 per gallon, before falling another 5 cents. Gas prices in Florida have had more bounces than a yo-yo.

Last year’s high was $3.85 per gallon.

“The recent (gasoline prices) increases are attributed to rising oil prices, as refineries conduct seasonal maintenance,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins. “Florida’s gas prices are likely to face continued upward pressure through the next month as the presence of winter residents and spring breakers contributes to strong fuel demand.”

Here’s some context for gas prices, courtesy of the US Energy Information Administration: In Florida, the yearly average price at the pump was $1.66/gallon in 2004; $3.35 in 2014; $2.35 in 2020; $2.44 in 2021; a whopping $3.40 in 2022; $3.30 in 2023, and $3.19 so far this year. They have doubled in the past 20 years.

Food and gas. Big expense items for most people. And not much relief in sight in the near future. Sigh.

FUEL prices at a high point in 2019. The average fuel cost has more than doubled in the last two decades.

Photo: Rick Bowmer/AP

PRESIDENT Joe Biden speaks at Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, California, February 21, 2024. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Wildfire becomes one of largest in Texas history as the blaze menaces multiple small towns

TEXAS

Associated Press

A CLUSTER of wildfires scorched the Texas Panhandle on Wednesday, including a blaze that grew into one of the largest in state history, as flames moved with alarming speed and blackened the landscape across a vast stretch of small towns and cattle ranches.

Authorities warned that the damage to communities on the high plains could be extensive.

Known as the Smoke House Creek Fire, the largest blaze expanded to more than 1,300 square miles (3,367 square kilometres) and jumped into parts of neighbouring Oklahoma. It is now larger than the state of Rhode Island, and the Texas A&M Forest Service said the flames were only about 3% contained.

The largest fire recorded in state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles and resulted in 13 deaths.

Authorities had not reported any deaths or injuries as of Wednesday morning while huge plumes of smoke billowed hundreds of feet in the air. But officials warned residents of potentially large property losses.

“There was one point where we couldn’t see anything,” said Greg Downey, 57, describing his escape from the flames as flames bore down on his neighbourhood. “I didn’t think we’d get out of it.”

“When we came out, the

sky had gone black.”

Hemphill County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Kendall described the charred terrain as being “like a moonscape. ... It’s just all gone.”

Kendall said about 40 homes were burned around the perimeter of the town of Canadian, but no buildings were lost inside the community.

“We started getting those losses in the dark, so we didn’t really know what we had until this morning, until we could see,” he said.

The town of Fritch, with a population of less than 2,000, lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire and appeared to be hit hard again.

The people in that area are probably not “prepared for what they’re going to see if they pull into town,” Hutchinson County Emergency Management spokesperson Deidra Thomas said in a social media livestream. She compared the damage to a tornado.

The town remained unsafe for people to return, she said.

Tresea Rankin videotaped her own home in the town of Canadian as it burned.

“Thirty-eight years of memories, that’s what you were thinking,” Rankin said of watching the flames destroy her house. “Two of my kids were married there ... But you know, it’s OK, the memories won’t go away.”

Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but

strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes. Near Borger, a community of about 13,000 people, emergency officials at one point late Tuesday answered questions from panicked residents on Facebook and told them to get ready to leave if they had not already.

“It was like a ring of fire around Borger. There was no way out ... all four main roads were closed,” said Adrianna Hill, 28, whose home was within about a mile of the fire. She said a wind that blew the fire in the opposite direction “saved our butts.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. The encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work on Wednesday.

The blazes tore through sparsely populated counties on the vast, high plains that are punctuated by cattle ranches and oil rigs.

The weather forecast provided some hope for firefighters — cooler temperatures, less wind and possibly rain on Thursday. But for now, the situation was dire in some areas.

Sustained winds of up to 45 mph (72 kph), with gusts of up to 70 mph (113 kph), caused the fires that were spreading east to turn south, threatening new areas, forecasters said. But winds calmed down after a cold front came through Tuesday evening,

said Peter Vanden Bosch, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Amarillo.

“Fortunately, the winds have weakened quite significantly,” Vanden Bosch said Wednesday. Breezy conditions were expected again Friday, and fire-friendly weather could return by the weekend, he said. As the evacuation orders mounted Tuesday, county and city officials implored residents to turn on emergency alert services on their cellphones and be ready to evacuate immediately.

