Category Archives: Bahamas

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

It was a valiant effort by Team Bahamas in their FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup debut, but a late surge in the third period fell just short.

The Bahamas suffered a 3-2 loss to Switzerland in the final fixture on last nights schedule in the National Beach Soccer Arena at Malcolm Park.

Lesly St Fleur and team captain Gavin Christie scored goals for the Bahamas while Glen Hodel scored two for Switzerland while Noel Ott added the other.

Bahamas goalkeeper Julio Jemison delivered an inspiring performance in his first game for the national team at the senior level.

We came out with nothing to lose, we actually came out more calm than they did. People didnt expect us to perform that well against a team on that level, two of the best players in the world. We came in with the mindset with nothing to lose and we wanted to leave it all on the field. I think we did that today, we were just unlucky.

I didnt think we were out played, the other team was just lucky enough to get one extra goal, he said. All players dream for is to play at this level and playing in your home country makes it even more exciting. It was my first ever competitive game so it was definitely one to remember for me. You only get one chance to make a first impression so I just had a mindset to get out there and do all I can do, stop as much goals as I can.

St Fleur got the scoring started just 21 seconds into the game with a penalty kick that deflected off the cross bar and found the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead.

His second shot on goal just seconds later missed wide left and the Bahamas dominated time of possession early.

Switzerlands first shot on goal, a strike from Ott, was saved by Julio Jemison, who also saved a penalty kick just moments later.

The Bahamas physical style of play appeared to play into the hands of the Swiss team as they drew several penalties in the first third.

Ott had his second penalty kick blocked, but he would level the score just seconds later careening a deflection to tie the score 1-1 with 6:53 left in the first.

Jemison and Swiss keeper Valentin Jaeggy each anchored their teams defensive effort in the first third en route to a 1-1 tie.

Switzerland went ahead on a header from Hodel at the 1247 for a 2-1 advantage.

The Bahamas missed several scoring opportunities in the second, most notably an open-field two-on-one where St Fleur and Gary Joseph came up empty.

Hodels second score, a bicycle kick which found the back of the net, gave Switzerland a 3-1 lead with just under 10 minutes left to play in regulation.

Backed by an eager home crowd, the Bahamas would score a late goal in the third to pull within one. A throw in from Jean Francois found Kyle Williams who headed the ball to Gavin Christie, who scored with 5:43 left to play.

The teams performance was pretty good, we had a lot of chances at goal and at this level you have to score, you have to put away your chances and I think in the end thats what hurt us, Christie said.

Were very familiar with them, we know the players, weve trained with them, we played against them. We knew what to expect and theyre a very good team, very technical team, so we had to play them with the high press and not give them a lot of time on the ball.

The attention for Team Bahamas now shifts to Saturday nights matchup against Senegal, who scored a 9-0 win over Ecuador.

Its a totally different team so itll be a totally different game with different tactics, he said. They are a very strong team, very big team, very fast team and they had a tremendous win so they will be coming on a high looking to get another one. We will have to put in a new game plan for them.

Swiss head coach Angelo Schirinzi said he expected a hard fought, well-played match. Bahamas is a tough team, it was a very close game, if they mark, maybe they win, but it was the experience of Switzerland that I think made the difference. I expected them to play like this because I know them very well, he said. I think Senegal and Ecuador have to be very careful of this Bahamas team.

In the opening match of the day, Iran topped Mexico 3-2. Iran goalkeeper Peyman Hosseini scored the first goal of the tournament and made a crucial save at the end of the match.

Senegal looked dominant in a 9-0 win over Ecuador in the other Group A matchup.

Making their sixth tournament appearance, Senegal dominated the match from the kick-off and jumped into a 3-0 lead after the first interval.

Italy was the high scorer for the night with a 12-6 win over Nigeria in a Group B matchup. Gabriele Gori followed his impressive scoring exploits in European qualifying with six goals.

A crowd of 3,300 was on hand for night one of the tournament.Groups D and C will make their tournament debuts today.

Japan takes on Poland at 3:30pm followed by defending champions Portugal against Panama at 5pm, Brazil against Tahiti at 6:30 and the nightcap, United Arab Emirates against Paraguay at 8pm.

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Bahamas Suffers 3-2 Loss To Switzerland - Bahamas Tribune

The site in the Bahamas where the now-postponed Fyre Festival was to happen is on "lockdown" by the island country's government.

