By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

EVEN though he has given his life to Christ, Olympian turned community activist Nathaniel ‘Nate Da Great’ McKinney continues to give back to the youth of the nation through his non-profit organisation, Dream Chasers.

Over the weekend, McKinney hosted a “He Is Risen” Easter Basketball Tournament at the George ‘Buster’ Brown Park on Dumping Ground Corner for eight teams split in the mini and junior boys divisions.

The Bain Town Ballers carted off both titles over two teams out of Grants Town in the tournament that ran from Friday to Monday with the exception of games played on Sunday.

“I felt good. I was pleased to see the cooperation of the people, who really wanted to see something like this during this COVID-19 experience,” McKinney said.

“They were cooperative. Everybody did the hand sanitising, wearing their masks and social distance. We provided masks for everybody. It was a good turnout for those in the community.”

McKinney said with the community experiencing so much gang violence and killings over the past few months, the tournament came as a relief for the residents to enjoy some calm and peace during Easter.

During the tournament, McKinney staged a skills competition for girls and a free throw and three-point shooting contest for the boys in honour of some of the victims killed in the community.

“Without the tournament, the kids would have been on the park playing anyhow, so we were just excited to provide a safe and competitive event for them to participate in,” McKinney said.

“He Is Risen, was just giving reverence to Christ during this important time in the life of Christians. This was a chance to bring unity and peace to the community.”

McKinney is a former 400 metre runner who represented the Bahamas on the men’s 4 x 400m relay team that placed sixth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and won a silver at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

He formed the Dream Chasers Organisation in 2014. But since giving his life to Christ, he said this is a rebirth of the organisation with a more spiritual thrust to provide an outreach to help save the lives of the young people in the community.

He thanked Broken Worship Ministries International for coming out and lending their spiritual support as they ministered to a lot of people during the tournament.

McKinney also thanked persons such as Mark Knowles, Edron Knowles and Damian Nixon for their financial support and Gippy’s Printing for producing the t-shirts worn by all the competitors.

The shirts displayed his organisation’s name, Dream Chasers, and its motto, “See It, Chase It, Live It,” which he encourages everyone to pursue.