The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

As the country prepares to host the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, expect Team Bahamas to continue to roll out its rosters for the respective disciplines.

The Bahamas Swimming Federation named a 14-member swim team for the upcoming event, to be hosted July 17-23 in New Providence. The swim team is made up of 10 boys and four girls.

The girls’ team will be led by standout Lilly Higgs, 16, who has also represented the Bahamas on CISC, FINA World Junior and FINA World Championship teams.

In April, she was the high-point scorer for the Bahamas with her 65 points, as they captured the 2017 CARIFTA Swimming Championships for the third time in four years.

Other team members include 16-year-old Victoria Russell, 15-year-old Virginia Stamp and 13-year-old Katelyn Cabral.

The boys’ team will also be led by several of the top swimmers the country last saw perform at the CARIFTA meet.

Davante Carey (14), who totalled 43 points,  Kevon Lockhart (14) with 38 points and Izaak Bastian (15) who scored 37 points, will all be members of the Commonwealth Youth Games team.

Other members include Miller Albury (17), Trent Albury (14), Peter Morley (15), Ian Pinder (14), William Russell (16), Alec Sands (17) and Kenaz Sweeting (16)

The CYG will feature 70 countries and thousands of participating athletes across nine sporting disciplines.

Athletes will compete in athletics, swimming, beach soccer, boxing, cycling, judo, rugby sevens, tennis and beach volleyball. It will be the first time judo, beach soccer and beach volleyball will be contested at the event.

The CYG facilitates boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 18 and this year’s event will mark the first time in 50 years that the Caribbean will host a Commonwealth Games event, coming off the Empire Games that was staged in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1966.

It was just about a year and-a-half ago when St Lucia pulled out of hosting the games and the Bahamas put in a bid with Glasgow and Sri Lanka.

In 2000, the Commonwealth Games Federation, headed by president Louise Martin of Scotland, hosted the first Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh. The second games was in 2004 in Bendigo, Australia. It went to Pune, India for the third edition in 2008 and The Isle of Man hosted the 2011 with the 5th edition in Samoa in 2015.

Seven sports were contested at the 2015 Games in Samoa. However, the Bahamas did not participate due to being sidetracked by fear of a dengue and chikungunya outbreak.

The first Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Scotland in August 2000 where 733 athletes from 14 countries competed in eight sports over three days.

The second edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games took place in Australia in December 2004 and saw over 1,000 athletes and officials from 22 countries in a 10-sport programme.

The third Youth Games were held in the Indian city of Pune October 12-18, 2008 where 71 nations and territories participated in nine sports.

A decision was taken by the Commonwealth Games Federation at their general assembly in 2005 to move the Youth Games outside of the Olympic Games year and in doing so awarded the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games to the Isle of Man.

At the Isle of Man Games, The Bahamas competed in two of eight disciplines - athletics (track and field) and cycling.

The other sports were badminton, boxing, gymnastics for men and women, rugby 7s and swimming.