Private security guards were seen Saturday protecting the main site where people had been slated to sleep in luxury tents.

On Sunday, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism told ABC News, "Customs has the area on lockdown because [festival organizer] Billy [McFarland] has not paid customs duty taxes on the items that he imported" for the event. "He and his staff have left the items with a security company guarding it."

ABC News is attempting to reach McFarland for comment in regard to the tourism ministry's statement.

Customs duty taxes are often levied on goods transported internationally.

Fyre Festival said in a statement Friday that it had to import many items to essentially build a city because the private island of Fyre Cay where the luxury concert event was to take place, lacked "the physical infrastructure" needed "to fulfill on that vision safely and enjoyably for our guests."

News of a lockdown at the site comes after festival organizers released a statement Saturday trying to explain what happened with the festival, which was postponed amid a storm of complaints posted on social media.

The event, tickets for which cost up to thousands of dollars, erupted into what the tourism office called "total disorganization and chaos" after hundreds of prospective concertgoers landed in the Bahamas. The planned lineup included Ja Rule, Daya and Tyga.

On Saturday, the organizers promised in a statement posted to the festival's website that "all festival goers this year will be refunded in full. We will be working on refunds over the next few days and will be in touch directly with guests with more details."

"Also, all guests from this year will have free VIP passes to next years festival," the statement read.

The statement also said that the Fyre Festival was created by technology entrepreneur McFarland and rapper Ja Rule after a "partnership over mutual interest in technology, the ocean, and rap music."

"This unique combination of interests led them to the idea that, through their combined passions, they could create a new type of music festival and experience on a remote island," the statement continued. "They simply werent ready for what happened next, or how big this thing would get."

The statement then explained that interest in the festival quickly went viral. Festival organizers experienced what they called "roadblocks" after realizing that the island didn't have the infrastructure needed for the event.

"So, we decided to literally attempt to build a city," the statement read. "We set up water and waste management, brought an ambulance from New York, and chartered 737 planes to shuttle our guests via 12 flights a day from Miami."

The Fyre Festival organizers said they plan to hold a festival in 2018, but "at a United States beach venue."

Ja Rule spoke out Friday via social media, saying he was "heartbroken" about what happened in the Bahamas. He also maintained that it was not his fault, but he is "taking responsibility" and is "deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this."

McFarland, 25, who told ABC News he was unaware of an investigation into his festival, cited bad weather as the reason why the festival stalled, pointing to a storm that approached the island Wednesday night and broke their water lines.

He added that all attendees slated to attend the festival have now departed the island, unless they were accommodated in rental properties they personally obtained.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism in a statement Friday said it was "extremely disappointed" with how events unfolded around the festival.

"Hundreds of visitors to Exuma were met with total disorganization and chaos," the statement continued. "The event organizers assured us that all measures were taken to ensure a safe and successful event but clearly they did not have the capacity to execute an event of this scale."

Hallie Wilson, one attendee who said that she and her friends spent $4,000 to celebrate a friend's bachelorette party, told ABC News that she and more than 100 others landed back in Miami after spending hours trying to get a flight.

"It's been the longest 24 hours of our lives," she added.

Another attendee Trevor DeHass told ABC News that despite the Fyre Festival being promoted as an all-inclusive upscale weekend, he said that he and his friends were served two slices of bread, a slice of cheese and a small salad for dinner Thursday.

ABC News' Courtney Condron, Taylor Maple, Scott Withers and Michael Rothman contributed to this report.

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Fyre Festival site on 'lockdown' by Bahamas government - ABC News

Miami Herald

Long-delayed Bahamas resort Baha Mar will begin receiving paying guests soon Miami Herald The third time wasn't the charm for the star-crossed Bahamian mega-resort Baha Mar. Originally slated to open in December 2014, the resort missed three scheduled openings before last week's ribbon-cutting for the first hotel in the complex, the Grand ...

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Long-delayed Bahamas resort Baha Mar will begin receiving paying guests soon - Miami Herald

Asheville School's Alec Sands.(Photo: COURTESY PHOTO)

Special thanks to Asheville School for this press release:

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (April 28, 2017) Asheville School junior Alec Sands hails from the Bahamas. For the week of April 15, he returned home to represent his country in the CARIFTA 2017 Swimming Championships.

The CARIFTA Games were founded in 1972 by the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA); these games included track and field events open to people from Caribbean countries. Today CARIFTA Swimming is a stand-alone competition that represents water sport championships open to countries throughout the larger region.

