The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With the general elections over and done with, defeated Free National Movement candidate Drumeco Archer said he’s now committed to restoring the trust and the interest in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations.

Archer, who is currently serving as the president of the BAAA, lost in the election for the seat to veteran Alfred Sears on Thursday. He said the “people have spoken” and he’s now prepared to move on.

“My position with track and field is no different,” he stressed. “I believe that there is a lot of work that needs to be done and if you are in it for the right reasons, win, lose or draw, life is a sport. Sometimes you will win and sometimes you will lose.

“But what is even more beautiful about life is there’s an opportunity for you to continue to do the work and that’s how I see it and that’s how I believe we should approach things. If there is room for work to be done and people are accepting of me to do the work, then I will continue to do my work.”

With the elections behind him, Archer said he just wants to continue to do what is right. But having just faced one of their foes in the elections, Archer said he’s confident that there won’t be any strain with the PLP as he returns to the office of the BAAA.

“I don’t expect that there will be any negative influences that will impact the association in any way,” he insisted.

“I have always run the association and given my service to the sport without there ever being any influences of animosity or politics in the work that I do. My period of working at the executive level of track and field was never an issue and I don’t see that happening now.”

As he returned to the office of the BAAA, Archer said there are some unsettled matters that they have to deal with in reference to their partners, including the Bahamas Olympic Committee, which they hope to rectify.“I’m looking forward to the time when we can all come to the middle and find an opportunity to cause us to exit together for the betterment of the sport,” said Archer, without going into any details.

Looking back at the season, Archer said the Bahamas’ appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was the best ever with Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo capturing the gold medal in the men and women’s 400 metres and Devynne Charlton finishing sixth in the final of the women’s 100m hurdles.

“I do believe that as a programme, there’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said. “There’s still a wide gap between those who are at the top and those who are trying to get to the very top.

“It’s not a comfortable position to be in because in order to build programmes, you can’t just build a programme on two individuals. We have to diversify and build programmes that will make us competitive on an ongoing basis.

“I think Devynne Charlton delivered a heavy punch to the improvement of the programme with her performance, but more work needs to be done and that goes across the board.”

At the junior level, Archer said it was disheartening that the CARIFTA Games was postponed for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19, but he’s keeping his fingers crossed that the region can weather the storm and get back to the competitive level it enjoyed up to 2020.

“We hope that we can get back to a stage of normalcy where we can get in the international competitions and our athletes can continue to secure athletic scholarships to go on to college and university to continue their education through sports.”

In reference to whether or not he will continue to pursue his political aspirations or not, Archer said with things so “fluent,” he will wait to see what lies ahead of him.

“But what I can say is that the country continues to look for people who are committed to work and I’m always committed to working,” he said without confirming or denying if he will return in 2027, the proposed projected year for the next elections, unless changed by the Progressive Liberal Party.