The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH the task was much greater than anticipated, Bahamas Judo Association president D’Arcy Rahming said they weathered the storm and Team Bahamas was able to pull off a successful hosting of their first Carifta Judo Championships.

The two-day event was held on Friday and Saturday at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium with the Bahamas securing the win with 236 points and 38 medals, inclusive of 11 gold, 11 silver and 26 bronze.

Trinidad & Tobago picked up second place with 44 points and five medals – three gold and two silver. Suriname rounded out the top three with 30 points and three gold.

Rahming, whose son D’Arcy Rahming Jr coached Team Bahamas, said they got an eye opener, not only from the logistics of putting on the event, but also from the performances turned in.

“We didn’t know how much work and energy it took to pull something like this off,” Rahming said. “Not only did we have a wonderful group of people who were flexible in volunteering and worked their butts of to make it happen, we also had a real unification of the judo community in the Caribbean.

“While some of the other countries did not come to other tournaments because the level of competition was not high enough, the Carifta brand brought them out and so I was surprised how competitive the teams were because they had a lot of athletes training in Europe for their international competition.”

Coming into the event, Rahming said Team Bahamas expected a walk in the park, but they were surprised that the quality of the Caribbean judo was very high.

“This was higher than the regional tournaments that we have competed in,” he said. “I thought those tournaments that we competed in were tough, but this was twice as hard as that.

“But we came prepared. I think our national training center (at Holy Family Catholic Church) really helped us. That was why we were able to take advantage of getting all of our people together to make things happen.”

Just about all of the six participating countries had Olympians serving as coaches and trainers on their respective teams, according to Rahming, which helped to increase the level of competition.

“Those guys (coaches) have qualified Olympians like the team from Suriname and Aruba,” Rahming said. “So the technical aspect of the event was very high, but we managed to prevail with what we had.

“I’m very proud of our team because many of these kids competed against competitors with many years of experience and a lot of them only had about eight months of training. So that shows you the strength of our programme.”

During the competition, Rahming said Team Bahamas had guys who beat out Black belt competitors and, junior national champions and even some competitors who are ranked.

“It wasn’t a run over because other countries did well, but we did the best as you can see by the results,” Rahming pointed out.

The performances by Team Bahamas served as a test for the BJF as they prepare to participate in the Commonwealth Youth Games, scheduled at the same venue in July.

“It’s a confidence booster and it gave us a chance to see what we need to improve on in our organization,” he stressed. “There were several things that could be improved, but you wouldn’t know unless you actually ran into it.

“We also got to test our technology and all of our officials and because of what we saw, this should be a super Commonwealth Youth Games.”

The federation is expected to eventually name a 16-member team to represent the Bahamas in all eight divisions of the Commonwealth Youth Games as they intent to build on what they accomplished at Carifta.

“We want to take them up to Europe after school closes for a month so that they can do some training,” Rahming projected. “The Brits have split their teams up into several parts – Brits, Irish and Scottish – and so they will be having their number one, two, three and four teams coming down here.

“This won’t be a calk walk. This is going to be a very hard tournament. We will be having some very good teams here with some very good fighters, so we should see some very good competition here again at the Commonwealth Youth Games.”

At the conclusion of the competition, Rahming said they had a chance to celebrate at a home in Westridge where everybody got a chance to eat, drink and mingle with each other.

But after holding a meeting with their local officials, Rahming said they are also looking at showing their appreciation to the parents for throwing their support behind their children.

He said a team celebrations will be coming very shortly.

Here’s a look at the individual Carifta medalists:

Male divisions

Under-15 under 42kg - 1. Patrick Chesron (Suriname), 2. Brandon Cox (Bahamas), 3. Xavion Johnson (Bahamas), 3. Keith Saunders (Bahamas).

Under-15 under 50kg – 1. Luca Chiacchari (Bahamas), 2. Gerald Georges (Bahamas), 3. Takeel Garrmurphey (Bahamas), 3. Tyron Scavella (Bahamas).

Under-15 under 60kg – 1. Lopez Giovanni (Bahamas), 2. Matthew Gittens (Bahamas). 3. Adam Charles (Bahamas).

Under-15 over 60kg – 1. Trevor Cumberbatch (Bahamas).

Under-21 under 60kg – 1. Desmond Bootle (Bahamas), 2. Levon Bethel (Bahamas), 3. Artio McPhee (Bahamas), 3. Davante Sweeting (Bahamas).

Under-21 under 73kg – 1. Luke Walker (Trinidad), 2. Andrew Munnings (Bahamas), 3. Taliano Ferguson (Bahamas), 3. Darrion Cornelia (Curacao), 5. Wendell Cathalina (Curacao).

Under-21 under 90kg – 1. Desmando Bootle (Bahamas), 2. Xavier Jones (Trinidad & Tobago); 3. Keyon Cumberbatch (Bahamas), 3. Tyrone Scavella (Bahamas).

Under-21 90kg – 1. Yvanleah Maria (Curacao), Daleon Sweeting (Bahamas), Staveros McIntosh (Bahamas), 3. Larry Marshall (Bahamas).

Female divisions

Under-15 under 40kg – 1. Sara Thompson (Bahamas), 2. Arianna Mitchell (Bahamas).

Under-15 under 48kg – 1. Charlize Pomo (Suriname), 2. Alexia Smith (Bahamas), 3. Naja Rolle (Bahamas).

Under-15 under 57kg – 1. Asia Bullard (Bahamas), 2. Trenice Cumberbatch (Bahamas), 3. Ria Greene (Barbados), 3. Madelyn Macknack (Barbados).

Under-15 over 57kg – 1. Kaylee Roberts (Bahamas).

Under-21 under 48kg – 1. Tatiana Sommandas (Suriname), 2. Jasmine Russell (Bahamas), 3. Alisha Smith (Bahamas).

Under-21 under 57kg – 1. Taryn Butler (Bahamas), 2. Emmazira Kelly (Aruba), 3. Mya Beneby (Bahamas), 3. Aniah Clarke (Barbados), 5. Tara Bain (Bahamas).

Under-21 under 70kg – 1. Ravan Pennerman (Bahamas), 1. Latesha Gill (Trinidad & Tobago), 1. Breanna Major (Bahamas), 3. Rachel Rolle (Bahamas).

Under-21 over 70kg – 1. Karra Hanna (Bahamas), 2. Gabriella Wood (Trinidad & Tobago), 3. Faith Rae (Bahamas).