Young people from 26 countries compete to win points for their country's team. Sands was selected as one of seven boys to compete for the Bahamas in the oldest age category, 15-17. This was Sands' fourth time competing at CARIFTA, and at age 17, his last.

He made the most of this year's competition.

Sands was elected as co-captain of the boys team for the Bahamas, he won gold as part of the 4 x 100 medley relay, and he scored points with two fourth-place finishes in individual swims in the 200 IM event and the 200 Free event.

Sands was excited to finish his last CARIFTA with a gold. "We weren't seeded to come in first," he said. "Everyone stepped up. It was a lot of fun, and it was nerve wracking."

The CARIFTA Championships are held over four days, and swimmers can swim in two sessions per day. The competition is demanding, and Sands worked hard as a team captain to encourage his team. "I looked out for the younger swimmers; I motivated them," he said. "It was tough competition. We were competing against people from over 20 countries, and there was really fast swimming."

The Bahamas boys team came out on top of the competition and won the 2017 CARIFTA Swimming Championships. Congratulations to Alec Sands and his team on their win!

Sands also had a great year swimming for the Blues. Asheville School's swim team took third place in the NCISAA State Championship meet in February 2017. Sands had two second place finishes: in the 500 Free and as part of the boys 400 Free relay. He earned All-WNC honors for his season and set several individual school records.

Follow the HS Huddle on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/hshuddle, Twitter atwww.twitter.com/acthshuddleor Instagram atwww.instagram.com/high_school_huddle

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Blues' Sands shines in Bahamas meet - Asheville Citizen-Times

The Bahamas boys and Cayman Island girls came away with team titles at the 2017 CARIFTA Championships held in Nassau, Bahamas. Stock Photo via Funky Trunks

Both the Bahamas boys and Cayman Islands girls walked away with team titles at the 2017 CARIFTA Championships held in Nassau, Bahamas, with both earning emphatic victories in the points standings.

On the boys side Bahamas put up a staggering 459 points, nearly 100 clear of the runners-up from Guadeloupe (361.5). For the girls, the Cayman Islands put up 408 points, topping Trinidad & Tobago (332) and Jamaica (328.5).

Combined, Bahamas was well ahead with 799.5, followed by Guadeloupe (662) and Cayman Islands (621.5). Bahamas dominated the medal count with a leading total of 60, though Trinidad & Tobago managed to top the gold medal charts with 20.

The high point winners for the 11-12 age group both came from Bermuda, asElan Daley(80 pts) andSam Williamson(79) took the honors respectively.

Daley swam a plethora of events, picking up a total of five victories in the 50 back, 200 IM, 50 breast, 100 free and 50 free, including the middle three all coming on the third night of racing. Her time of 27.50 in the 50 free was the top 11-12 performance of the meet (642 FINA Pts). Williamson also swam a multitude of events, earning five victories as well with a sweep of the breaststroke and IM events.

Gabriela Donahue (57) of Trinidad and Tobago andNkosi Dunwoody(48) of Barbados earned top honors in the 13-14 category. Like Daley and Williamson, they both earned five individual wins apiece. Donahue swept the breaststroke events and added wins in the 50 fly and 50 back, while Dunwoody, like Williamson, swept the breaststroke and IM events.Ali Jackson of the Cayman Islands had the top 13-14 performance of the meet with her win in the 100 free in a time of 58.22 (714).

The 15-17 age category sawLauren Hew(67) of the Cayman Islands andPatrick Groters(61) of Aruba dominate, earning six wins each. Hew swept the backstroke events and added wins in the 100, 200 and 400 free. Groters also swept the back events, and added wins in the 200 and 400 IM and 400 free. Groters had the top four FINA point scoring swims in the age group, led by his 200 IM time of 2:04.69 (764).

James is currently a university swimmer for the Laurentian Voyageurs, where he is studying economics. Along with swimming, he also loves hockey. He's in his 11th season as a competitive swimmer.

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Bahamas, Cayman Islands Win 2017 CARIFTA Championship Titles - SwimSwam

The Bahamas boys and Cayman Island girls came away with team titles at the 2017 CARIFTA Championships held in Nassau, Bahamas. Stock Photo via Funky Trunks

Both the Bahamas boys and Cayman Islands girls walked away with team titles at the 2017 CARIFTA Championships held in Nassau, Bahamas, with both earning emphatic victories in the points standings.

