SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
BASEBALL CAMP
Mario Ford, Page 8
GROWING POTCAKEMAN TRIATHLON ADDS OLYMPIC DISTANCE RACE PARTICIPANTS from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Panama will join many locals in the fourth annual Powerade Potcakeman Triathlon hosted by BAARK! on Saturday at Jaws Beach, Clifton. The Potcakeman is now the largest triathlon event in the Bahamas, with over 200 participants, and all proceeds each year goes towards BAARK!’s (Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness) spay/ neuter and education programmes across the Bahamas. This year, for the first time, an Olympic distance event has been added to the regular Sprint race - a 750m swim, 21km bike and 5km run - while both the male and female winners of the triathlon will be given the opportunity to participate in The Island House Invitational Triathlon’s Fittest CEO Challenge on October 29.
Big Red Machine roll over Saints, 13-0 By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
T
he combination of Shante Curtis and Mechelle Moss was a little too much to handle for the Kingsway Academy Saints as the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine rolled to an easy senior girls softball victory yesterday. In the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ openers for senior girls, the defending champions Big Red Machine steamrolled past the Saints, marching out of Kingsway Academy with an impressive 13-0 whitewashing. Curtis, getting the starting nod on the mound, allowed just two batters to get on base as she tossed a no-hitter and Moss, starting in shortstop, led the potent offensive attack with a pair of lead off in-the-park home runs. “I think it was pretty good. Being our first game, but didn’t have a lot of practice, but we executed our game plan,” he said. “We came out with the game plan, executed, had fun and came
SAC senior girls earn easy win over Kingsway Academy
PLAY BALL: Senior girls in action yesterday during their BAISS opener. The defending champions Big Red Machine steamrolled past the Saints, marching out of Kingsway Academy with an impressive 13-0 whitewashing. Photos by Tim Clarke/The Tribune
out with the win.” Curtis, however, said it was a great feeling to have posted the shut out. “I haven’t been pitching that long. I just got back on the mound so, for my first game, it was good,” she said. “We hope that we can have another great season and come out with the victory.” In the first inning, Curtis watched as Marissa Brown got on base after she got struck out, but reached first safely on a wild pitch after SAC’s catcher Shara Sweeting couldn’t hold onto the ball. After striking out Saints’ catcher Tanecia Simmons, Jordan Khalfani was walked and she and Brown moved to second and third respectively, but they were left there stranded as Curtis struck out the next two batters. By then, the Big Red Machine
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Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producer and distributor of CocaCola products, will be the presenting sponsor of the event for the third time with sports drink Powerade. Sarah Kennedy, Event Director, said that Powerade’s support has been vital to the success and growth of the event in becoming the biggest triathlon in the Bahamas. “Rehydration is extremely important when competing in endurance events so we are very pleased to have high quality hydration options like Powerade and Dasani available for all athletes again this year,” she added. Athletes choose to compete all three disciplines or form a relay team. Following the adult race is a shortened Puppy Triathlon for children aged six to 14. “BAARK! is doing tremendously good work across the Bahamas with their Spay/Neuter and education programmes,” said Cara Douglas, CBC’s Marketing Manager. “We are happy to be able to support their efforts, while supporting our local athletic base here in the Bahamas.”
Best of the Best Sloop Sailing Regatta to hit Montagu in November By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WHEN the Star Sailors League came to the Bahamas last year, they forged a relationship with the local sailing community and now they are looking forward to putting on a mega sailing event in Montagu Bay called the Best of the Best Sloop Sailing Regatta. The event is scheduled for November 26 to December 5. “After they got an opportunity to sail our sloops, they decided that they want to make it an annual event in the Bahamas,” said Rev Dr Philip McPhee, the consultant at the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources. “This year, they came up with a plan on how they would want the Best of the Best to take place. That was important because im-
mediately, our Minister, V Alfred Gray and our permanent secretary, Renee Glinton, myself and the Regatta Desk, got together with them and we liaisoned over the year and came up with a plan for that event.” McPhee said they agreed to use the criteria of allowing only those sloops in the A, B and C Classes who have won a regatta during the course of the year to be able to compete in the Best of the Best Regatta. So far, all of the boats have been selected for both the A and B Classes, but McPhee said they will complete the final two spots for the C Class at the end of the Rock Sound Regatta that will take place in Eleuthera this weekend. Qualified for the A Class are the Running Tide, Courageous, Lady Muriel, Tida Wave and the Red Stripe.
McPhee said they are the top five boats in their class in the Bahamas and they will get an opportunity to determine who is the best in their class. Jeb Munroe, representing the Courageous, said they have one thing in mind and that is to win the title. “I can take you one thing. Everybody can expect the unexpected,” he said. “They all know what to expect, but they can expect the unexpected. I feel good. All the hope and pray for is the good Lord will send down some breeze and we’re taking it from there. Brooks Miller, Steve Smith, Stefan Knowles, Lundy Robinson, you better come ready because the Courageous will be ready.” As for the B Class, Susan Chase, the Barbarian, Queen Drucilla and Ants Nest have earned the rights to compete in the Best of
the Best Regatta. McPhee said they would look at the possibility of adding one more boat following the Harbour Island Regatta in October. In the C Class, the excitement is starting to brew with a total of 10 boats scheduled to compete. So far, there are a total of eight boats that have already booked their spot in the Best of the Best Regatta. When the regatta takes place, McPhee said only three boats in each class will compete in the final for the coveted trophies that will be presented to the eventual winners. “We will drop two boats in the A Class, two in the B Class and seven of the C Class,” McPhee said. “The finals will only be between three boats in each class.” As an added incentive, all of the sailors from the SSL will get an
opportunity to sail in the other C Class boats that will not be a part of the final. “The prizes are very good, some of the best prizes that we have had in the history of sailing,” he said. “It is going to be ran by professionals. It’s a regatta that we are placing a lot of emphasis on because we want to let the world know that we are capable of having professional races in the Bahamas.” McPhee stressed that the Best of the Best Regatta has certainly brought the local sailing community closer together and they hope to improve on some of the things that have hindered the sport in the past, including establishing their own Regatta House where they can meet on a frequent basis to discuss the affairs of the sport.
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