The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER spending more than four decades playing, coaching and administrating the game of volleyball, Cora Hepburn is now serving in her first term as a vice president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee.

Next year, she will hold the distinction of being the first Bahamian female to carry out her duties as the chef de mission for Team Bahamas at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Rommel Knowles, BOC president, made the official announcement on Wednesday night in the foyer of the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium where the BOC awarded the athletes, coaches and officials of Team Bahamas for their performances at the recent Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

"It was an easy decision to make," said Cargill, a former volleyball player, coach and executive himself. "She's held a lot of firsts in terms of sports in the country, including being our first chairman of females in Sports Commission.

"So it was a natural fit for us to appoint her as the Chef de Mission, She's eminently qualified and we know that she will do a very good job. We've changed things a bit. She's one of two females on our board (Oria Wood is the other, serving as assistant secretary-general) and so it's the female time."

Hepburn, who started playing volleyball at the age of 13, said she's honoured for the appointment of Chef de Mission, the title of the team manager of a national delegation in major international multi-discipline sporting events, such as the Olympic Games.

"I am elated that I was appointed because the IOC is about gender equality and pushing for females in leadership roles on the IOC Board," said Hepburn, who moved up the ranks from player to coach to president in both the New Providence Volleyball Association and Bahamas Volleyball Federation.

"So I see this as something that other Caribbean countries will definitely follow because I've seen quite a number of females at the Chef de Mission meeting a couple of days ago in Tokyo.

"I'm not sure if they are all chef de missions, but I am sure that they will be playing some significant role in their countries."

Hepburn has been endorsed by BOC vice president Roy Colebrook, who served as the chef de mission for the past two Olympics in London, England in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.

"We believe in this administration that opportunities should present itself for both males and females to progress," Colebrook said. "Cora Hepburn is the first female and it's a great opportunity for more women to take their rightful places."

The XXXII Olympic Games is scheduled for July 24 to August 9, 2020, and Hepburn will have the responsibility of managing the Bahamian contingent that will be named for the various disciplines next year.