On the boys side Bahamas put up a staggering 459 points, nearly 100 clear of the runners-up from Guadeloupe (361.5). For the girls, the Cayman Islands put up 408 points, topping Trinidad & Tobago (332) and Jamaica (328.5).

Combined, Bahamas was well ahead with 799.5, followed by Guadeloupe (662) and Cayman Islands (621.5). Bahamas dominated the medal count with a leading total of 60, though Trinidad & Tobago managed to top the gold medal charts with 20.

The high point winners for the 11-12 age group both came from Bermuda, asElan Daley(80 pts) andSam Williamson(79) took the honors respectively.

Daley swam a plethora of events, picking up a total of five victories in the 50 back, 200 IM, 50 breast, 100 free and 50 free, including the middle three all coming on the third night of racing. Her time of 27.50 in the 50 free was the top 11-12 performance of the meet (642 FINA Pts). Williamson also swam a multitude of events, earning five victories as well with a sweep of the breaststroke and IM events.

Gabriela Donahue (57) of Trinidad and Tobago andNkosi Dunwoody(48) of Barbados earned top honors in the 13-14 category. Like Daley and Williamson, they both earned five individual wins apiece. Donahue swept the breaststroke events and added wins in the 50 fly and 50 back, while Dunwoody, like Williamson, swept the breaststroke and IM events.Ali Jackson of the Cayman Islands had the top 13-14 performance of the meet with her win in the 100 free in a time of 58.22 (714).

The 15-17 age category sawLauren Hew(67) of the Cayman Islands andPatrick Groters(61) of Aruba dominate, earning six wins each. Hew swept the backstroke events and added wins in the 100, 200 and 400 free. Groters also swept the back events, and added wins in the 200 and 400 IM and 400 free. Groters had the top four FINA point scoring swims in the age group, led by his 200 IM time of 2:04.69 (764).

James is currently a university swimmer for the Laurentian Voyageurs, where he is studying economics. Along with swimming, he also loves hockey. He's in his 11th season as a competitive swimmer.

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Bahamas, Cayman Islands Win 2017 CLARFITA Championship Titles - SwimSwam

New York Times

Fyre Festival, a Luxury Music Weekend, Crumbles in the Bahamas New York Times A supposedly opulent music festival on a private island in the Bahamas, which was promoted as an unprecedented V.I.P. event by Instagram influencers including Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski, descended into dysfunction and disarray as soon as it ... Fyre Festival Postponed as Chaos Erupts at Ja Rule's Luxury Weekend Concert in the BahamasVariety 'Luxury' concert weekend in Bahamas turns into nightmareLocal 10 Luxury music festival in Bahamas has chaotic start, ticket holders furiousSFGate CNBC -ABC News -KTLA -Twitter all 258 news articles »

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Fyre Festival, a Luxury Music Weekend, Crumbles in the Bahamas - New York Times

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The OECDs Global Forum head yesterday delivered a blunt warning that the Bahamas must take quick action to avoid being blacklisted, arguing that this nations image was that of the last tax haven standing.

Monica Bhatia, who leads the secretariat for the OECDs Global Forum on transparency and tax information exchange, told Bahamian financial services executives that while this nation had shown its commitment to implementing global standards, it was challenged to keep up with a fast-changing tax transparency environment.

Ms Bhatia said the Bahamas was the only financial services jurisdiction of substance yet to commit to the automatic exchange of tax information on a multilateral basis, sticking with its previously stated bilateral approach.

As a result, she argued that the Bahamas was seen as undermining the level playing field concept when it came to implementing the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the global benchmark for automatic tax information exchange.

I think the approach the Bahamas has taken to the implementation of automatic exchange, particularly the bilateral approach, has made the Bahamas an outlier, Ms Bhatia said, speaking at an industry briefing at the Meli Nassau Beach Resort.

There are now 109 countries and jurisdictions that are participating in the multilateral convention, the most recent one being the United Arab Emirates. The Bahamas is now the only country which has not signed the multilateral convention. That obviously brings all the attention of its peers on to the Bahamas.

Explaining the consequences, Ms Bhatia added: While the concept of a level playing field was something that was put forward by the Bahamas initially, it itself is being seen to be unlevelling the playing field now. It is seen to be a straggler.