The Pantex plant, northeast of Amarillo, evacuated nonessential staff Tuesday night out of an “abundance of caution,” said Laef Pendergraft, a spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s production office at Pantex. Firefighters remained in case of an emergency.

The plant has long been

the main US site for both assembling and disassembling atomic bombs. It completed its last new bomb in 1991 and has dismantled thousands since.

Pantex tweeted early Wednesday that the facility “is open for normal day shift operations” and that all personnel were to report for duty according to their assigned schedule.

As the fires raged Tuesday, evacuations were ordered in several towns in a swath northeast of Amarillo. The Smokehouse Creek Fire spread from Texas into neighbouring Roger Mills County in western Oklahoma, where officials encouraged people in the Durham area to flee. Officials did not know yet how large the fire was in Oklahoma. An unrelated fire in Ellis County, Oklahoma, on the Oklahoma-Texas state line, led Tuesday

to the evacuations of the towns of Shattuck and Gage. The evacuation order was lifted hours later, according to county Emergency Management Director Riley Latta. The fire had unknown origins and burned an estimated 47 square miles, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

The weather service issued red-flag warnings and fire-danger alerts for several other states through the midsection of the country, as winds of over 40 mph (64 kph) combined with warm temperatures, low humidity and dry winter vegetation to make conditions ripe for wildfires.

In central Nebraska, a mower sparked a prairie fire that burned a huge swath of grassland roughly the size of the state’s largest city of Omaha, state officials said Tuesday.

THIS image taken from Greenville Fire-Rescue’s facebook page yesterday shows fires in the Texas Panhandle. A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the widening flames.

Photo: Greenville Fire-Rescue/AP

SPORTS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024

30TH GSSSA TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Raptors, Stingrays in the lead

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The 30th edition of the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) Track and Field Championships got underway for the junior and senior schools yesterday at the original Thomas A Robinson stadium.

CH Reeves Raptors, the defending champions, are leading with a total of 444.50 and 192.50 points separates them comfortably from the second place HO Nash Lions, who amassed 252 points on day one. The Lions are just eight points ahead of the SC McPherson Sharks who culminated day one with 244 points.

The CV Bethel Stingrays narrowly lead the senior division with 223 points. CR Walker Knights,

the reigning champions, totalled 202 points and the RM Bailey Pacers are currently positioned third with 168 points.

Seniors Marquell Newbold, the U20 girls’ cross country champion, had a good showing on day one of the GSSSA track and field meet. She took home first place finishes in the U20 girls 100m and 400m finals. In the former, she clocked 12.61 seconds and in the latter she blitzed her competitors with a time of 1:03.37. Newbold ran the anchor leg of the 4x100m relays but a sloppy baton exchange left the Stingrays to settle for second place behind the Knights.

The 12th grader talked about her performance in the 400m finals.

“It felt good to get the victory my last year in school. The wind on the back stretch was crazy, you just had to know how to run into it but coming around the last curve it was better.

I was able to increase my speed and get my legs up to finish strong,” she said.

The Stingrays were also successful in the U17 girls 100m event. Synia Lockhart led the way with a time of 13.02 seconds. She was trailed by RM Bailey’s Dream Watkins. Jasmine Bain, representing CR Walker, notched 13.54 seconds for third.

The Knights were dominant in the U17 girls and boys 1,500m events as well as the 4x100m relays in the same division. Dahija Mesidor brought the win home for the Knights, stopping the clock at 6:15.02 in the U17 girls 1500m. CV Bethel’s Kenesha Capron came in at 6:45.81 and her fellow teammate Synia Bain ran in at 6:47.81. Gabriel Johnson and Brian Burrows were the perfect one-two punch for the Knights in the boys’ event. Johnson placed first in 4:47.80 and Burrows came second in 5:03.23.

Placing third was Joel McPhee of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins.

The quartet of Latiesha St Fort, Shamarajah Cummings, Mesidor and Bain cruised into a win in the U17 girls 4x100m relays in 51.58 seconds.

The Stingrays wrapped up second and the CC Sweeting Cobras crossed the line in third.

For the boys’ event, the relay team of Jaydon Williams, Theron Davis, Johathan Higgs and Evenel Luma took care of business in 45.73 seconds for the top spot. The Stingrays were close behind with a time of 45.76 seconds.

The CI Gibson Rattlers secured the third position.

