By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A SECOND slate of candidates have launched their bid for next month's Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations elections.

Under the theme "Be The Greatest of All Time...Be The G.O.A.T," BAAA Secretary General Drumeco Archer officially launched his campaign for president of the organisation and introduced his fellow candidates at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium last night.

Ravanno Ferguson will vie for the position of 1st Vice President with Rupert Gardiner as 2nd Vice President.

The remainder of the slate includes Sharon Gardiner (VP Finance), Kermit Taylor (Marketing and Public Relations), Dawn Johnson (VP, Business Operations) and Frank "Pancho" Rahming (VP, Technical Operations).

Archer said his platform is aimed at bridging the gap between the administration and the athletes to ensure a cohesive system, integral for the development of the sport.

The first initiative of his campaign was to issue a message to all athletes under the BAAA umbrella.

"I would be the first to confess that we (both athlete and administration) have a long, long way to go before we collectively can say that we have done all that we can to make our sport the best that it can be. With the good Lord's will, I am determined to see more of you ascend to the podium, make a living from the sport and in exchange make you, your family and our country proud," he said in a press relase. "There is no one who can convince me that we are not the most talented nation in the world. And it is my conviction that today we have the largest composition of talent ever assembled at any time in our Bahamian history. I believe, without a doubt, that if we work together we can be more powerful than we have ever imagined and more powerful than we have ever realised. This quest for greatness cannot be done in isolation. I will need you to be a part of this process. The stories that we share will capture the lives that you live and your tireless work that goes on behind the scenes. We want the country to know you better and we want you to inspire more athletes to be just like you."

According to Archer, his message to the athletes will be the centre of his team's focus from which everything that they do will revolve.

He ousted incumbent Carl Oliver 46-36 for secretary general back in 2015 and now seeks the highest office in the organisation.

The team's campaign is aimed at speaking directly to the voting constituents and creating public awareness to a new approach to how they intend to grow the sport of athletics in a community-driven way.

• The BAAA is scheduled to host its Electoral General Meeting at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on November 24.