Published On:Tuesday, January 26, 2010

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE biggest sporting event this year for the Bahamas national teams will take place in Delhi, India in October.

And chef de mission Roy Colebrooke said the wheels are already in motion to have the Bahamas ready to compete at the Commonwealth Games.

"In October, we were in India for the preliminary meeting," said Colebrooke, who attended the meeting with Bahamas Olympic Association president Wellington Miller. "The meeting is normally held a year out to see where the facilities and the planning of the games are.

"When we were down there, there were a number of sites and facilities under construction. So when we go back to the chef meeting in March 7-12, we will get a chance to see exactly what is completed and ensure that all of the ground work is structured the way they had projected it to be."

Colebrooke, a vice president of the BOA and president of the Bahamas Cycling Federation, said one of the main area of concern that they definitely be looking at is the Games Village where the athletes and officials are expected to stay during the games, scheduled for October 3-12.

"The organising committee in Delhi have been working very hard to ensure that these a successful games," Colebrooke pointed out.

It's not just yet confirmed, but Colebrooke said the BOA is expected to field team to represent the Bahamas at the games in the core sports of athletics (track and field), aquatics (swimming), boxing and cycling.

But Colebrooke said they will also be looking at some of the disciplines such as gymnastics to see if they will be able to field a team. The other disciplines to be contested at the games are archery, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7-a-side, squash, table tennis, wrestling, badminton, hockey, shooting and weightlifting.

At the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia in 2006, India had indicated that they will not only accommodate all of the visiting athletes and officials in Delhi, but they will also provide their airfare travel as well.

Colebrooke said at the meeting in October, the organisers had indicated that the deal was still on the table, but he will have to wait until they return for the chef's meeting to ascertain if that is still going to be the case in October.

"Changes are made in India almost every day," Colebrooke said. "But at the chef meeting, everything will be locked in. But at the meeting in October, they did say they were going to pay for the airfare and the accommodations of the athletes and officials."

With the games about 8-9 months out, Colebrooke said the BOA will be working feverishly to ensure that the Bahamas is well represented in each of the disciplines that the athletes will compete in.