The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

After six days of intense competition, Local Organising Committee chairman Romell Knowles was happy that the 6th Commonwealth Youth Games turned out to be the best ever.

“I would like to thank the hard-working team that I had behind me in putting on these very successful games,” he said. “The reviews from the CGF (Commonwealth Games Federation) have all been very positive.

“And the athletes and officials from the various countries said these games are definitely in the right place at the right time. So that makes me feel very good.”

More than $6.7 million was spent on hosting more than 1,100 athletes and officials from 64 countries in nine different disciplines at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Clifton Heritage Park and Malcolm Park beach soccer complex.

At the end of the competition last night, the Bahamas moved up on the medal chart from 20 to 17 with a total of one gold, two silver and 10 bronze for the island nation’s best showing ever.

England finished as the cream of the crop with 23 gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze for 51 medals. Australia was second with 14 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze for 39 medals and New Zealand got third with 31 medals, inclusive of eight gold, 14 silver and nine bronze.

Knowles, who serves as the chairman of the Local Organising Committee, said it was a very exhausting exercise, but the way they were able to host the games made it all worthwhile.

“When you look at the benefits of the games for these young athletes from the Bahamas, who pride in these games in not having won a medal from 2002, to now more medals that we count, it’s so gratifying,” Knowles said.

“We also have another story developing in a young athlete, who some nine months ago was homeless, but became a medallist at these games, has given me goose bumps and to say that the whole ride was worth it.”

Knowles said the Bahamas Olympic Committee decided to go after the games when St Lucia pulled out over a year ago because of the lack of finances because they wanted to inspire the young athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 who got to participate.

“I’m very grateful to these athletes for the time and energy they put into their training for the games,” said Knowles, the secretary general of the BOC.

“We wanted to host these games to measure our successes. Judo, obviously, passed with flying colours and athletics, swimming and beach soccer all made their presence felt. We know that boxing has some work to do along with one or two others, but we are right there.”

From winning no medals to winning 13 medals, Knowles said everybody who was involved from the organising to the participating and even the spectating, should be proud of what was accomplished in the Bahamas.

“We have a lot of national pride. The team that I worked with did extremely well,” he said.

“We showed the international community that we are capable of hosting multiple sport games with this being the first time in 50 years that the Commonwealth Games was held in Jamaica.

“We gave a good account of ourselves. We gave them first-class transportation, the venues were par excellent and the competition was top of the line.”

With this being a very busy 2017 here in the Bahamas, Knowles said the BOC will look at hosting more multiple events in the future, but it will be up to the international bodies who will take the opportunity to come to the Bahamas to continue what has been produced here this week.