Sports academies in the works

Sports academies in the works
Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture, Michael Pintard. (BIS photo)

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard on Wednesday said that the government remains devoted to developing sporting academies on various Family Islands.

“We do intend to focus on facilities,” Pintard said.

“I would remind members of the public that prior to us coming into office, there were a number of facilities not being worked on at the time. If you recall, the designs were being worked on for the Exuma project, but not completed, so that initiative had not started.

“In the case of Abaco, the allocation for the proposed facility in Abaco was far below what was required. Therefore, that was stalled prior to the election. Also, on Moore’s Island, that project was not in train.

“The former administration came to the point of having compacted the fill, so, preparatory work was done up to that point and we do intend to continue with that as well.”

Along with developing smaller academies, Pintard said he is also open the idea of a national sports academy.

“It is possible you can have multiple academies for elite athletes. However, there is no reason that the government can’t open up another academy,” the minister said.

“Nothing prevents us from establishing an academy for persons that are interested in becoming scholarship athletes and are not really interested in joining the professional circuit.”

The original idea of a national sports academy was introduced in 2013 under the former administration, however, there has been no activity since.

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.