The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THERE is expected to be plenty of excitement at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Nine-Hole Driving Range as the final stages of the 2026 Bahamas National School Golf Championships are completed.

Today’s crowning of the junior and senior boys and girls champions will cap what has been another competitive tournament organised by the Fourteenth Golf Academy and the BGF’s Junior Programme.

While the primary school and junior divisions set the stage over the first three days of competition, the senior divisions are expected to provide the final fireworks.

The Queen’s College Comets are hoping to build on the strong performances from their junior teams heading into the senior competition.

“Our team is good all around,” said Sandra Hobbs, one of the Comets’ coaches. “We have been working on this for a couple of years now and we’re hoping that our players will do very well this year.”

Hobbs noted that with Luke Graham, last year’s second-place finisher, and Chemari Pratt leading the senior boys and girls divisions respectively, the Comets should be able to make some noise.

“So I expect Luke and Chemari to lead the team into victory,” Hobbs said. “The level of competition is good, but over the years we have seen a decline in participation from some teams.”

Hobbs said she hopes the tournament continues to grow because it gives student-athletes a chance to showcase their skills.

“I remember when the tournament got started, we had players like Michel Knowles and Luke Graham. They were in grade seven and now they are in grade 12. We were tied with Windsor and had to go to a playoff and they beat us by two,” Hobbs said.

“These boys will be leaving QC, so they want to ensure they leave their legacy. It would mean a lot to them to win in their final year.”

If Queen’s College hopes to emerge on top, they will have to dethrone Windsor Academy, the defending champions in all categories.

“We are looking strong again this year,” said Windsor Academy coach Katie Roach. “We have four teams again this year. Our junior girls will have to work the hardest because they are a young team, but they are putting themselves out there and will try to play their best golf possible.

“But there’s always pressure to repeat. The game has grown among the youth. They are raising the standard. There is more talent out there, but we don’t shy away from the challenge.”

Roach said Windsor will also have to contend with Queen’s College, Lyford Cay and St Andrew’s, but their goal is to outperform them all.

Another contender is St Augustine’s College, whose Big Red Machine teams are entered in all four categories.

“They have been really focused,” said Daria Adderley, one of SAC’s coaches. “This is our third year in the championships and we’ve been training.

“We’ve been out at least three times every week and the kids are constantly here working on their game, so I’m looking forward to us moving up in the standings and getting some teams on the podium.”

Adderley said several of their junior boys who began in the tournament have since joined the junior programme, while others joined the team after competing at the primary level.

“If we can get our junior boys and hopefully our senior girls on the podium, we would be quite satisfied with our performances this year,” she said.

Although Aquinas College is not yet among the contenders, coach Ricardo Freemantle said he is pleased to bring the Aces’ junior boys team to gain experience.

“These guys have been practising with their personal coaches, some for the past two years and some for the past four years,” Freemantle said.

“Some of them started at the primary school level, so they are seasoned. I think as they continue to play, they will get better. Hopefully we can get enough girls to bring another team next year.”

One of the schools that has steadily improved over the years is St Cecilia’s Strikers. Coach Antonia Richards said about 20 competitors participated across all four primary divisions.

“There was a lot more competition from the participants than we had in previous years,” Richards said. “So we did well considering what we faced.”

St Cecilia’s finished third behind repeat champions Poitier Golf Home School and Eva Hilton Primary School in the team standings.

Richards said she was particularly impressed with the performances of Jermany Dawkins and Vyora Adderley in the lower primary division, and Caelyn Mackey in the upper primary division, all of whom finished among the tournament’s top ten performers.

“This wasn’t our best result, but we’re getting better because the scores were lower,” Richards said. “It was our best performance in terms of play, even if the results didn’t reflect that.”

The Poitier Golf Home School team saw Zaire Poitier capture the overall individual title, while twin sisters Zeden and Zion Poitier finished second and third overall.