The Pacers claimed victories in the U17 and U20 boys 400m events and the U20 boys’ 4x100m relay. Stanley Pratt pulled off a

SEE PAGE 18

‘Coach Yo’ and Ole Miss Lady Rebels two conference wins away from making history

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama native coach Yolett McPheeMcCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels are just two wins away from earning the most Southeastern Conference victories in the programme’s history.

On a more personal note, another win by the Lady Rebels will give “Coach Yo” her 100th victory since taking over the team’s head coach role in 2018.

The 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis women’s champions are currently on a four-game winning streak as they build momentum ahead of the SEC tournament slated for March.

The Lady Rebels have also clinched a top four spot and earned a double bye in the upcoming tourney with their latest win against Mizzou on Monday night. The 66-45 blowout win

against the Tigers made it the third straight season the women’s basketball team cleared 20 wins since Van Chancellor made the mark from 1989-1992.

The decorated coach told Tribune Sports the team is hitting their stride at the right time.

“Right now our momentum is definitely where I would want it to be, focused going into March. We have a lot to play for. With two more wins we would make history with the highest amount of conference wins in the history of the programme.

“We have already notched a position in the top four, double bye and we’re playing like a team with competitive swagger and care about each other so we are really excited about where we are right now,” she said. McPhee-McCuin has made significant improvements within the Ole Miss Rebels after taking over

of building to do and I have been a part of the highs and lows of this programme since being here. Being close to 100 wins means a lot but it’s not the end goal. I want to have several hundred wins while I am at Ole Miss so I guess I am looking at this like a cool milestone but an opportunity to look at how far we have come from only winning a few games my first couple years,” the Grand Bahama native said.

started after that Tennessee game to fix a lot of things, did a lot of soul-searching and decided that defence would be our identity. I have really been harping on that probably for the last five games,” she said.

from former coach Matt Insell in 2018.

In her early years with the programme, the team struggled to earn more than 10 wins and in 2019-20, the Lady Rebels went 0-16 in SEC play.

A few years later, the team now sports a 20-7 win/loss record and a 10-4 record in the SEC. Additionally, Coach Yo owns a

99-82 coaching record with the Lady Rebels. With the 100th win mark in sight, McPhee-McCuin said it’s a testament of how the women’s basketball programme has steadily improved over the years.

“For our programme to be in the position that it is, it took a lot of work. When I got this programme we had a lot of work to do, a lot

The Ole Miss Rebels have stayed true to their defensive identity, particularly during the recent four-game stretch. Most recently, they held the Missouri Tigers to zero threes and under 50 points which was their fourth time holding a power five team under 50 points this season.

“I am incredibly impressed by my team. Our reputation is defence but full transparency, I don’t think we had been defending in conference play. We

SPORTS CALENDAR

The momentum is steadily building for the Lady Rebels and after a big upset win over the no. 1 Stanford last season to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, the head coach is looking forward to even more success this year.

“Our focus now is finishing strong and then trying to put ourselves to be in the championship in the SEC tournament. Long term, we want to at least repeat the NCAA Sweet 16 or go beyond with the hopes of one day winning a national championship and that will always be the goal while I am here at Ole Miss,” she said.

The Rebels are slated to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 7pm tonight.

Feb. 2024

OLYMPIC champion

Michael Johnson is starting a new track league he hopes will help athletes earn more exposure and money in a sport that struggles for attention in between Olympic cycles.

He said he is teaming up with the

OLYMPIC champion Michael Johnson in

FINAL WALK WITH ‘HAWK’

THE general public is being asked to take a final walk with ‘Hawk’ as family and friends pay a special tribute to the late Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson.

The public is invited to join a special celebration of the life and legacy of Finlayson on Thursday, February 29 (today) from 7-10pm at the Crypto Isle (formerly Luciano’s) on East Bay Street.

For more information, persons are asked to contact Stanley Mitchell at 8166619 or Quinton Curry at 565-1178.

VOLLEYBALL BBSF TOURNAMENT

THE newly formed Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation is inviting all churches interested in participating in their volleyball tournament to attend a meeting 6pm on Saturday, March 9 at the William Thompson Auditorium, Jean Street.

At the meeting, plans will be revealed for the staging of the tournament April 24-27. All churches interested in

participating are urged to have at least two members present.