I think this brings with it very huge reputational risks. Weve seen the media coverage, we get feedback from members, from industries in other countries, but it [the Bahamas] seems to be projecting itself as the last standing tax haven.

We dont use the word tax haven in the Global Forum at all, but this is still being picked up by the media and our peers that that is what the Bahamas is projecting itself as.

The European Union has threatened to publish a blacklist of so-called tax havens by year-end 2017. The Bahamas, should it fail to meet its Common Reporting Standard (CRS) implementation deadline and negotiate automatic tax information exchange agreements with the EU and its member states, would almost certainly find itself on such a list.

This concern was reiterated by Ms Bhatia, who warned: I see that for the Bahamas, unless action is taken very quickly and some very clear and convincing messages are sent out, I think that there is a big risk of ending up on a blacklist; certainly in the medium term, if not in the short-term. We dont want to see any of our members ending up on any blacklist.

As revealed by Tribune Business earlier this week, the Bahamas is under growing pressure to bow to international demands that it automatically exchange tax information on a multilateral basis, with the European Union (EU) and its members refusing to accept this nations preferred approach.

The Bahamas previously agreed to implement the CRS, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Developments (OECD) global standard for automatic tax information exchange, via a bilateral approach that involved negotiating agreements on an individual country-by country basis.

However, the OECD and its developed country members have been steadily increasing the pressure on the Bahamas to switch to the multilateral approach, requiring this country to negotiate tax deals with all-comers at once.

The Bahamas has been left exposed by the decisions of Hong Kong, Panama and the United Arab Emirates to switch from the bilateral to multilateral approach, which has left this nation as the last international financial centre (IFC) of significance that is sticking to the former.

The refusal of the EU and its members to accept the Bahamas bilateral approach - an approach previously accepted by the OECD itself - creates several potential threats for this nations financial services industry.

With the clocking ticking down to the Bahamas commitment to implement the CRS and automatic tax information exchange by 2018, the refusal of the EU and its member states to negotiate could jeopardise meeting this deadline.

And, potentially more problematic, is the EUs threat to publish a blacklist of so-called tax havens by year-end 2017.

If the Bahamas finds itself on such a list, its reputation, integrity and ability to attract financial services business will be threatened, undermining the economys second pillar and the sector that underpins the nations middle class.

Financial services industry sources have said the Bahamas would still be able to survive if forced to ultimately adopt the multilateral approach to CRS implementation, as it would not be placed at a competitive disadvantage since all rivals were doing the same.

However, Ryan Pinder, the former minister of financial services, had argued against the multilateral route because the Bahamas currently has no tax architecture to facilitate the spontaneous handing over of the information it demands, the US excepted (FATCA).

As a result, should the Bahamas be forced down the multilateral route, the costs, time and bureaucracy associated with compliance will likely increase for both the Government and financial services industry, further hitting this nations competitiveness.

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Oecd Chief Tells Bahamas: Act Now To Avoid 'Blacklist' - Bahamas Tribune

Forbes

Beyond Macau: Manila, Korea, Bahamas Openings Highlight Key Asia Gaming Trends Forbes New resort developments in three different markets illustrate that the good times are back for Asia's casino owners. Resorts World Manila in the Philippines, South Korea's Paradise City outside Seoul and on the other side of the globe at Baha Mar on ...

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Beyond Macau: Manila, Korea, Bahamas Openings Highlight Key Asia Gaming Trends - Forbes

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE goal was to get all four relay teams qualified for the IAAF World Championships over the weekend. But team manager Philippa Willie said they were more surprised that the 4 x 400 teams didnt make it and the 4 x 100m teams did at the IAAF/BTC World Relays at Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Sunday.

This weekend, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will be sending the two 4 x 400m relay teams to compete in the 123rd Penn Relays Carnival in Philadelphia in the match-up with the USA versus the World in a bid for the men to improve on their current time that is ranked at No.9 and the women, whose time is pegged at No.11.

I will be expecting a little more from our 4 x 4 relay teams, said Willie, who will be travelling along with head coach Fritz Grant, assistant coach Sidney Cartwright and understudy coach Ravanno Ferguson.

Ramon Miller, who didnt compete at the World Relays, will be added to the mens team that will be minus Steven Gardiner, but including Michael Mathieu, Elroy McBride, Andretti Bain and Demetrius Pinder.

Unfortunately, Ramon ran a little too late for us to consider his time for the selection to the World Relays. But we have added him to the team going to Penn, she said. We feel with him on the team, they will do very well.

