Sports
Bahamas Olympic Committee seeks long-term athlete development
By Clarence Rolle
Jun 23, 2014 - 3:27:26 PM

Course facilitator Paul Jurbala (left) with Bahamas representative Clarence Rolle.

The Bahamas will benefit from new approaches to developing athletes over careers and lifetimes after participating in a regional workshop on Long-term Athlete Development (LTAD).

The Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees hosted the LTAD workshop over two days in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Clarence Rolle, assistant treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee and president of the Bahamas Amateur Wrestling Federation, participated in the workshop for The Bahamas.

The course, which was facilitated by Canadian sports consultant Paul Jurbala, was exemplary in demonstrating how Canada was able to use LTAD frameworks to plan the development of athletes from young ages into elite careers and lifelong recreational participation, Mr. Rolle said.

“All of the 58 Canadian national federations have developed sport-specific LTAD frameworks,” Mr. Rolle said. “They have gone through a process of determining what athletes should learn at various ages and stages of development. So we are in a position to look at what they have done and determine whether it can be adapted for The Bahamas.”

Wellington Miller, president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee, said the BOC would share information from the workshop with all national federations in The Bahamas and work with them to develop athletes to achieve maximum benefits over the coming years.“Sports programs in The Bahamas will be using the best scientific methods from around the world to improve our athletes,” Mr. Miller said. “The quality of the programs we adopt will determine how well we prepare our athletes and how good our results are.”Mr. Miller said the BOC is hopes to influence better results in personal development as much as results in competitive events.

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