The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net WITH the increasing popularity of road races and triathlons on the Bahamian calendar, Abaco island is all set to play host to the inaugural Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend (GAFFW). Promising a safe, fun, fast-paced weekend complete with racing and entertainment, the big event is scheduled for March 23-25 in Treasure Cay. It begins with a one-mile open water swim followed by a welcome reception for participants. And Saturday will be highlighted by the sprint, junior and Olympic triathlons, followed by a "Bahamian Night" awards reception dinner. The weekend concludes with a 5K/10K Fun Run/Walk on Sunday. Lee McCoy, managing director of the GAFFW, said the event is primed to become a welcome addition to the country's sports tourism product. "We are trying to bring the sport of triathlon back to Abaco," he said. "We just had Marathon Bahamas in Nassau and events like that are bringing in 2,000 room nights of occupancy for resorts. What we want to do is not only bring people to Nassau but to the Family Islands through sports tourism. Having it in Treasure Cay is great because they have the resources there, they have the space, it's less traffic, a beautiful beach and we are hoping to get tourists coming in, not only from South Florida and the rest of the world, but from Nassau and the other islands." The one-mile open water swim on the north side of Treasure Cay will be hosted by the Abaco Swim Club. The course will be an out and back, with buoys separating the middle of the course. The junior triathlon will feature a 150m swim, 5km (3.1 miles) bike and 2km (1.25 miles) run. The sprint triathlon will feature a 500m swim, 20km (12.4 miles) bike, and 5km (3.1 miles) run while the Olympic triathlon will be made up of a 1000m swim, 40km (24.8 miles) bike, and 10km (6.2 miles) run. The swim for each triathlon will be in the same location as the open water swim while the bike course will take place within Treasure Cay and along the SC Bootle Highway and the run course will be within the boundaries of Treasure Cay. Online registration is still available for the event at www.gaffw.com and applications will also be available from the Ministry of Tourism Office in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, and Nassau. "We have had a lot of inquiries about it already thus far. A lot of people have already stated that they will be coming. It is geared toward a family event so instead of one person, we offer full family participation," McCoy said. "We are hoping to have 300-500 people for the run/walk and, for the triathlon, if we can get 100 people that would be great, and for the one-mile open water swim, we should expect between 30-50 participants." While Treasure Cay Resort and the Ministry of Tourism have been on throughout the planning of the event, corporate sponsors are still welcome to join in support of this inaugural venture. Beneficiaries of the GAFFW include the Abaco Swim Club, Friends of the Environment (Abaco, Bahamas) and the Rotary Club of Abaco. Treasure Cay Beach was voted one of the region's top 10 beaches in a reader poll by Caribbean Travel & Life.