TRACK SPARTANS TRACK CLASSIC

THE Noble Preparatory Academy Spartans will hold their annual Track and Field Classic on Saturday, March 16 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

The event will run from 9am to 2pm. The registration fee is $15 per athlete. The entry fee will be $15 for adults in the VIP stand and $8 for children. The general admission will be $10 for adults and $6 for children.

TRACK RED-LINE YOUTH

TRACK CLASSIC

THE Red-Line Athletics Track Club’s third annual Red-Line Youth Track Classic will take place over the weekend of May 25-26 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

SEE PAGE 16

2016.

COACH Yolett McPhee-McCuin and University of Mississippi Ole Miss Lady Rebels are just two wins away from earning the most Southeastern Conference victories in the programme’s history.

FAST TRACK ON DAY 1: Students compete yesterday in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association Track and Field Championships at the original Thomas A Robinson stadium. Photo: Moise Amisial

FA CUP: MANCHESTER UNITED AND CHELSEA GRAB LATE WINNERS

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

MANCHESTER United and Chelsea kept alive their hopes of silverware this season by scoring late winners in the FA Cup yesterday.

Liverpool also advanced to the quarterfinals, with its youngsters coming through big again for Jurgen Klopp.

Casemiro stooped to head in an 89th-minute goal to seal United a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and a last-eight meeting with great rival Liverpool, whose youthful team beat second-tier Southampton 3-0 thanks to goals by 18-yearolds Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns.

Chelsea — fresh off a loss to Liverpool in the English League Cup final — left it

even later than United to secure its progress, with Conor Gallagher coming off the bench to score in the 90th minute for a 3-2 victory over Leeds. Chelsea will play another secondtier team, Leicester, in the last eight. Wolverhampton beat Brighton 1-0 in an all-Premier League matchup and will be at home to Championship team Coventry in the quarterfinals.

PRESSURE OFF

Winning the FA Cup could salvage disappointing seasons for United and Chelsea. Who knows, it could also keep their underpressure managers in their jobs.

Neither team put in a convincing display in the fifth round, but they are still alive in the famous old

competition and have home draws to look forward to after late winners from midfielders.

Casemiro got between two defenders and stuck

out his head to divert a low free kick that had been whipped in from the left wing by Bruno Fernandes. The Brazil international got a kick in the face for his

efforts — blood was seen pouring down his cheek afterward — but, more importantly, a crucial goal. After a morale-sapping loss to Fulham in the league on Saturday, another defeat would have left United in a mess heading into Sunday’s Manchester derby against City. Instead, United manager Erik ten Hag was quick to point out that his team has now won seven of its nine games in all competitions in 2024.

“This team, what they showed today, they have to show it every game,” Ten Hag said. “We found a way to win.”

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has come under renewed pressure in the wake of his expensively assembled team’s loss in the League Cup final. Now

BAHAMAS FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL SOCCER COACHING COURSE IN ABACO

THE Bahamas Football Association proudly hosted the Abaco D License Soccer Coaching Course February 21-22 in Abaco.

This intensive course, led by esteemed technical director Bruce Swan, offered local coaches an invaluable opportunity to enhance their understanding and skills in soccer coaching, with a specific focus on youth and grassroots development.

The course was structured into theoretical and practical sessions, designed to cover essential aspects of coaching, including understanding the roles and responsibilities of a grassroots children’s coach, player needs and team characteristics, and creating a healthy and safe environment for players.

Coaches participated in activities aimed at designing and executing training sessions with specific objectives for grassroots and children’s environments, as well as preparing and managing game plans.

Participants included educators and coaches from local schools and clubs, such as Vanaillan Walker, Sheala Felix, Villard Fenelus, Max Thervil, Leonardo Romer, Abishai Adderley, Leonardo Romer, Leonardo Cornish, and Felicia Cartwright.

Each brought their unique experience to the learning environment, representing a diverse group committed to advancing soccer in Abaco. These individuals span a range of coaching experiences, from novices to those with several years under their belts, all actively involved in coaching different age groups from youth to seniors.

Participants also engaged in a practical demonstration session, allowing them to apply the knowledge gained during the course in real-life coaching scenarios. Additionally, an important

component of the course was the emphasis on safeguarding children, with coaches required to complete an online certification in this critical area. This D License Course is part of the BFA’s ongoing commitment to elevate the standard of soccer coaching in The Bahamas, ensuring that coaches are well-equipped to nurture and develop the next generation of Bahamian soccer talent. The success of this course in Abaco is a reflection of the BFA’s dedication to promoting soccer across the nation and creating an environment where the sport can thrive at all levels.

