Call In The Reinforcements

By Geordie Moss:

It’s been a while since I last posted and how it is only becoming busier here in Nassau! My last blog I spoke about our sponsorship event at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium and how exciting it was to start showcasing the amazing event that is set to come.

A lot has happened since then. We are in the midst of finalizing our final phase of the Athlete Reallocation Policy that allows Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) to add additional athletes to their Youth Games delegation on top of their originally allocated quota. We are also finalizing the Team Leaders Manual for the event that includes all logistical components of the Games, ranging from accreditation zones, to medical services, to anti-doping policies. Myself and Luke have been the primary people working on this document, so it will be very exciting to distribute it to each team’s Team Leader once reviewed.

This past week has been one of our most hectic to date. We welcomed Ann-Louise Morgan from the Commonwealth Games Association and Jane Edstrom, the Athletics Technical Delegate for the Youth Games, for a review of one of our test events for the Games, the IAAF Bahamas World Relays.

This was a great opportunity for these two stakeholders to witness first-hand how the operation of our Athletics event will unfold as the relays took place in the same stadium that will be used for the Youth Games in July. Many of the same volunteers will be utilized for the Youth Games, so this event provided Ms. Morgan and Ms. Edstrom with an opportunity to note the successes and improvements required for our next event, the Bahamas Commonwealth Youth Games.

We also had the pleasure of hosting our Judo and Boxing Technical Delegates, as well as the Nigeria delegation, which included their Minister of Sport, Secretary General to their Olympic Committee, Director of Sport and Ambassador to the Bahamas.

Team Nigeria falls under Luke’s delegation, so it was his turn to create the agendas and organize their site visit of all the facilities and accommodation facilities. The timing of their site visit could not have been better planned, as they had the opportunity to meet with the Nigerian Beach Soccer Team competing in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which is taking place over this week at the Bahamas Football Association Stadium, the same stadium being used for the Beach Soccer event at the Youth Games.  Luke did a fantastic job as they voiced numerous times how pleased they were with their stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have also just recently opened the Atos Games Management System to the CGAs. This is our primary database that will hold the information for all accredited members attending the Youth Games, including athletes, team officials, Chef de Missions, CGA staff members, volunteers and all other associated participants in the Youth Games. Luke and I distributed the log-in details, user guides and the mass entry spreadsheet to all participating CGAs last week and we have been bombarded with emails regarding registration within the system since. Needless to say the other two interns arriving next week, Matt Spina and Emily Stratford, are coming at the perfect time!

Luke and I will be passing over the blogs to them next week, so I must bid you farewell. It has been a life-changing experience thus far, and we are very excited to continue our duties with the LOC until the end of July. Matt and Emily will fill you in on all other progress towards the Games and I am very excited to work alongside them.

We are hoping to set up live streaming for the Games in July, so if we are successful, I hope many of you tune in July 18-23 and cheer on our Canadian team! It has been a pleasure and an honour representing Brock University’ Sport Management program here in the Bahamas, and I hope we have made you all proud back home!

Go Canada Go!

Geordie