SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016
Beach Soccer
Summer Camp, Page 2
Serena qualifies for discus final, sets new junior national record By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
T
he Bahamas’ 14-member team at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships got started yesterday in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with Serena Brown qualifying for the women’s discus final with a new junior national record. Brown, one of two athletes in action on day one of the championships at the Zawisza Stadium, had the fifth best performance in Group B and was eighth overall with her heave of 50.94 metres or 167-feet, 1-inch. In the process, she not only lowered her own national record of 48.39m (158-9), but she became the first Bahamian female competitor to advance to a final in a field event at the championships.
Group B, by the way, had the three best qualifying performances, led by Germany’s Julia Ritter with a personal best of 53.84m (176-7). She was followed by American Elena Bruckner with 53.83m (1767) and Alexandra Emilianov with 53.19m (174-6). They were only three of the six competitors who surpassed the automatic qualifying mark of 51.50m (168-11). Brown’s record-breaking feat came on her third and final attempt in the qualifying round and enabled her to join five other qualifiers who got in by posting the best performances to complete the final field of 12 competitors. The final is set for Thursday when Brown will be the 11th out of 12 competitors in action. On the track, Shaquania Dorsett advanced in the 17th spot out of a total of 25 who moved onto
SERENA BROWN, of Bahamas, has qualified for the discus final at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Photo by Philip Gray/BAAAs
the semi-final. Running out of lane two in the first six heats, Dorsett ran 54.55 seconds to clinch her berth. Jamaica’s Tiffany James has the fastest qualifying time of 52.98 out of heat four, while Maureen Nyatichi Thomas from Kenya had the second fastest time of 53.04 in winning Dorsett’s heat. Dorsett drew lane two again as she runs out of the second of three heats today. She will need to at least take one of two top spots or run one of the next two fastest times to secure a berth in the final. “I think this is an excellent start for the team,” said BAAA public relations officer Philip Gray. “I think it’s indicative of what we can expect from the team going forth. We are very pleased that both Shaquania Dorsett and Serena Brown made it to the semi-final
and final respectively and we look forward to better performances from them.” Also in today’s early session, the Bahamas will have two competitors entered in the men’s 110m hurdles qualifying round. Shakeem Hall-Smith, with a PB and SB of 14.12, will be in lane nine in heat five and Tavonte Mott, with a PB and SB of 13.81, will run out of lane four in the sixth heat. They will both have to take one of the top three spots or turn in one of the next three fastest times in order to advance to the semifinal that evening. Holland Martin will be the lone representative in the men’s triple jump qualifying round. He will be the 13th out of 19 competitors in Group A with a PB and SB of 15.68m (51-5 ½).
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Warm welcome home for Fantastic 4
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THREE weeks ago, Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association president Elwood Donaldson held a press conference to wish the Bahamas Davis Cup team every “success” in Bolivia for the American Zone III Davis Cup tie. Yesterday he congratulated them as they returned home having “advanced to Zone II.” The team of veteran player/ coach Marvin Rolle, rookie brothers Baker and Spencer Newman and four-time team member Kevin Major Jr did it. They completed the weeklong tournament with a perfect 5-0 win-loss record and a berth back in Zone II after a seven-year hiatus. “I’m definitely very proud of these guys,” said Donaldson as he led the welcome reception that included BLTA executives, players, family members and friends at the National Tennis Centre where they highlighted the festivity by cutting a cake. “We made some big surprises. We sent them a week earlier to become acclimated with Bolivia and they took advantage of it. They came out on top at the end. So we are very proud of their accomplishment.” Donaldson, however, said they could not have achieved their success without the sponsorship of AID, who assisted the BLTA and other private donors in putting the team together and getting them into Bolivia. Their achievement, according to Donaldson, will only bode well for the Georgio Baldacci Invitational in December when the Newman brothers will have to defend their top two spots in their bid to return for their second appearance on the Davis Cup team. But while that is four months away, the BLTA and the players will bask in their triumph before they look at putting the team together to play in Zone II next year. Rolle, the 32-year-old who split a pair of the Bahamas’
CONGRATULATIONS, CAKE: Shown (l-r) are veteran player/coach Marvin Rolle, rookie brothers Baker and Spencer Newman and four-time team member Kevin Major Jr. They completed the weeklong tournament in Bolivia with a perfect 5-0 win-loss record and a berth back in Zone II after a seven-year hiatus. Photo by Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff clinching victories in doubles with the Newman brothers, expressed his gratitude for the tremendous support that they all received while in Bolivia. “We felt it down there, even though you were miles away,” Rolle said. “We felt that you were right there on our backs and you carried us through. “We’ve been in zone III for 6-7 years, so it was a big victory for the Bahamas. We have
been working hard to get out of this. We had great teams in the past as well, but with the Newman brothers added to the list and KJ, who has played for four years, we finally got it done.” Through all of their matches, Rolle said he was “calm, cool and collective” and really only got out of his seat during the matches when the players came in for a change over in their games.
