SPORTS SECTION E
WNBA
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
Finals, Page 3
Commonwealth Youth Games will be ‘a family affair’ By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ALL 70 countries registered in the Commonwealth made a commitment to attend the sixth Commonwealth Youth Games in July 2017, making it the first time in 50 years that a Commonwealth Games event will be staged in the Caribbean. The countries were a part of the meeting held on Friday in Edmonton, Canada where Bahamas Olympic Committee president Wellington Miller and vice president Roy Colebrooke gave a report on the progress of the Bahamas Commonwealth Games Association in preparation for the games. The last time that an event was held in the Caribbean was in 1966 when the Commonwealth Games was staged in Kingston, Jamaica.
“All 70 countries have confirmed that they will be attending and they are all excited that they will be coming here,” Miller said. “From all indications, it appears as if this is going to be the largest games that has ever been held in the Commonwealth Youth Games. “The Bahamas Commonwealth Games Association has gone all out to make sure that we covered all areas of concerns and they were quite pleased with our presentation to them, so it looks as if we will have a very successful games next year.” Miller said the BCGA is hoping to make the games a standard for all of the Commonwealth Youth Games to follow in the future. “We are ready and a lot of the countries have told us that they are going to make it a family affair when they come down here,” Miller said. “They are bringing their families to enjoy the
ROY Colebrooke and Wellington Miller at the Commonwealth Games meeting. Bahamas a week before or some will stay a week after.” When they began their initial preparation, Miller said there was a small group of four persons who had indicated to him that they are coming. He said the numbers in the group have now been swelled to 28 and they ex-
pect it to increase even more with their family and friends coming down. “It appears that everybody wants to use this time to come to the Bahamas either on a vacation or to see the Bahamas,” Miller said. “I believe that the Bahamas has a good name out there and people just want
to see us. “The rest of the Commonwealth wants to come to the Bahamas. We have had inquiries from all over the world. This is going to be a tremendous time for us in the Bahamas next year. We are really looking forward to it.” There are expected to be seven sporting disciplines contested during the games, one of which is rugby for boys and girls, which according to Miller, is already the biggest subscribed by the Commonwealth. “The Oceania countries indicated to us that rugby is their main sport and they are happy that rugby is a part of the games,” Miller said. “So the Bahamas should benefit from these countries coming here and playing the sport at such a high level.” Although the Bahamas was experiencing the passage of Hurricane Matthew
during the same time that the meeting was held, Miller said the countries have all expressed their concerns for the Bahamas. But Miller said from all indications, there was no major damage to the facilities that they will be using for the games, so they are going full steam ahead with the planning for next year. The games, geared towards boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 18, are scheduled to run from July 19-23 and will feature competition in athletics, beach soccer, boxing, road cycling, judo, rugby 7s, swimming and tennis. The Commonwealth Youth Games got started in 2000 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The second edition was held in Bendigo, Australia in 2004. That was followed in Pune, India in 2008 and then in the Isle of Man in 2011 with the last one held in Samoa in 2015.
