The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

IN honour of International Women’s Day, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) hosted a Women’s Sports Symposium on Friday to celebrate Bahamian women who have actively paved the way and are currently leading the charge in sports.

The women-centred event, under the the theme ‘Accelerating Action’, featured panelists from all walks of the local sporting community including Kelsie Johnson-Sills, Petra Haven, Leslia Miller-Brice, Jennifer Isaacs Dotson, Nikia Deveaux-Christie, Kimberley Rolle, Tonique Williams, Krystel Rolle and Larikah Russell.

Kelsie Johnson-Sills, the acting director of sports, spoke about what it meant to inspire the next generation of women in sports.

“It is like a bridge the gap moment for everyone here today because the younger persons don’t know Pauline [Davis] and cannot interact with her on a regular basis. They don’t know a Nikia Deveaux-Christie, who was the first female Bahamian swimmer at the Olympic games. This is basically an avenue for everyone to get together so we can bridge the gap, learn about sports, our history in sports and the dominance that women have in the Bahamian sporting landscape,” she said.

Johnson-Sills, who has taken her talents from the volleyball court to broadcasting and now sports administration, said it is important to show the next generation of women examples of others who have paved the way before them.

“You can never forget your history and never forget where you come from so in order to know where we are going we have to let the younger athletes know that these are the persons who actually set the trend for us and they are the ones who went out the gate first. 

“We didn’t have all of the technology that we have now but if they are able to hear their stories now they can be able to say ‘I can pattern my life after those persons’”, she said.

Kimberley Rolle, who currently serves as the athletic director at the University of The Bahamas, encouraged young women to follow in the paths of Bahamian trail blazers.

“I think all of the women who hold positions of leadership in sports hold a tremendous responsibility because everyday that you walk around you never know who you are inspiring. I just want to say to them that there are opportunities and to make sure you avail yourself of the opportunities and look around and see what some of the persons in the room are doing in terms of sports,” Rolle said. 

Rolle shared what it feels like to be a Bahamian woman in sports, especially during her days on the basketball court.

“It is a tremendous pride. I played for the national team from 1992 to 2002 and so it was a tremendous honour and I had some great success during that time. For me the CARICOM championships won and the ability to wear Bahamas on my chest meant a lot because I was representing my family, friends and church members,” she said. 

Bahamian Olympic swimmer Nikia Deveaux-Christie swam for The Bahamas at the 2004 Summer Olympics and continues to serve as an inspiration for young girls that swim today.

She expressed that there can still be more done to help young women on their journeys in sports.

“We have done a lot of work and we are doing a lot of great things when it comes to evolving in sports but I think there is still more to be done and we can still help these young women along in their journey to become amazing athletes and all around amazing people,” she said.

The 2007 Pan-Am bronze medallist shared what she believes can be done to provide more assistance to young women in sports.

“Just to have a bit more support and I want people to talk more about women in sports. There are a lot of us here who have done amazing things who you may not know about and maybe little girls don’t know that there is an avenue for them in swimming or horse racing.

“This is a good opportunity for us to just start talking about building platforms and programmes. I think we need grassroots programmes to help kids in schools really realise their dreams as athletes,” she said.

The panelists had the opportunity to share their words of wisdom with highschoolers eager to soak up knowledge from some of the most iconic Bahamian women in sports.

Brianna Farrington, an eleventh grader at CI Gibson, talked about the significance of sports in her life.

“It is important because you can get scholarships and see the world while doing something that you like. For me I like playing sports because I get to play with people I like and get the experience with them,” she said.

Farrington currently plays soccer, basketball and intends to play volleyball in the future. She spoke about what it means to be a young woman in sports. “It means a lot because you do not see a lot of young women in sports. It means a lot to me to do something that not everybody else is doing,” she said.

Latisha St Ford, who attends CR Walker, said she appreciates the camaraderie among other girls when competing in her sport - track and field.

“It is the adrenaline rush when it comes to the races. It is pretty cool and getting to know other girl athletes. It is a nice kind of communication because we all connect and know how it is to run the same sport,” she said.

She enjoyed the Women’s Sports Symposium and said it was encouraging. “It is very important because they really inspire us. It doesn’t matter what age or what school, they always give us encouragement to do better or to be like them in the future,” she said.