“When Baker got that last point, he saw everything come out of me,” Rolle said. “It was a big moment for all us. It was a great feeling.” Baker Newman, in securing the win in his three-set win over Jamaica in the crossover semifinal match to finish with a 3-2 record in singles, said they had two fans who came out and supported them all week. “For the first time represent-
ing the country along with my brother, KJ and Marvin, it was a great experience and one that I will remember for the rest of my life for sure,” said the 20-yearold Baker Newman. “I really didn’t go out with any expectations. I just wanted to play my best. We had an awesome team. This was for the boys. I hope I can come back next year because it’s not over. This is just a stepping stone to Zone One.” As for 23-year-old Spencer, he was as thrilled as Baker to have been afforded the opportunity to represent the Bahamas and to do it in grand style, not losing a match against countries, although he was 3-2 in his singles appearances. “I’m looking forward to making this team next year and looking forward to pushing it further,” he said. “Thanks to the two supporters, who flew the flags and everybody here who supported us. “It was an honour to be able to do this. This was something special. Let’s keep it going. The matches were great. We got through them all.” And 21-year-old Kevin Major Jr said although he only played a singles match, he got to watch all of the other matches and he was quite impressed with what he saw. “It was fun watching. They heard me every point until we won,” he said. “When we went to the third sets, it was crazy. When Baker won his match to win the whole thing, I was this close to running on the court, but they hadn’t shaken hands yet. So when everything simmered down, we all ran on the court to celebrate.” In his match, Major Jr said he enjoyed playing to the third set. He said he was just glad to be able to pull off a win. “This team was fun. We didn’t just play tennis. Every day, we had something to do. We even played miniature golf, we played a lot of card games. It was a genuine team. It was a lot of fun.” Omar Smith, the first vice
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Montego Bay United to face Don Bosco FC on July 29 By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE Jamaican and Haitian championship football clubs are coming to town for the first in a series of soccer matches. The Bahamas Football Association, through the sponsorship of BTC and the support of the National Sports Authority, will host the Montego Bay United Football Club against the Don Bosco Football Club at 8pm Friday (July 29) in the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. “Haiti and Jamaica are two of the premier football clubs in the region,” said Anton Sealey. “We have dubbed this the Caribbean
Club Championships and the winner of this match will play the winner of the Trinidad Club League later this year. “Nesly LaFleur is a member of the Montego Bay United Football Club, but unfortunately he won’t be here because he’s with the Bahamas national beach soccer team training in Switzerland for the next six weeks.” Sealey said it’s unfortunate that because of the timing of putting the elimination tournament together, the Bahamas won’t be able to play right now because the national team is off getting ready for the World Cup Beach Soccer Tournament here next year. But he noted that just be-
BTC presented $30,000 cash and in-kind cheque to the National Sports Authority for the Haiti vs. Jamaica soccer match. Shown (l-r) are Eldri Ferguson-Mackey, BTC vice president of marketing, brand and communications, BTC CEO Leon Williams, Lynden Maycock, chairman of the National Sports Authority and Anton Sealey, secretary general of the Bahamas Football Association. fore the Haitian-Jamaican game, the BFA would show-
case their collegiate players who are home against a se-
lected side, giving the fans a two-for-one match next week. Sealey said he appreciates the support from Leon Williams, whom he called the “sporting cultural CEO” and Lynden Maycock, the chairman of the NSA, for getting the facility ready. During the evening, there will be a number of performances to keep the fans entertained in and outside of the stadium. Also at the halftime, the Humming Bird Dancers, an arm of the Humming Bird Association of Jamaican residents in the Bahamas, are expected to perform. Sharon Purser-Cooper is the cultural director who leads the dancers. A group of Haitian dancers will also
perform. Leon Williams, the chief executive officer of BTC, who attended along with a number of executives, including Eldri FergusonMackey and Indira Collie, the public relations manager, said BTC has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the sporting community and they have always “placed our money where our mouth is and stepped up to the plate in support of many major sporting initiatives in this country. “Just a year ago, we sat right in this room as we announced a $250,000 sponsorship to the IAAF/BTC World Relays. We have title sponsored numerous
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