Matthew forces best-of-3 playoffs By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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s expected, the New Providence Softball Association has reduced its best-offive playoff series to a best-ofthree showdown as a result of the damage left to the Banker’s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. According to NPSA president Henry Dean, Hurricane Matthew knocked out power to the facility at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, forcing the association to play their games on the weekend during the day. “We are reducing it to the best-of-three series for the playoffs and the championship will be a best-of-five series,” said Dean after they made a decision yesterday as they attempt to get completed with their championship before the Bahamas Softball Federation’s National Round Robin at the end of the month. “We will play four games on Saturday starting at 11am and play again on Sunday starting at 1pm. We will finish the first round because all of the teams have played one game each, so the winners need to win one more game and if they lose, they will finish up on Sunday.” Before the passing of Hurricane Matthew, the pennant winning Lady Wildcats took a 1-0 lead over the Bommer G Lady Operators and the Lady Truckers went up 1-0 on the defending champions Lady Stingers. The men’s division saw the pennant winning C&S Hitmen take a 1-0 lead over the Mighty Mitts and the defending champions Commando Security Truckers are up 1-0 over the BTC Elite Warriors. In the aftermath of the passage of Hurricane Matthew, Dean said the Banker’s field itself has not had any damage, but there is a lot of debris around the field and there is no power. “There’s no power in the area
THE AFTERMATH: A look at the damage caused by Category 4 Hurricane Matthew at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. Photo: Brent Stubbs/The Tribune and the lights have been damaged, it’s unfair to impose on BEC or the authorities to restore light here when homes are not lit,” Dean said. “So we are going to play during the day.” The best-of-five championships are anticipated to get underway on Saturday, October 22 and should be concluded on Sunday, October 23. The BSF Nationals for the championship teams from the
various island associations are scheduled for the weekend of October 27-30 at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. There’s no word from the BSF on whether or not the nationals will go on as planned. There has been extensive damage to the four fields at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex where the nationals intend to play during the day before switching to the Banker’s Field for the night games.
THE NPSA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE SATURDAY 11am - Wildcats vs Bommer G (L) 1pm - Truckers vs BTC Warriors (M) 3pm - Lady Truckers vs Lady Stingers (L) 5pm - Hitmen vs Mighty Mitts (M) SUNDAY 1pm - Lady Stingers vs Lady Truckers (L) 2:30pm - Bommer G vs Lady Wildcats (L) 4pm - Warriors vs Truckers (M) 5:30pm - Mighty Mitts vs Hitmen (M)) • Best-of-5 championship scheduled for next weekend
MAVIN SAUNDERS BECOMING A GREATER PART OF THE SEMINOLES’ OFFENCE By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AS he continues to become a greater part of the offence, Mavin Saunders has now recorded catches in three consecutive games for the Florida State Seminoles. Saunders finished with one catch for 11 yards in the No.23 Seminoles’ 20-19 thrilling win over the No.10 Miami Hurricanes Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. His lone catch came on a key third down conversion late in the third quarter on a drive that led to a touchdown and 17-13 FSU lead.
The Seminoles yard reception. eventually held In the followon for the upset ing game Saunders win when DeMarfinished with three cus Walker pushed catches for 74 yards, through the line and both career highs, in blocked Miami kickthe Seminoles’ 37-35 er Michael Badgley’s loss to the unranked point-after attempt North Carolina Tar with 1:38 remaining. Heels. It was the Seminoles’ Saturday’s game seventh straight in against Miami the storied interstate marked his third MAVIN SAUNDERS rivalry. consecutive game After seeing action sparingly in with a reception. the first three games of the seaSaunders has developed a habit son, Saunders saw increased min- of performing well against Miami. utes against USF when he caught In the 2015 season, in the the first his first pass of the season, a 12- start of his collegiate career, he
finished with three receptions for 26 yards in a 29-24 win over the Hurricanes. Saturday’s win means FSU still holds the second-longest active streak of AP Top 25 poll appearances. The Seminoles host Wake Forest on October 15, looking for their fifth straight win in that series. In other Division I football highlights from the weekend, other Bahamian players saw their teams emerge with wins in their respective conferences. Kato Fawkes and his Idaho Vandals scored a 34-31 win over the ULM Warhawks, to move to
3-3 in the season. The 6’4” 303-pound guard, a native of Freeport, Grand Bahama, graduated in May while he saw his first official game time as a member of the Vandals. In the 2014 season, he was sidelined with an injury and redshirted. In the American Athletic Conference, Chris Ferguson and the Cincinnati Bearcats fell to 3-3 with a 20-9 loss to the UConn Huskies. In the Colonial Athletic Association, Rondre KnowlesTener and the James Madison Dukes won 31-24 over the William and Mary Tribe to improve to 5-1 on the season and perfect in conference play.