The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS we bring the curtain down on 2015 and usher in 2016, The Tribune Sports Department closes out its recognition of accomplishments by naming the Bahamas Swimming Federation, the Federation of the Year.

The honours follows the national recognition that the BSF received in November during the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Workforce Bahamas Year End Awards Banquet at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. The BSF was named the Federation of the Year, Algernon Cargill was named the Federation President of the Year, Andy Loveitt was named the Coach of the Year and Joanna Evans was named the Junior Female Athlete of the Year.

The only award that the BSF didn’t cart off was the Female Athlete of the Year with Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace falling a close runner-up to quarter-miler Shaunae Miller. Vanderpool-Wallace, 25, was a double medallist at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada with a gold in her specialty in the 50m free and a bronze in the 100m free. She also claimed two gold medals at the Bolzano International Swim Meet in Italy.

But when you add up all of the successes that the BSF achieved, starting off with their repeat chmpionship title at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados where Evans closed out her junior career by turning in a dominating performance that included meet records in both the 200 and 400m freestyle and the 400 individual medley before she went on to place sixth in the 800m freestyle at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Evans is now in her freshman year at the University of Texas where she parlayed a productive summer of international swimming into a strong start in her first semester of college in November. Evans posted the nation’s No. 4 time in the 1,000 freestyle (9:45.10) at North Carolina, and she added the nation’s No. 7 mark in the 1,650 freestyle (16:07.78) at the Texas Invitational. 

Loviett, the national coach of the year, incidentally coached Evans as she competed out of Grand Bahama. He was also the head coach of the two championship teams, the latter taking the national team honours for their efforts. The BSF is hoping to go for a three-peat in Martinique in April.

Surprised by his recognition as the federation’s president of the year, Cargill said all of their efforts speaks to the commitment that they have put into the sport since he first became the BSF president in 2003.

As an added feather in his cap, Cargill - an immediate past vice president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee - was elected as the first Bahamian elected to the FINA Bereau as the representative for CCCAN. His four-year appointment takes effect in 2017. It is equivalent to Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson’s historic election to the IAAF Congress in 1999 in Seville, Spain.

Cargill was also elected to serve on UANA, the regional governing body for swimming that covers Canada, North America, the Caribbean, Central America and part of South America, except Brazil.

“We’ve done a lot in terms of leadership, trying to move the federation forward as one of the more respected federations, not just in the Bahamas, but in the region,” Cargill said. “We have gotten a lot of respect in the region because of the development of a lot of our young athletes and now they are recognising us at the international region.

“When I was elected, I got the largest number of votes at the election and I was extremely pleased to be able to represent the Bahamas on the FINA Bereau for a four-year term. This year, I will start the four-year term as the executive.”

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations came in second after improving on their performance at the CARIFTA Games by taking second place in the medal haul with a total of 31, inclusive of eight gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze, trailing Jamaica’s 86 total of 42 gold, 25 silver and 19 bronze.

At the Pan American Games, the Bahamas collected a total of five medals, including a gold from Jeffery Gibson in the men’s 400m hurdles, and two silver from Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands and Bianca ‘BB’ Stuart in the men’s and women’s triple and long jumps respectively and a bronze from Donald Thomas in the men’s high jump.

And to cap it off, the Bahamas got two more medals at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China from Miller with her silver in the women’s 400m and Gibson with his bronze in the men’s 400m hurdles.

The Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, headed by Joel Stubbs, successfully hosted and won the 43rd edition of the Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships in October to finish in third place. Jimmy Norius was a double gold medallist, while Charles Reckley, Paul ‘Mighty Mouse’ Wilson and Dawn Charlton also struck gold.