NASSAU, Bahamas — One of the biggest track and field meets on the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) calendar, the New Life Invitational, a World Athletics Continental Tour (WACT) Silver Level meet, is headed to the nation’s second city, The Nassau Guardian reported on Friday, April 14, in an article written by Sports Editor Sheldon Longley.
The 2nd NACAC New Life Invitational is set for May 13 from 4-8 p.m. at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Over 100 of the region’s elite athletes and stars at expected to compete, vying for their share of the $75,000 prize money.
The inaugural event was initially planned to be held in The Bahamas before it was diverted to Miramar, Florida, in the summer of 2021. Now established as a premier event in this region, organizers have their eyes fixated on a premier destination. NACAC President, Bahamian Mike Sands, said he is excited about the prospect of the meet and what it means for the island and economy of Grand Bahama. He said that the level of talent on display will rival that of any of the top meets in the United States and on this side of the world.
“This event is going to be fast and furious. We intend to make this an annual event and it is our hope that it will grow from strength to strength every year,” said Sands. “The meet is attracting the top athletes in our area and even some from outside our area. We also making provisions for local athletes, so that they will have an opportunity to compete against the region’s best and go after qualifying times for the world championships. The athletes are all very excited to come to The Bahamas and I’m certainly excited about it. We are looking forward to a very successful NACAC New Life Invitational in Freeport on May 13.”
The 2023 World Athletics (WA) World Outdoor Championships is set for August 19-27 at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Athletes will be looking to post qualifying times and distances for that mega global event, or garner enough ranking points to be invited to compete.
Sands said the NACAC New Life Invitational provides an avenue for athletes from this side of the world to qualify for the world championships.
One of the positive aspects of the New Life Invitational is that athletes from this region won’t have to go to Europe to qualify for the world championships. They could do so right here on this side of the world, and because quite a few of them train and reside right there in South Florida, it will be a short journey for them,” said Sands. “The whole idea, from NACAC’s perspective, is to create and support events in this region, and I can tell you that the interest level among the athletes is very high. They are all looking forward to coming to The Bahamas.”
The last top-level one-day meet to be held in country was the Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational (CBBI) at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau in 2016. Now, seven years later, track and field enthusiasts in the country are starving for high-level action in athletics. Sands said the elite professional athletes tend to flock to the Diamond League circuit, and other major meets in Europe, but the level of talent on display at the New Life Invitational would be able to rival a number of the major meets anywhere in the world. The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising 14 of the best invitational athletics meetings in the world.
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/new-life-invitational-headed-to-grand-bahama/
