CARIFTA Commitee Boasts Potential Opportunities

BTC Carifta 2013

Opportunities Galore!

It is now just forty-five days before the competition starts in the BTC Carifta 2013.


As the time gets closer it makes us think of various areas of the Games that need to be focused on.
We thought today of the numerous opportunities these Games provide. Hopefully, after you have finished reading this column, you will go to the site www.carifta2013.com and purchase your tickets.


Bringing Bahamians Together


There are few things that can bring people together more than sports. Most people can remember what they were doing when the Golden Girls captured the Gold in the 4x400m relay in Sydney and captured the imagination and adoration of the whole wide world in the process.

The same can be remembered on August 10th last year when the Golden Knights, our 4x400m relay team of Chris Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, and Ramon Miller, was victorious in the London.

It may be a little more difficult for people to remember the victory of the Bahamas in the 1980 Carifta Games, or the nail biter when The Bahamas won Carifta at home in 1981 in the last event, the girls 4x400m relay, which is usually run before the boys’ 4x400m. The team in 1981 included Stephanie Farrington, Whelma Colebrooke, Debbie Greene, and MaryAnn Higgs.

The excitement captures the spirit of Bahamians in and out of the stadium, Bahamians at home and abroad, making us feel proud to be Bahamians.


Bringing Other Nationals Together

2011 IAAF World Youth Champion,
Shaunae Miller at Lille, France

Not only does the Carifta Games bring Bahamians together. It also brings foreign nationals residing in The Bahamas together. The most obvious of this is the show of Jamaican nationals at the Games.


Jamaica has lost the Games only five of the forty-two times. Jamaica, who won its first Olympic Gold medals 1948 supports its teams wherever they are. If you don’t believe me just spend an afternoon at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Coach Fritz Grant renamed the relay carnival the “Jamaican Penn Relays”.


It is one of the wonders in the world of Track & Field. More than half of the spectators in Franklyn Field are Jamaicans. Most of them wave their flags as the Jamaican schools win one after the other school relays.


When superstar Usain Bolt is in the competition the crowd explodes.
Some Bahamians fear that more Jamaicans than Bahamians will be in the stands at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium this Easter for BTC Carifta 2013.

Jamaican gold medal winner in Boys
Discus, Fedrick Dacres @ IAAF World
Youth Championships

We understand that Jamaica will charter a flight filled with fans from Kingston to The Bahamas.


Carifta gives Jamaicans at home and in The Bahamas an opportunity for them to be proud.


It is difficult to guess the number of people from the Republic of Haiti residing in The Bahamas but it is certain that that country will have quite a large amount of fans.


What about the Basians? Their community in The Bahamas also will have reason to be proud. Their teams have been doing extremely well in Carifta and the local Basian community will be out in full force. We need to note that the Carifta Games had its beginning in Barbados in 1972.


Trinidad & Tobago has done quite well in the Games and the local residents from Trinidad & Tobago community will converge on the stadium to show their support.

Kadecia Baird of Guyana @ women's
400m Finals of 14th IAAF World 

We also understand that both Bermuda and the Cayman Islands have charters to Nassau in support of their teams. Other than The Bahamas, Bermuda was the only country to defeat Jamaica. They did that in 1975 when the Games were held in Bermuda.


Then there are a number of additional countries from the region like Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Guyana, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis whose nationals will show up in support of their countrymen.
We understand that most of these countries will have their special food at the Games, which will make the teams feel at home.


As the theme of the BTC Carifta 2013 is “A Celebration of Caribbean Unity” we anticipate that the spirit coming out of these Games will be just that, “Al Celebration of Caribbean Unity” especially in our beloved sport of Track & Field where we did extremely well at the London Games.


Corporate Bahamas
Corporate Bahamas has a definite opportunity to benefit from the BTC Carifta 2013. BTC itself will benefit tremendously from their partnership with the Local Organizing Committee. No resident will be able to escape the BTC branding in the Games, before and after the event.
Other corporate citizens have taken advantage of the partnership opportunities provided by the Local Organizing Committee. Those announced so far are Super Value with the Adopt a School Initiative, Caribbean Bottling, and Bahamian Brewery. More are lined up to be announced soon.
We understand that the sponsorship of specific events in the competition is going quite well. If you, as a corporate citizen, a church, a civic organization, or an individual wish to sponsor an event please contact the Carifta Secretariat at 325 4738. The event will bear the name The Company X Boys Under-20 100m, or the Mary Rolle Girls Under-17 High Jump, etc.
One unusual way that corporate citizens may take advantage of the opportunities provided by BTC Carifta 2013 is the Employer Employee initiative where an employer pays fifty percent of the tickets for deserving employees, showing appreciation. If your company has not mentioned this to you please ask them!


Sports Tourism
The BTC Carifta 2013 will be held over the Easter weekend. Hotel rooms are usually full.  With the BTC Carifta 2013 hotels will be jammed pack!
This means that our tourism industry will benefit even more at that time.
Little of the money coming in, except for stadium tickets and a nominal amount for the participants, will go to the Local Organizing Committee. Much will go to the hotels, merchants, and even persons who will rent out their homes during the period.
Sports Tourism will be the order of the day!


Bahamian Organization Skills
Throughout the entire process The Bahamas will demonstrate its ability to organize an event of this stature.
The Bahamas has hosted six Carifta Games, two Central American and Caribbean Jr. Championships, two Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships, three Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships, one Pan American Jr. Track & Field Championships, and several independent One-Day International Track & Field competitions.


Small Country, Great Athletes
Not much has been said about the possibility of The Bahamas winning this BTC Carifta 2013. With the momentum started several years ago, The Bahamas with its forty medal performance at the Games in Bermuda last year has an opportunity to close that gap significantly.
In writing about the chances of The Bahamas capturing the Games in Bermuda some thirty-two years ago this writer indicated that it would have taken a “minor miracle” to win. And win we did!


Purchase Your Tickets Now!
You have an opportunity to purchase your tickets now! We are sure you wish to have the best seating options. People from abroad and the Bahamas can now log on to www.carifta2013.com to secure their tickets.
This is an opportunity you just should not miss!
Alpheus Finlayson