Two up and coming Bahamian gymnasts are one step closer to fulfilling their dreams of competing at the highest levels in the sport thanks to Palm Cay, the popular 69-acre beachfront development on New Providence’s southeastern shore.
The gymnasts, St. Francis Joseph’s student Christamarah Brennen and Oakes Field Primary student Sydney Wells, both 9, are top performers at NassauNastics and the Bahamas Gymnastics Parents Booster Club, respectively. They will receive $1,000 each to aid with their gym memberships, travel costs and other related expenses.
“As a proud member of the Bahamian community, we want to help build opportunities for success. Sponsoring young Bahamian talent is part of our exciting, new platform in education, youth and sports through which the Palm Cay team is committed to assisting and encouraging the country’s future leaders,” says Celeste Nixon, Palm Cay’s coordinator of sales and marketing.
“This is why Palm Cay jumped at the opportunity to get involved with up-and-coming athletes who are making a name for themselves in the sport of gymnastics. These two bright young girls, who will now receive all the training and support needed to excel in the sport, will also represent The Bahamas on an international level. We wish them all the best and look forward to cheering them on.”
Palm Cay, the $200 million dollar beachfront community that’s home to an active lifestyle with pools, clubhouse, the island’s largest mid-size boat marina and a full calendar of activities has steadily supported sports and events that reward discipline and dedication and bring families closer together. Among its efforts — junior sailing through direct scholarships and an art show to raise funds for sailing camp, a Father’s Day fun family fishing tournament, yoga on the beach, beach volleyball and more. With the launch of its education, youth and sports platform, Palm Cay expects to step up its public outreach another notch.
“Palm Cay’s team has consistently expressed an interest in investing in the youth of this country so I’m not surprised by this latest development,” says Cora Hepburn, vice-president of The Bahamas Gymnastics Federation. “Gymnastics in particular is a very expensive sport – coaching, gym usage and travel costs can become quite high, especially for gymnasts seeking to compete at a high level. As the parent of a daughter who participated in gymnastics for over six years, I am very familiar with level of financial commitments that, without funding, could become very prohibitive for many promising young gymnasts. Added to that is the fact that the Federation has not received any governmental funding for the past three years and corporate sponsorships have been on the decline since the start of the recession. I can only hope that other potential corporate sponsors will follow Palm Cay’s lead in investing in our young athletes.”
Diane Phillips and Associates
Photos: Donald Knowles
Captions: Bending Over Backwards for Youth — Palm Cay-sponsored gymnasts Christamarah Brennen, background, and Sydney Wells, both 9 years old, practice beachside at Palm Cay, the popular 69-acre community with 300+ home sites, townhomes, condos and cottages and 194-slip marina on Nassau’s southeastern shore. Gymnastics is Palm Cay’s latest youth development sponsorship — the family-oriented development sponsored junior sailing this summer.
Palm Cay Proud Partner — Palm Cay Director of Sales & Marketing Zachary ‘Zack’ Bonczek, left, presents $2,000 cheque to Bahamas Gymnastics Federation to help pave the way for two young gymnasts, Christmarah Brennen of NassauNastics, left, and Sydney Wells of Star Gymastics, to train and compete abroad. Also pictured NassauNastics Coach Trevor Ramsey. Both girls have their sights set on the Olympics.
