By Duncan Mackay

Paul Jurbala (left), course facilitator on the long-term athlete development programme, with Bahamas representative Clarence Rolle ©BOCA new scheme modelled on one which has already been successful in Canada has been launched in the Caribbean to help develop the region's top athletes.


The concept behind the long-term athlete development (LTAD) was revealed by Paul Jurbala, the former director of sport development at the Sport Alliance of Ontario, during a seminar organised by the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The course, sponsored by organisers of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, demonstrated how Canada was able to use LTAD frameworks to plan the development of athletes from young ages into elite careers and lifelong recreational participation.

"All of the 58 Canadian national federations have developed sport-specific LTAD frameworks," said Clarence Rolle, Bahamas' representative at the seminar, 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, promised to introduce the LTAD programme in his country. 

"Sports programmess in The Bahamas will be using the best scientific methods from around the world to improve our athletes," he said.

"The quality of the programs we adopt will determine how well we prepare our athletes and how good our results are."

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