For further information on future coaching courses and other initiatives by the Bahamas Football Association, please visit our website or contact the BFA Secretariat.

he is one game away from a return to Wembley Stadium, this time for the FA Cup semifinals. Gallagher ran onto Enzo Fernandez’s pass, span his marker and converted a rising shot to put out a spirited effort from a Leeds team whose priority this season is securing an immediate return to the Premier League.

Despite fielding a weakened starting team, Leeds took the lead in the eighth minute at Stamford Bridge through Mateo Joseph, who also equalised to make it 2-2 after goals for Chelsea by Nicolas Jackson and Mykhailo Mudryk.

“In the context of the week, I am happy,” Pochettino said. “It is about building our confidence again.”

SPORTS CALENDAR

FROM PAGE 15

The event, opened to athletes in age categories from under-7 to open, will take place between the hours of 9am to 5pm on day one and from 1-5pm on day two.

The entry deadline is May 15 with a fee of $19 per athlete and $10 per relay team. All persons registering after May 15 will be charged $25 per athlete.

TRACK RED-LINE Field Classic

THE Red-Line Athletics Track Club will hold its Field Events Classic on Saturday, May 18 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The event, designed for competitors in categories of under-13 to open, will run from 10am to 8pm.

FAST TRACK

INVITATIONAL FAST Track Athletics announced that its third annual Spring Invitational will take place over the weekend of May 10 and May 11 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex.

The entry fee will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, persons are asked to contact 242-727-6826 or fasttrackmanagamentoo@ gmail.com

BASKETBALL CHANGE IN VENUE FOR NEX-GEN CAMP

THE Nex-Gen Camp, which was originally scheduled to be held at the Hope Center, has been changed to the Teleos Basketball Gymnasium on Carmichael Road. Space is limited so persons are asked to book their reservations as soon as possible.

JRC Basketball Academy will stage the third annual elite training camp June 24 to July 13 each day from 9am to noon.

The camp is open to boys and girls who will be placed in groups from ages 6-9, 10-13 and 14-18.

The camp will be conducted by coach JR Cadet, owner of JRC Basketball Academy and an experienced 10-year FIBA pro basketball player who played on the Bahamas men’s team that played in the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament.

The special guest at this year’s camp will be coach Dalton Reitmeier, the head coach at Rabun Gap School USA - a four-year NCAA athlete and former player at IMG Academy.

CHESS

CARICOM CLASSIC TEAM

THE Bahamas Chess Federation announced that Avian Pride, Dr. Joseph Ferguson, Polina Karelina and Chika Pride will represent BCF and The Bahamas at the 2024 CARICOM Classic Inaugural Team Chess Tournament.

The event, hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation, is scheduled for March 3-10.

“This tournament holds significance as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of CARICOM and our federation’s 50th year of FIDE membership,” the BCF said.

“This tournament is also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship and collaboration within the CARICOM region.

under the bright Bahamian sun.

EAGER young players engage in soccer drills under the watchful guidance of Abaco D License Course participants, who apply their newly acquired coaching skills to nurture the next wave of Bahamian soccer talent.

YOUNG, aspiring soccer players get ready to take advantage of the drills.

LIVERPOOL’s Jayden Danns celebrates yesterday after scoring his side’s third goal during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield stadium in Liverpool.

(AP Photo/ Jon Super)

Athletes of the Month

Devynne Charlton & Shannon Hanna II shine in February

DEVYNNE Charlton and Shannon Hanna II excelled in athletics and wrestling to be selected as February’s Tribune Athletes of the Month.

The Tribune Sports section will recognise the efforts of athletes across all sporting disciplines and award a male and female candidate at the end of each respective month, culminating with athlete of the year.

Charlton and Hanna both made The Bahamas proud this month in their respective sporting disciplines.

Devynne CharltonFemale Winner The co-women’s world indoor 60 metres hurdles record holder had a February to remember. She locked up the Tribune’s Female Athlete of the Month honours for a second consecutive time after her world-record performance

at the Millrose Games in New York on February 11. The 28-year-old clocked 7.67 seconds to break the 16-year-old record of 7.68 seconds set by Susanna Kallur in 2008. The feat placed her on the short list of Bahamians to set world records which includes Danny Smith, Shaunae MillerUibo, Steven Gardiner and Thomas A Robinson.

