By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE unique Champion Spirit Country Club is expanding its wings, not just with the inclusion of its cadre of professional coaches, but their interaction with the local sporting community, including the government and private schools, to their vast program being offered.

Bahamian Olympian Andretti Bain, who serves as head of the Sports and Performance for Champion Spirit, introduced New Zealand’s Olympian Ella Greenslade, the VIP Olympic Ambassador for Champion Spirit, to the media.

The day before, the duo had a motivational meet and greet with a rowing demonstration and competition at the Lyford Cay International School on Lake Cunningham and they also visited the Willie Mae Pratt School for Girls with a rowing demonstration as well.

Next week, Bain said they will be at King’s College School, Windsor School and the Simpson Penn and eventually they hope to branch out to reach out to the various schools and private organisations to introduce them to the benefits they can achieve by becoming a part of the club.

Bain, a member of the Bahamas men’s 4 x 400 metre relay team that clinched the silver at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, said he’s honoured to welcome Greenslade to the Bahamas and to Champion Spirit.

“She fits the mode of what we look for in athletes in being very humble firstly and then being superly and overly accomplished,” Bain said. “Ella competed at the highest level and won at the highest level.

“It fits our mandate here at Champion Spirit where we are growing sports tourism in The Bahamas by bringing someone of Ella’s calbre to The Bahamas, not just to interact, but to provide high performance training for our members, but also to be able to get out into the community and into our high school system.”

Greenslade, who was a member of New Zealand Women’s eight rowing team that won a silver at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, said she’s delighted to be in The Bahamas and a part of the club’s coaching staff.

“I’m loving it being in The Bahamas so far,” she said. “It was amazing going to the schools and actually getting on the water with them. I’m looking forward to being a part of this club and helping to grow the sport of rowing in The Bahamas.”

The 28-year-old Greenslade brings a wealth of experience to the club, having competed professionally for the past five years, but he spent the past 12 years competing in the sport from high school to college at Washington State where she graduated in 2024.

Looking back at her achievement as an Olympic medalist, Greenslade said it was something that he will cherish for the rest of her life.

“It was an amazing experience. I think it’s something that you don’t always get to do, so it was unique,” she insisted. “We were lucky that it came during the Covid-Olympics, but we were grateful that Tokyo, Japan hosted the competition for us a year later. We were really lucky to have been able to compete in the Olympics.”

And coming here to the Bahamas, Greenslade said she’s very lucky to have been afforded the opportunity to work with Bain and the rest of the coaching staff at Champion Spirit.

“I think it’s good to be in an environment like this where we can create results and be able to be ourselves,” she stressed. “So I think it’s going to be a very good experience and I’m just glad to be here.”

Greenslade joins a coaching staff that’s already in place that includes Bain, Krystel Rolle-Brown for volleyball, 2012 Olympic sprinter Warren Fraser for track and field, pro bodybuilder Romel Kelly and Donovan McKenzie.

Additionally, Bain said there are a number of expat athletes and coaches who come in from time to time to lend their expertise to the program, which caters to everyone who is into wellness and fitness.

“We do a lot of corporate things. We also work with a lot of CEOs and executives, persons who perform in a high level environment,” he stated. “So for us, it’ not just about the physical work, but that Champion Spirit mentality that spreads across the board for athletes, those who want to achieve their health and fitness goals and those who want to be in a super sports environment, as well as a high performance environment for children.”

Champion Spirit Club, according to Bain, offers a 360°wellness, sports and performance facility. on a 10-acre property of the western end of Nassau with a little bit of something to satisfy the appetite of just about any sports fanatic.

He further noted that so far, founder and owner Abdoulaye Fadiga, a world champion Muay Thai fighter and athlete, has spent more than $30m in creating the holistic, authentic, and scientific approach to Health & Wellness. 

By the time the entire facility is completed, Bain said Fadiya, now residing here in The Bahamas with his family, would have invested more than $50m in making it the resort for people from all around the world to live, work and play as the training hub for high performance athletes.

“We also cater to providing retreats and certification courses for coaches and for athletes, mentorship through our VIP Ambassador program whereby we bring in athletes such as Ella to expose the club, its members and the community to that high performance environment,” he stressed.

“And we also focus on the wellness and longevity aspect of it. Our goal is to promote health and fitness, not just in The Bahamas, but internationally, so Champion Spirit through our sports medicine, our hospital, which we are now about to open, through our high performance facilities and just through our club ourselves, we want to be seen as the leading club around the world for health and wellness.”

Persons interested in becoming a part of Champion Spirit Country Club can take advantage of their full-time membership, summer membership and non member access by sending in their resume, which will be reviewed before they are invited to participate.

“To the public, dream big,” said Ella in encouraging people to come out and join the club. “Be true to yourself and be proud about it.”

With the two Olympians on site, Bain said their goal is to be able to assist a number of local and international athletes as they gear up for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

“Before heading over to LA for the Olympic Games, at least be able to spend a few days over here training at Champion Spirit Country Club in Nassau,” said the now retired Olympic quarter-miler.