The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FOR the second consecutive year, Blue Chip Athletic Club will be putting on their Winter Throwers Camp with an emphasis on improving the level of the discipline in the track and field community as well as providing an avenue for at least three Bahamians to earn athletic scholarships.

This year’s camp is scheduled for Friday to Sunday at Queen’s College and will once again be conducted by local coaches Bradley Cooper, Julianna Duncanson, Ronald Cartwright, Patrick Adderley and Corrington Maycock.

Additionally, April Smith, an assistant coach from Fresno State University in Fresno, California, is expected in town to lend her expertise as well as scout the talent available for the scholarships.

“I want kids that we can actually identify and get them into clubs so that we can boost our talent pool for the throwing events,” said Maycock, the camp coordinator. “As you know, the throwing events is what we as coaches are focusing on and so every time I bring in a coach, I want them to be able to offer our athletes a scholarship.”

Interested persons are invited to come out 4pm Friday to register and get some important information that they will need once the camp officially gets started 9am Saturday and Sunday. The registration fee for each camper is $25.

The campers will be instructed on throwing the three implements - discus, shot put and javelin.

“April Smith has a total of three international scholarships and between myself, Bradley (Cooper) and Ronald (Cartwright), we have about five athletes who can take advantage of them,” Maycock said. “Last year, Serena (Brown) and LaQuell (Harris) got one to go to James Madison University.

While Harris, who graduated from Queen’s College last year, was able to fulfil the commitment and is now a freshman at James Madison, Brown opted out and last month signed her letter of intent to go to Texas A&M in August after she would have graduated from St Augustine’s College in May.

Maycock is appealing to all throwers in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands to take advantage of this opportunity to learn a little more about the event from the coaches, including Smith, who has already committed to return next year.

“We are just trying to build on the camp,” Maycock said. “Some of the kids are looking forward to it, especially those who knew what happened last year. What we changed this year, is that we went to all of the high schools, government and private, and we offered them a package where they can do $25 for individual registration as opposed to the $50 that they had to pay last year.

“We want to improve from the 33 kids we had last year to do anywhere from 50-80 and then hopefully grow the camp to where we have at least 500 campers and we have some foreign athletes come in as we go from three days to at least one week.”