Charlton’s achievement was not only a world indoor record but also a national record as she lowered her previous time of 7.75 seconds set in January.

Over the weekend, the top hurdler also won the World Indoor Tour Title at the World Indoor Tour Gold Madrid in Gallur, Madrid. She notched a time of 7.79 seconds in the heats and then ran 7.68 seconds in the finals which was just

WORLD CUP CHAMPION SPAIN BEATS FRANCE 2-0 TO WIN INAUGURAL EDITION OF WOMEN’S NATIONS LEAGUE FINAL

first half and Caldentey doubled the lead shortly after the break in a dominant performance by the hosts.

0.01 seconds shy of her world record. The win gave Charlton a one-point advantage over Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan 28 to 27 leading to a title victory. Fuelled by her strongest season up to this point in the women’s 60mH, Charlton is expected to be in top form at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships scheduled for March 1-3 in Glasgow, Scotland. Shannon Hanna IIMale Winner Hanna, two-time Southern conference wrestling champion, secured the Bahamas’ first international medal in wrestling at the 2024 Pan American Wrestling Championships in Acapulco, Mexico, over the weekend. He was awarded the bronze medal and defeated

two of his three opponents in the 65kg freestyle division en route to a third podium position.

The Campbell University graduate student knocked off Peru’s Auccapina Pedragas Sixto Miguel in the qualification round 4-1.

Additionally, he picked up a win against the Dominican Republic’s Albaro Rudecindo Camacho 11-9.

The 22-year-old’s only loss at the Pan-Am Wrestling Championships came against Argentina’s Agustin Alejanadro Destribats, 5-2.

The bronze medallist is currently on a quest to become the first Bahamian amateur wrestler in over five decades to represent The Bahamas at the Olympic level for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Stay tuned for The Tribune Athletes of the Month in March.

southern Spain. It was a record crowd for Spain’s women’s team in the country.

Spain also holds the men’s Nations League title, having beaten Croatia in the final in June.

“We have a very good present and a very good future,” women’s team coach Montse Tomé said.

“I have a group with very experienced players and with new young players coming up. It’s a very positive mix. They have a winning mentality. France haven’t had a shot on goal and that’s also a credit to all of the players.”

Bonmati, named the player of the match, volleyed in a low cross in the

“Happy to win another title,” Bonmati said. “It may seem that what we have achieved is easy, that we have an obligation to win everything, but this is not something easy. And here we are lifting another trophy.” It was Spain’s first victory over France.

“They’ll be the team to beat at the Olympics, it won’t be easy,” France coach Hervé Renard said. “We are going to have to keep improving, learn lessons and keep moving forward. Let’s say we have taken one step but we haven’t taken the second. There’s still a lot of work to do.”

Spain had its breakthrough tournament at the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, winning the title in its third appearance. The celebrations were marred by one of the country’s worst crises, though, as the then-president of

the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony to spark an outrage in soccer and Spanish society in general.

Rubiales eventually resigned, and prosecutors later accused him of sexual assault.

“Today we get to celebrate again. We deserve it,” Hermoso said. “We try to enjoy ourselves but we also have the responsibility

that there are so many people behind us who want to follow in our footsteps. We are so proud that there are so many girls who want to be champions in the future.” Spain defeated the Netherlands 3-0 in last week’s semifinal, a result that also secured the team a place in the Paris Olympics. France was already qualified for the Olympics as the host country. “We didn’t play a good game against a

team that are world champions and flying high in women’s football,” Renard said.

“You have to be aggressive and keep the ball when you get it, but we lost it again straight away.” Spain scored a competition-high 28 goals, seven more than any other team.

It also had the most total attempts at 131.

Alexia Putellas, the former Ballon d’Or winner, did not enter the match for

Spain. She hasn’t played for club or country since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last year.

SPAIN’s team captain Irene Paredes lifts the trophy after winning the Women’s Nations League final soccer match between Spain and France at La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, yesterday. Spain won 2-0.

(AP Photo/Jose Breton)

GSSSA TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: RAPTORS, STINGRAYS IN LEAD AFTER DAY 1

photo finish in the U17 boys’ 400m finals where he dipped across the line at 53.31 seconds to hold off Higgs from CR Walker.

CV Bethel’s Jaydian Lewis trailed both boys for third. Pratt gave some insight on his mindset while on the track.

