The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOR the second consecutive year, attendance was down in the Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic. And with the emergence of a new, all-encompassing national tournament on the horizon, Charles Robins, the newly elected president of the BBF, said that organisers around the country must do a better job accommodating schools and their events. Just two schools from Grand Bahama (Eight Mile Rock Bluejays and Sunland Stingers), two from Abaco (Agape and SC Bootle) one from Bimini (Gateway), and one from Eleuthera (Central Eleuthera), attended this year's event. Robins suggests using the smaller tournaments throughout the year as a qualifier for larger events like the Hugh Campbell and prospective Nationals. "We need to start using some of these tournaments as qualifiers for the Nationals. With the economy the way it is now, you can only travel one, maybe two times. So even as far down as San Salvador, you need to make sure their situation gets cleared up so you can take winners from down there. "Abaco has a very good team in Agape and we need to get involved with Abaco and see how many qualifying teams we can get from their tournament," he said. "I believe Grand Bahama and Nassau should have the most teams in the tournament because of the leagues, but every team in the island should be well-represented by their best teams if you want to have a true national tournament." The last Family Island team to claim the Hugh Campbell title was the Tabernacle Falcons who won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. Along with other powerhouses from the nation's second city such as the St George's Jaguars (winner of this year's Grand Bahama title), Sir Jack Hayward Wildcats and Catholic High Crusaders, they have missed the last two editions. The RM Bailey Pacers won in 2011 followed by the CC Sweeting Cobras this year. "The biggest problem now is our scheduling with the Nationals. I think more teams were going to come this year but I think in preparation for the Nationals, they were only looking to make one trip. In Freeport it is very rough and financing is one of the major things holding back the GB teams. I think if they can finance and raise money they would be here. They now realize that this tournament is for the kids, this is what the senior boys play for," he said. "I personally believe that if we can't get it in this year, we should sit down and have a meeting with all the major players, then we can go ahead and do it next year, but there is no rush to get it done right away this year."