By BRENT STUBBS 

Chief Sports Editor 

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net 

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg said the Bahamas Olympic Committee will receive more money than they ever have for any Olympic competition.

In his contribution to the government budget in the House of Assembly on Monday, Bowleg revealed that the BOC will receive $150,000 for the games, scheduled for July 27 to August 11 in Paris, France. 

“Understanding that we are moving to higher heights in not just one sport but in all sports, it is very important that we collaborate with the BOC to provide as much funding as we can for our athletes,” Bowleg said. “So we have decided to increase their budget. We are bragging, but this is the most funding that any government has provided for the BOC in an Olympic year.” 

Bowleg said the increase in funding to the BOC is what they had requested to ensure that Team Bahamas is successful in their quest to continue the streak of winning medals at the games. 

“They want to make sure that the athletes are taken care of going into the games, so it was not a difficult thing to think about. We just made it happen,” Bowleg said. 

The BOC, headed by president Romell Knowles, has not yet released the team for the games as there are still several qualification processes going on, including the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and Bahamas Aquatics National Championships at the end of the month. 

Additionally, the Bahamas Basketball Federation is heading to Valencia, Spain to participate in Group B of the FIBA Qualifying Tournament against Finland and Poland. 

Bowleg said the funding that the BOC will receive has nothing to do with the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s assistance. 

He noted that the government has allocated $40,000 to assist the federation with the men’s qualifying tournament. 

The immediate BBF president and men’s national team head coach noted that the funds are separate and a part of the federation’s annual grant of $80,000 for the development of their national programme. 

“This is just the government’s way of collaborating with the federations to ensure that we provide the necessary funding to allow them to be able to go through their qualifying process to get to the Olympics.” 

The BBF is headed by Eugene Horton. The federation is expected to field its best team ever, including National Basketball Association players Grand Bahamian Chavano “Buddy” Hield from the Philadelphia 76ers, Deandre Ayton from the Portland Trail Blazers, Eric Gordon from the Phoenix Suns and Kai Jones from the Charlotte Hornets. 

As for the incentives for athletes, Bowleg said they are in the process of revamping the sports policy in place. 

He noted that they intend to have the policy presented and approved by cabinet before it is presented during the ministry’s Sports Month in November. 

However, he noted that whenever an athlete makes the final, wins a medal or sets a world record at the games, the Bahamas Government will reward them based on the system that is currently in place. 

“We will collaborate with all of our sports federations to ensure that we meet the international standards to provide the best possible award system that we can for our athletes,” Bowleg stressed.