By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS the new year unfolds, Minister Mario Bowleg has some bright ideas for the further development of his tripart Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Bowleg, who was in Grand Bahama at the time for the staging of that island’s New Year’s Junkanoo parade, said these are some exciting times and he’s excited about the future, which will start with the passing of three legislations in the House of Assembly.

“The first one is the youth policy, which we hope will empower and provide more opportunities for the young people,” said Bowleg of the youth perspective of his ministry. “We’ve had many drafts of the youth policy, but it has not really come to fruition. So that’s something I’m looking forward to doing in 2024.

“We also hope to upgrade the sports policy, which has not been upgraded since the 1990s and to empower more of the federations and to the new and up and coming new smaller sports federations into this policy, so that they can receive the financial assistance that they need to develop their discipline.”

While there’s some discussion about it in the public domain, Bowleg said his ministry intends to pass the implementation of an Athletes’ Pension Bill, which will enable former athletes to receive a pension from the ministry.

“That is something we are looking at in 2024,” he stated.

And coming of the two major junkanoo parades in New Providence for Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, along with the one held in Grand Bahama, Bowleg said they will look at the first draft of the cultural policy, which will enhance all aspects of culture in the country, including junkanoo.

“These are some of the things as it relates to youth, sports and culture that we want to push forward in our ministry,” Bowleg said. “We hope that these things will benefit the youth of our nation, our athletes and the cultural practitioners in a holistic approach for the country.”

In a broader scale for sports, Bowleg said with this being an Olympic year as they head to Paris, France, in July, his ministry will be providing as much assistance as possible for all athletes who seek to make it to the world’s greatest sporting spectacle.

“We want to make sure that every athlete who has an opportunity and every team that has an opportunity, and right now it’s only basketball, are given the attention that they need to ensure that they have all of the necessary assets and tools needed to qualify for the Olympics,” Bowleg.

“In July, the men’s basketball team will be playing in Spain to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.

“I intend to travel with that team and ensure that we get all of the pieces together so that we can accomplish that goal. The federation and the coaches are very confident that they can get the job done.”

If they qualify, basketball will become the first team sport to participate in the games for the Bahamas. They will join individual athletes who are expected to represent the Bahamas in a number of sports, including track and field, swimming, boxing, tennis, beach volleyball and judo.

“We are working towards that,” Bowleg said. “We have a number of athletes who we expect to assist to make sure that they are in the best position to be able to qualify to compete in the games.

“We want to focus on those athletes and to ensure that we can provide whatever financial assistance we can so that they can get to the level that they need to be to get to the Olympics to give the Bahamas the exposure that it needs at the games.”

While there is the focus on the Olympics, Bowleg said the ministry is continuing the process of renovating both the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium and the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex for two major international events this year.

The Bahamas will host the return of the World Relays for the sixth edition from May 4-5. The Bahamas hosted the first three editions in 2014, 2-15 and 2-17 before it was moved to Yokohama, Japan in 2019 and Silesian, Croatia in 2021.

On the heels of that, the Bahamas Swimming Federation will host the CARIFTA Swim Championships from March 28 to April 7 in their quest to continue their dominance of winning the title for the past five consecutive years.

“Repairs to both of those two facilities are going quite well,” Bowleg said. “We are also hosting to break ground during this budget year for the new 50 metre swim complex at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Grand Bahama.

“Of course, you know, the renovations are being done for the World Relays and the CARIFTA swimming in Nassau. Work is going on time and on schedule and so I expect by the week of the 15th of this month, or by the end of the month, we will have a thorough inspection of both facilities with the media to get a complete report of the repairs.”

He noted that the Chinese workmen have been on the ground working around the clock with the repairs and things are on schedule to have both facilities ready for the Local Organising Committee to welcome the athletes at the appropriate times for their competitions.

“We are having weekly meetings with all of the stakeholders and so I’m sure that the Bahamian people will be quite pleased with both of these facilities when they are completed,” he stated.

“So, we are encouraging the Bahamian public to come out and support the athletes on the field and in the pool this year.

“We have some exciting things to look forward to when it comes to Sports in Paradise so we want everybody to get ready to cheer on Team Bahamas as we compete against the rest of the world.”

With the relaunch of the Bahamas Games in July, 2023, Bowleg said they have seen a resurgence in sports in the Family Islands and they hope that the Sports Councils will be able to work hand-in-hand with the various sporting federations so that they can continue to develop as they prepare for the next edition of the Bahamas Games.

“The Family Island Sports Councils should now look at ensuring that the local sporting bodies are up and running on their islands,” Bowleg said. “The federations have a role to play to make the job that much easier for the Family Island associations.

“We hope to have another Sports Conclave in 2024 when we bring the federations and the Family Island Sports Councils together so that we can map out a plan that will ensure that everybody understands the way forward.”

He said the federations have been mandated to go into the Family Islands and to ensure that the associations are up and running for the growth of the development of sports.

He stated that’s one of the reasons why they receive their grants from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

“It’s not all about preparing the national team to represent the country,” he stated.

“They first have to put in place a developmental programme to ensure that the coaches and athletes in the Family Islands have the necessary tools to equip themselves to prove their skillsets so that the Bahamas can have a better representation locally, nationally and internationally.

“It’s a collaborative work with all of these entities, but it must start with the federation, who receives their grant from the ministry to help with the development of sports within their sporting disciplines.”

As for sports in general, Bowleg said he’s thrilled to see the level of competition that is showcased at the local level and he’s even more impressed with what he’s seen from Sports in Paradise with the international teams coming into the country to compete.

“We have a very vibrant sporting programme and we must find persons and federations with the necessary administrative skills to get the job done,” he said.

“We have a rich programme and the only way these disciplines continue to flourish, we need the right persons at the helm to get the job done.”