In its ongoing commitment to sports and youth development, BTC today announced it will become the $50,000 lead sponsor of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Association’s annual national track and field games.
Announcement of the sponsorship was made at a presentation at the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture this afternoon when the games were officially renamed the 2011 BTC National Junior& Senior Track & Field Championships.
“The athletes’ hard work, discipline and performance instill pride and admiration in all of us in The Bahamas and BTC is proud and excited to be part of this important national sports event,” said Marlon Johnson, BTC Vice President of Marketing.
“The BTC National Championships provide an opportunity for everyone to see our athletes up close and in person. For spectators, it is one thing to watch on TV and another feeling altogether to experience that excitement watching live at the track, cheering athletes on. For the athletes, competing on home turf with fans cheering close by helps build confidence for regional and international competition. BAAA’s does a great job putting it all together and we’re very pleased to partner.”
The BTC Senior and Junior National Championship games will be held June 24 – 25 in Freeport, Grand Bahama,the first time in six years that the senior games will be held outside New Providence.
“We decided that Grand Bahamians should be allowed the opportunity to see this exciting and world class action on home turf, said BAAA’s President Mike Sands.
For many of the participating teams,the games will serve as a trial before performances in international meets including the Pan American Jr. Championships, scheduled for Miramar,Florida in July, the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea in August and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara in October.
“We have always been extremely grateful for BTC’s assistance in supporting local track and field events,” said Mike Sands,president of the BAAA’s. “They’ve come to our aid and answered ‘yes’ to our pleas for the third time this year alone. As a result of their assistance, we can look forward to a competitive and exciting competition.”
Among the high-ranking Bahamian athletes scheduled to compete in Grand Bahama are Donald Thomas, 2007 World Championship high jump winner currently ranked 9thin the world, Demetrius Pinder, the 400m NCAA Indoor Championships winner with a time of 44.87 sec, the fastest time of any Bahamian for the season and Nivea Smith, the first Bahamian to win a medal in the IAAF World Youth Championships.
BTC’s new partner CWC, which operates under the brand name LIME in the Caribbean, wast he presenting sponsor for the CARIFTA Games for the past two consecutive years,part of its two-year, $400,000 sponsorship — the single largest in the company’s or the event’s history. This year, team Bahamas displayed its best performance in the history of the games placing second to Jamaica with eleven gold, nine silver, and nine bronze medals.
