JUNKANOO JAM BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PRESS CONFERENCE
On Wednesday, November 16th, 2016, the Ministry of Tourism held a press conference in reference to the upcoming Junkanoo Jam Basketball Tournament scheduled for November 24th-26th in Bimini.
The tournament, initially brought to The Bahamas fourteen years ago by its founding organizer Basketball Travelers Inc., and usually held on Grand Bahama Island, was recently re-located to Bimini due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew.
Nuvolari Chotoosingh, Manager, Sports Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, along with several other tourism team members, representatives from Bahamas Customs, Immigration, Police, Public Health Authority, and Basketball Travelers Inc, are all working together to ensure that this event is successful.
Chotoosingh said that though "There are still a few loose ends to tie up, we are working very closely with our partners at the Ministry of Tourism office in Bimini and they are also working with the various government agencies to facilitate this event."
The event, which is no small feat for the respective partners involved, will be held at the Gateway Christian Academy gymnasium and will showcase the beauty of Bimini as well as the athleticism of the teams via international media coverage.
As eight division one women's basketball teams seek to become the reigning champion of the 14th Annual Junkanoo Jam Tournament, the arrival, safety, and health of the athletes during their stay in Bimini is extremely important.
As a result, having adequate numbers of officers to police the events and sufficient customs and immigration officers is imperative in completing the mandate to accommodate the incoming teams.
Furthermore, many of the agencies involved in facilitating the tournament will seek to deploy additional officers to help make the process much smoother than usual.
With a tournament of this caliber, it is imperative to have additional nurses and doctors, along with an X-ray machine in case of unforseen injuries. Without the aid of the Public Health Authority, such needs could not be facilitated as quickly as they should.
Terry Wildgoose, Representative, Basketball Travelers noted that "This was a tournament that was more than likely going back to the US and when we saw the damage [after Hurricane Matthew] there was question for our American counterparts about the future of the tournament."
Wildgoose noted that he would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism for stepping in and making it possible for the Junkanoo Jam Tournament to continue its tenure in The Bahamas. He hopes that with the tournament now being held in Bimini, more opportunities would be created for both male and female tournaments to be hosted on multiple islands.
Visiting teams include Creighton University, University of Dayton, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech University, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina, and University of South Florida.
Tickets are available locally at the Gateway Christian Academy Gymnasium and at the Hilton at Resorts World Bimini. All games will stream live on www.FloHoops.com. For more information visit www.junkanoojam.com.