SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
NFL PICKS
Week 3, Pages 2 & 3
Bahamians in World Baseball Classic Qualifier tonight By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net uited up for Team Great Britain, several Bahamian players are expected to open play tonight in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. Great Britain takes on Israel 7pm Thursday at MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York in the final qualifier for the 2017 WBC. They will play their second game of the tournament 7pm Friday against an opponent to be determined and look to advance to Saturday’s semi-final. Brazil, Great Britain, Israel and Pakistan will compete over the course of the four-day contest to decide the 16th and final entry in the 2017 WBC. The winner of Sunday’s championship game will travel to Seoul, South Korea, next March and compete against host Korea, The Netherlands and Chinese Taipei in Pool B of the WBC 2017.
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SEVERAL PLAYERS EXPECTED TO SUIT UP FOR TEAM BRITAIN All the games will be streamed live and free of charge on MLB. com. Veteran Bahamian players Antoan Richardson (Southern Maryland, Atlantic League) and Albert Cartwright (Ottawa, CanAm League) are in their second tenure with Great Britain. This time around they will be joined by a talented group of young Bahamian players including Ali Knowles (Garden City, Pescos League), Jasrado Chisholm (Arizona Diamondbacks, MLB), Kyle Simmons (Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB), Todd Isaacs (Cleveland Indians, MLB), Reshard Munroe (Cincinnati Reds, MLB), Byron Murray (San Francisco Giants, MLB) and Champ Stuart (New York Mets, MLB). Great Britain will be managed by Liam Carroll as the team bids to make its second appearance at the WBC. With Richardson and
Cartwright on the roster, Great Britain went 1-2 during the 2013 Qualifier played in Regensburg, Germany, where it made its debut in the WBC. As for why the Bahamas, with so many players available to make up a team, is not playing as a country, Bahamas Baseball Federation President Teddy Sweeting addressed the issue in a previous interview with The Tribune. He said they are working on developing a strong relationship with Major League Baseball with the view of granting the Bahamas the rights to be included in international play. “We have been in contact with them back and forth from the beginning of 2015, trying to see whether the Bahamas could have submitted a team in the preliminary rounds, which would then afford you, if you win your pool, the opportunity to play in the actual
World Baseball Classic,” Sweeting said. “We were advised that they will do some research and get back to us. When they came back, they advised us that the International Baseball Federation does the recommendation for all of the countries that are afforded the opportunity to play in the World Baseball Classic.” When they did, Sweeting said the federation was informed that the Bahamas would not be granted permission due to its inactivity in international baseball. “We had set out a plan, which was to begin in 2015 when we, in collaboration with us sending a youth team to compete, didn’t compete because we were not properly registered,” Sweeting said. “So we did not attend in 2015. “This is now 2016 and we are now in preparation to sending a
under-16 youth team to Mexico to compete in the Pan Am qualifier for 2017. That looks very promising so that we can actually start the process of qualifying for the World Baseball Classic to be considered for the preliminary rounds.” Despite the ongoing feud with the Bahamas Baseball Association, Sweeting said the BBF is forging ahead with the view of getting its national teams prepared for the road to the World Baseball Classic. “Our goal now is to get a team prepared to compete next month, then prepare for the under-23 AU next year in 2017 and then in 2018 prepare to send a team to represent the country at the Central American and Caribbean Games,” Sweeting said. “If we do well in that, which is a qualifier for the Pan American Games, the following year, that would move us into 2019 and hopefully 2020 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan where baseball is added back.”
$1-Day Jr Tennis Clinic continues this weekend ON Saturday, The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) held a Junior Tennis Clinic at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. The $1-Day Clinic was a success as kids ranging from four to 14 years were introduced and, in some cases, reintroduced to the rudiments of tennis.
Supervisor of the clinic, Barbara Carey organised the play and stay session. Coach Kevin Major led the children in various drills. Also on hand were some of the country’s top juniors - Afrika Smith, Donte Armbrister and Sierra Donaldson. These youngsters who are returning from an International Tennis Federation
(ITF) tour this summer were able to assist coach Major in instructing the kids on their forehands and backhands. Kristen Major and Dentry Mortimer also took the time to assist with the younger kids. “Some of the children at the clinic never held a tennis racquet before so this initiative by the BLTA will surely produce
some new talent to the sport. “Many of the kids expressed the sentiment that they always wanted to play tennis. The sport is seen as very exciting. The young boys and girls at the clinic took great delight when they had an opportunity to play ‘one on one’ with their junior instructors,” said a press release. The $1-Day Jr Tennis Clinic
will continue 9am to 10:30am this Saturday at the NTC. Kids aged five to 14 years old are invited. All kids who are interested in tennis and want to get a start are kindly invited to come and be a part of this clinic. The BLTA continues its efforts to grow tennis in The Bahamas. The future looks bright for this vibrant sport.
