The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RIGHT on the heels of watching some of the world’s elite athletes in action, some of the future Bahamian stars are expected to take the spotlight this week at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

Under the theme, ‘In Pursuit of Excellence in Athletics,’ the three-day meet is all set to begin 10am today with more than 22 schools from New Providence taking part.

Sponsored by Aliv, the Department of Education’s New Providence Public Primary Schools Sports Association Championships will wrap up on Friday.

Lionel Sands, director of education, thanked Aliv for their monetary sponsorship of the championships and he hopes that it will be ongoing.

Bianca Bethell-Sawyer, Aliv events and sponsorship manager, said as the newest telecommunications company in the country, they are delighted to be partnering with the Ministry and the NPPPSSA in sponsoring the championships.

“Sports is popular across many demographic portions of our country,” she stated.

“Supporting the association underscores our commitment to encourage growth and development in the Bahamas.

“We feel as though whenever we invest in our youth and in sport, it can impact the entire community and we are honoured to be able to take part.”

Bethell-Sawyer said they would be providing monetary contributions as they invest in the children of the country, who need as much help as possible.

“We can now officially say that the New Providence Primary Schools Track and Field Championships is powered by Aliv,” she said.

Sands also commended the 22 participating schools and he said he was happy to see where the young people can go in the future.

“I wish to commend the coaches in those schools who have spent hours and hours trying to prepare these young people for this event,” he said.

Additionally, he also thanked Dawn Knowles for the role she has played in the operation of the sports competition over the years.

“Let those games begin,” he said.

Cleveland Eneas is the defending champions and head coach Mariska Stubbs-Thompson said they will be going for their fifth title overall.

“With the help of the Lord and the hard work and dedication, hopefully Cleveland Eneas will come out on top,” she projected.

“But I have a lot of other competitive schools, so I know it will be very, very competitive over the next three days.

“This is the feeder system, so I hope that more people will come out and support our children over the next three days with the running, throwing and jumping.”

Margaret Major-Albury, president of the NPPPSSA, said when the event gets started at 10am, the 1,200m, 800m, 200 and 400 metres timed finals will be in the spotlight. There will also be a number of field events contested during the day.

The official opening ceremonies are set for 11am on Thursday.

Dawn Knowles, the Ministry’s Primary Schools physical education officer, said the tickets are the same at $1 for students, $2 for general admission and $5 for the VIP section.