The mens 4 x 4 team will compete against the USA, Botswana, Guyana and Jamaica. The USA won the A final for the gold medal over silver medallists Botswana, while Jamaica was third as they all booked their tickets to London. The Bahamas was fifth in the B final, but Guyana didnt field a team.

Like Gardiner, Shaunae Miller-Uibo will not be making the trip. The two, along with veteran Chris Fireman Brown, are all sponsored by Adidas and their athletes are committed to competing in the Drake Relays at the same time.

Without Miller-Uibo, the womens team will add Lanece Clarke and VAlonee Robinson, who both didnt compete in the relays. They will join Christine Amertil, Tynia Gaither, Anthonique Strachan and Rashan Brown.

We wont have Shaunae, but based on the team we have selected, I think they will also do very well.

The Bahamas will face the United States, Botswana, Jamaica and Nigeria in the womens 4 x 4 relay. The USA won the gold at the World Relays in the A final with Jamaica third, Botswana sixth and Nigeria seventh, having all qualified for London. The Bahamas placed fourth in their heat, won by Nigeria, but opted not to contest the B final.

The Bahamas has also been invited to participate in the womens sprint medley (two 100m, one 200m and a 400m) and therefore, Willie said they included a couple of sprinters on the team to ensure that the team is well represented.

In the sprint medley, the Bahamas will face two teams from the USA, the British Virgin Islands and Jamica.

The sprint medley was not contested at the World Relays.

Its ironic that the two teams that qualified at the Worlds were not the first times that we expected to qualify, she said. We expected the 4 x 4s to qualify. For the most part, our 4 x 4 have more depth and we are certain that they will both qualify, giving us a chance to run all four teams at the World Championships.

The IAAF World Championships is scheduled for August in London, England and there is a cut of period at the end of June for the final 16 teams to secure their berths.The top eight spots will be occupied from the top eight teams to finish their event.

The team ofDevine Parker, Brianne Bethel, Tylar Carter and Tynia Gaither ran 44.01 for sixth place in the womens 4 x 1, while the mens team ofWarren Fraser, Shavez Hart, Cliff Resias and Adrian Griffith ran 39.18 for third place in the B final.

However, as a result of Canada, France and the Netherlands not finishing in the A final, Trinidad & Tobago, Germany and the Bahamas, the first three finishers in order in the B final, were moved up to complete the top eight qualifying spot.

Willie said there are a number of athletes who are competing on the collegiate scene, who were not given the time of to come home and compete in the relays. So she feels that before the summer, they will accomplish their goal of getting the four teams to London.

I think we are in a pretty good spot, so we will do very well, said Willie of the team heading to Penns on Thursday, compete on Saturday and return home on Sunday. We have a benchmark where they have to work from, so we just have to get it together.

As the manager of the World Relay team, Willie said she was really impressed with the level of commitment that she got from all of the competitors on Team Bahamas.

We had three veterans on the team in Christine (Amertil), Demetrius (Pinder) and Michael (Mathieu), she said. We had a very young team led by Shaunae (Miller) and Steven (Gardiner) and they performed very well.

Once our athletes can stay healthy and we can keep them happy, they will be around for a long time.

Willie noted that it wasnt all rosey in the camp, but they got through their difficulties.

I know there were some athletes who had some issues with the coaches, but I think the athletes have to learn how to compromise. The coaches are there for a reason, Willie pointed out.

They see things that we, as athletes, dont see. The coaches have a job to do and the athletes have a job to do and that is to perform.

As for Miller-Uibo, Willie said there was some concern as to whether or not she would have competed in the 4 x 4 relay, but she said she went out and gave it 100 percent on the first leg.

We got her to run it and she gave it her all, Willie said. Its unfortunate that we didnt have the depth to be able to qualify, but it happened.

All things considered, Willie said she was happy to endorse Miller-Uibo to run with Gardiner, Strachan and Mathieu as the quartet went on to win the historic mixed gender 4 x 400m relay in 3:25.49.

In the process, the team set a world leading time of for the national and championship records in winning the countrys first gold and only medal in the three editions of the championships.

I want to congratulate all of our teams, who competed in the World Relays, especially the men and women 4 x 1 teams, she summed up. We just have to maintain our times and we should have all four teams in London.

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Bahamas Relay Teams Get Set For The Penn Carnival - Bahamas Tribune