Beach soccer and the Bahamas are a perfect match By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AS the build up for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 continues, local stakeholders continue to promote the country and the upcoming historic event to the international beach soccer community. Bahamas Football Association President Anton Sealey and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson spoke about the event in a series of interviews with Beach Soccer Worldwide during the latest World Cup Qualifier in Jesolo, Italy. In an event expected to revolutionise the sport in the country, 16 teams from around the world will be taking part in the tournament hosted April 27 to May 7, 2017 at the new beach soccer stadium, currently under construction near the Nassau side of the Paradise Island Bridge. The new beach soccer facility at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge has an expected completion date of November this year. “Bahamians are naturally a very passionate people and we get
passionate about the things that we love. I think you will see that once this game is introduced to them fully and at the World Cup level they will get behind it and support it very enthusiastically,” Sealey said. “Naturally, once the kids [home] and the clubs [home] see the level of play, the skill involved, the organisation involved, it will naturally give us an initial boost. The challenge for the administrators in the BFA is to maintain the obvious passion that we know will come with this game and the obvious interest that will accrue once they have witnessed this level of play. People will automatically be turned on to the game and the challenge for the administration is to maintain that enthusiasm and excitement. We know that competitions such as this always raises the level of excitement and interest. You will find people coming out who have never come to a beach soccer match or any football match in the past.” Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Poland advanced to the tournament at the qualifier in Italy, joining Tahiti and the Bahamas as teams that have qualified thus far.
Over the next few months, the remaining 10 teams will be determined in five additional qualifiers. “The matches I saw were very physical and I think that is the aspect of the game the Bahamas’ team will have to work on over the next few months to give a quality showing at the World Cup,” Sealey said. The focus of the discussion centred on the Bahamas’ role as hosts. “For those who are coming into the Bahamas for the first time, one of the things they will be immediately impressed with is the warmth and friendliness of our people. That’s our business, our number one industry is tourism so we take it very personal when visitors come to our country to make them feel welcome and make them want to return. I think that after this World Cup you will find that people who have visited us will definitely want to comeback,” Sealey said. “And for us as a country, having welcomed 15 nations in the world to our shores, the infrastructure left behind will be a legacy to future beach soccer players and soccer players on the whole. They will understand that this is their game,
the World Cup is their World Cup and they will take a personal interest and own the competition.” The Bahamas was prominently featured at the qualifier in Italy and according to Beach Soccer Worldwide, the branding associated with the tournament was viewed by over 250 million households globally. Additionally, there were over 150,000 viewers via the web live stream. Dr Johnson insisted that beach soccer and the Bahamas are a perfect match. “All around the world people are beginning to get excited about this. People have heard that we have the nicest beaches in the world and they will get to see that is probably true. What we have in beaches, what we have in charisma and what the sport brings to the country is a match made in heaven,” he said. “I think this is a new era for us and our tourism product. The world knows ‘It’s Better in the Bahamas’ but they don’t yet know what is better in the Bahamas. We have always had sun, sand and sea and we are now going to add sports to that profile. We have gone global, the five continents will be rep-
resented and the Bahamas will be the stage for this event.” The look and emblem of the event were unveiled at an official launch event in July. According to the Local Organising Committee, the emblem is intended to reflect the positive uplifting nature of the tournament and the local culture of the host country. The emblem uses the shape of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Official Trophy as the canvas and the vivid colours reflect the pristine landscape and culture of the host country. “The official emblem is a testament to the beauty of The Bahamas and the great appeal of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. We are delighted to unveil this iconic emblem along with the tournament’s official look, inviting beach soccer fans to join what promises to be an exciting and colourful event”, said Thierry Weil, FIFA marketing director. Official information on the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 can be found at fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup. You can follow Team Bahamas at https://www.facebook.com/ beachsoccer2017