The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S official. The Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational is returning for a second edition and it promises to be much better than the initial one in 2013 as the majority of athletes will be using the event as a springboard for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After a two-year hiatus, the invitational is all set for April 16 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. Quarter-miler Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown was in town to officially launch the invitational yesterday.

At the same time, Brown got the full commitment from the Bahamas Government, although Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson opted not to put a figure on the cost of hosting the event.

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations also threw its full support behind Brown and his former team-mate Pauline Davis-Thompson gave an endorsement from the IAAF, which is hoping to include the invitational in their regional series of meets starting in 2017.

“We not just want to showcase the athletes around the world, but the event is basically to help showcase the Bahamian talent and give them the exposure and also let the Bahamian public see what they don’t get a chance to see away,” Brown said. “This event will be a pre-warm up before the Olympic Games. Everyone who is not able to go to the Olympic Games in Rio, we are bringing Rio to the Bahamas and we are anticipating a full slate of athletes.”

Having set the bar with the initial invitational in 2013, Brown said he’s delighted to afford the opportunity for the junior athletes to mix and mingle with the international stars and, at the same time, allow the public to get a glimpse of what to expect in Rio.

“It’s very rear that our athletes get to perform at home, so our athletes, including myself, are excited about coming home and performing in front of the home crowd,” Brown said. “So we are taking full advantage of that.”

The invitational, according to Johnson, will be one of the many events already booked by the ministry to host over the next two years. This follows on the heels of Marathon Bahamas held over the weekend and LPGA Pure Silk Golf Tournament slated for next weekend.

While he declined to be specific on the exact amount budgeted for the invitational, Johnson noted that the government would be prepared to work with corporate Bahamas in making sure that the event is a success.

Already, the Mail Boat and Asa H Pritchard have come on board as sponsors and the local organising committee anticipates that others will join shortly. “I had a meeting this morning with BTC and some other people. Everyone is going into their budget cycles now,” Johnson said. “I was at a 99 cents breakfast and a lady mentioned that if it’s good, no one mentions how much it costs. But if it’s bad, they will kill you for that 99 cents breakfast.”

In that vein, Johnson said it’s important for corporate Bahamas to get involved in the event with the organising committee.

Brown, according to Johnson, will have to formalise their budgets and make their presentation. Once the event is completed, Johnson said they expect the committee to make a full declaration of their event.

However, Johnson declined to say exactly how much the government will be pumping into the invitational. He noted that he would like to see the other elite athletes like Pauline Davis-Thompson, Tonique Williams, Carl Oliver, Lavern Eve and Bradley Cooper all host their invitationals in the future.

But he did indicate that as long as the event continues, the government will support the invitational.

Davis-Thompson, speaking on behalf of the North American and Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) region, including the United States and Canada, said they are delighted to see that the invitational is back as it will serve as the genius of a series of events that will take place in the Caribbean in 2017.

“There are many athletes in this region who do not want to go to Europe before the Olympic trials or their World Championship trials,” she said. “So this meet being held right here in April fits right into the NACAC schedule and we want to see this meet grow from strength to strength.”

Davis-Thompson, who also serves as a councilwoman for the IAAF, said they are looking forward to the event being added to the NACAC schedule because the athletes prefer to come to our shores since they got their feet wet at the IAAF World Relays.

“Chris, as a former collegiate of you, I’m so proud of you. I will always be here for you and I will assist in any way that I can,” she said. “I just want to put everyone on notice that NACAC expects this to be on their series every year.”

Philip Gray, public relations officer for the BAAA, said they are also happy to partner with Brown, one of the country’s elite and most decorated athletes.

“Based on our discussions so far, we anticipate that the meet will be bigger and better with a lot more athletes participating than the first event,” he said. “We’re happy to partner with Chris as we are also looking at the High School Nationals at the same time and Mr Brown has indicated that he is willing to partner with us in that event also.”

The calibre of athletes expected, according to Gray, makes for an exciting invitational and they look forward to interacting with Brown and the visiting athletes.

Unlike the initial invitational, a relay event will be on the schedule which should allow Brown and the members of the men’s 4 x 400 metre relay team to compete against countries who are expected to bring in their teams to compete before the Olympics.

All of the events normally contested at a meet will be on tap, including a big showdown in the men’s triple jump that will feature Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands matched against Americans Christian Taylor and Will Claye in what is being dubbed the “Triple Threat.”