“I just wanted to get out hard and relax on the back stretch. When I got the 200m, I picked it up a little bit and when I got to the last 150m, I brought it home,” he said.

The Pacers were strong in the field events, earning wins in the U17 girls’ discus throw, U17 boys’ long jump, U17 boys’ javelin throw and U20 girls’ triple jump.

The Pacers’ Olesia Dryden and Alexis Wright took the top two positions in the discus throw event at 25.18m and 23.01m respectively. Diamond Newbold of Anatol Rogers had a throwing distance of 22.41m.

Egianette Pierre bested competitors in the U20 girls’ triple jump with a leap of 10.63m.

Davonte Charles collected the victory in the U17 boys’ long jump with a height of 5.63m. Lawerence Monetstime put together a winning performance in

the U17 boys’ javelin throw with a heave of 34.21m.

Juniors

The Raptors came out strong on the track for day one of the GSSSA Track and Field Championships. The top junior school won four out of six relay events in the U13 through U17 divisions. They were equally as dominant in the U15 girls and boys 100 and 400m finals.

Raniyah Smith outran her competitors in the U15 girls’ 100m finals with a time of 13.51 seconds. Ormainique Curtis came second for the DW Davis Royals and Azaria Dean concluded third for the HO Nash Lions.

Jamaal Fergson got it done for the Raptors in the boys’ event in 12.04 seconds for first position. Tavares Rolle, of HO Nash, came in at 12.18 seconds and his teammate Melvin Deveaux followed for third.

Samantha Gottshalk and Denzel Clarke earned bragging rights for the Raptors in the U15 girls and boys 400m. Gottshalk won her race in 1:04.50 and Clarke blew past his competitors for a 57.88 seconds finish.

The U15 girls’ 400m champion was proud of her efforts. “I am proud

TEAM SPIRIT: The HO Nash Lions under 13 girls placed fourth in the 4x100m relays with a time of 1:02.49 yesterday at the 30th GSSSA Track and Field Championships.

of myself because I kind of made a comeback and I am very proud of everyone else. I feel very good and I cannot wait to tell my daddy,” she said. Meanwhile, Clarke was happy to get yet another win for CH Reeves. “I had to push around the 200m

because If I did not they were gonna get a big lead and I was going to struggle to finish. I pushed out in front and ended up getting the win for my school,” he said. The Raptors had good performances off the track as well.

Mckaya Rahming gave CH Reeves a victory in the U13 girls’ long jump with a leap of 4.39m.

Arphaxed Thompson soared to 4.36m in the boys’ event to earn bragging rights for the Raptors.

Kaiden Kemp and David Douglas claimed

the first positions in the U15 and U17 boys’ javelin throw events with heaves of 30.68m and 31.80m respectively. Day two of the GSSSA Track and Field Championships begins at 9:15am this morning at the original TAR Stadium.

MURRAY, JOKIC LEAD NUGGETS PAST SHORT-HANDED KINGS, 117-96

DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 32 points, Nikola Jokic had 14 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in just three quarters for his fourth straight triple-double and the Denver Nuggets had a big run to beat the short-handed Sacramento Kings 117-96 on Wednesday night.

Jokic has 19 triple-doubles this season as Denver avoided losing all four games to Sacramento

this season. Murray made 13 of 16 shots, including five of his six 3-point attempts, to help the Nuggets win their fourth straight since the All-Star break.

Domantas Sabonis, the NBA triple-double leader with 21, was held to 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Keegan Murray scored 21 points for Sacramento. Denver trailed 47-32 early in the second quarter and

outscored the Kings 68-22 over the next 18:21 to lead by 32.

MAVERICKS 136, RAPTORS 125 TORONTO (AP) — Luka Doncic had 30 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds on his 25th birthday for his 11th triple-double of the season and Dallas beat Toronto. Kyrie Irving scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas. Doncic shot 11 for

23, going just 1 of 8 from 3-point range, as Dallas snapped a twogame skid. He went 7 for 9 at the foul line. Immanuel Quickley scored a season-high 28 points and RJ Barrett had 26 points for Toronto. BULLS 132, CAVALIERS 123, (Overtime) CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points, Andre

Drummond had 26 rebounds and Chicago outlasted Cleveland in double overtime Wednesday night.

DeRozan scored 16 points in the 10 extra minutes.

Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 13 rebounds and Drummond had 17 points to help the Bulls rebound from a loss to lowly Detroit to beat one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams.

Photo: Moise Amisial

YOUNG

KPMG WINTER YOUTH SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP MARCH 2-3 AT THE NASSAU YACHT CLUB

MORE than 40 junior sailors, ages seven to 18, have registered to compete at the KPMG Winter Youth Sailing Championship, to be held at the Nassau Yacht Club on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3, including competitors from Nassau, Eleuthera and Exuma.

Over the two days, there will be a series of races in two ILCA fleets - ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 - a Sunfish fleet and two Optimist fleets (beginner and championship).

For the Optimist sailors in the Championship fleet, the event will be used as one of the qualifier events for the 2024 Optimist North American Championship and 2024 Optimist World Championship being held later in the year in Puerto Rico and Argentina respectively.

Sailors, in what is expected to be a very competitive fleet, include Patrick Tomlinson, the current 2023 Bahamas Optimist National Champion (from Nassau), and Finley McKinney Lambert (from Eleuthera) who won first place in the recent Sir Durward Knowles Junior National Sailing Championship, held last weekend at Mongagu Bay.

Similarly, for the ILCA sailors, competing in the smaller versions of the Olypmic

class single-handed laser dinghy, the KPMG Winter Youth Championship is being used as one of the Bahamian qualifiers for the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships. One boy and one girl will represent The Bahamas at the event. The championships are slated to be held in July in Lake Garda, Italy. The event will be highly competitive with some of our best known youth sailors competing to represent The Bahamas, including:rent Bahamas ILCA Junior champion current Bahamas Sunfish Junior champion champion of the 2024 Sir Durward Knowles National Junior Sailing Championship in the ILCA class Top girls competing this weekend in the ILCA fleet include:

all winner of the 2023 KPMG Winter Youth Championship girl and 2nd overall in the 2024 Sir Durward Knowles National Junior Sailing Championship in the ILCA class from North America (from The Bahamas) in the 2023 Optimist North American championship and overall

winner of the ILCA 4 class in the 2024 Deltec Youth regatta in the 2024 Deltec Youth regatta in the ILCA 6 fleet (3rd overall) to the top three finishers in each fleet.

sailor Michael Knowles, of the Bahamas Sailing Association, in action. The KPMG Winter Youth Sailing Championship is scheduled to be held at the Nassau Yacht Club on Saturday March

Photo: Robert Dunkley

BAHAMAS WELDING & FIRE COMPANY LIMITED Congratulates our General Manager Michael Cunningham West

THE Bahamas’ Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup teams will play Costa Rica in the quarterfinals tomorrow in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In yesterday’s action, Takaii Adderley won the the third set of her singles matchup. On Tuesday, she claimed set one 6-3 but fell in set two 3-6.

However, on Wednesday she won a tightly contested final set 7-5. Tatyana Madu fell in her singles competition 1-6, 1-6.

Adderley teamed up with BreAnn Ferguson in the girls’ doubles but the duo came up short against Puerto Rico 1-6, 3-6. The girls are now 2-1 in the competition and are playing to advance to the semifinals.

For the boys, Jerald Carroll won the first set of his singles match 6-1 but rain suspended the matches until today. Matches will resume this morning.

Michael J. Cunningham is on a mission to complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors in April of this year. The Abbott Marathon Majors comprises of the six major marathons in the world (Berlin, Tokyo. London, Chicago, New York and Boston.) All the major marathons are 26.2 miles; by running the Boston marathon in April of this year he would have completed fve of the six majors in nineteen months.

Michael ran an age category qualifying time in the Berlin marathon in 2022, the same event that Eluid Kipchoge set the world record.

In the last two years, Michael performed very well in his age category in the half marathons (13.1 miles) in Florida; he was 2nd in West Palm Beach in 2022 and frst in 2023. On February 18, 2024, he was 4th in the Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon. The Miami half marathon which is the largest in Florida with over 150 runners in his age category, he was 7th in 2023 and 8th in January of this year.

Michael is looking forward to running in the Boston Marathon in April to complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors six stars.

Michael J. Cunningham is the Vice President of the Bahamas Road Masters with members who have completed marathons around the world in addition to hosting the local mid night 10k run in June and the Bahamas Half which is held in November of each year. During his Long-distance tenure he completed more that 30 marathons around the