NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Bahamas Association of Athletic Association (BAAA) is geared up to host its first event of 2019 on Saturday at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
The 15th edition of the Odd Distance Track and Field Meet kicks off at 11:00 a.m. and will feature less commonly ran events such as the 75-meter dash, the 50, 300, 500, 00 and 1200.
According to BAAA Public Relations and Marketing Officer Kermit Taylor, the meet is used to help coaches evaluate their athletes and improve conditioning.
“This meet is usually more of a low key, low-pressure event that is put on as a bit of an icebreaker for the new season,” Taylor said.
“We also like to evaluate our newer athletes during this meet and just getting a feel for where everyone is. Although this meet is usually not as competitive, we hope that we can get the fan support going early and that it continues throughout the remainder of the year.”
BAAA president Drumeco Archer said that the event will be the start of a rebranding exercise by the BAAA as the sport works towards regaining the support of all stakeholders.
“This will be the start of a new branding exercise for the federation, where we try to create a different kind of appeal and so what we will be doing is we are going to be having entertainment elements that will add to the event,” Archer said.
“We are having advanced discussions at the competitive level and what we are also doing, of course, it is still early in the year, but we are still mounting a new marketing program to see how we can integrate a lot more of our partners in the things that we do.”
Tickets for the Odd Distance meet are $5 and $10 for VIP seating.