In The Bahamas, the Bahamas Association of Athletics Associations hosted its annual Odd Distance meet to begin the new season. The meet manager was Coach Dexter Bodie was interviewed and gave insight into the event and what the coaches and athletes do to prepare for the 2018 season.

A total of 545 athletes registered for the event, which Bodie was very proud of; he was particularly impressed that all the coaches registered their teams on time.

At the Odd Distance meets since it is usually the first for the year, coaches use the meet to assess where their athletes are at in terms of performance and fitness. Coaches have a great opportunity to see their athletes making adjustments heading into the 2018 season. They can fine-tune or tweak things to get the athletes to where they need to be to compete at their highest level.

As for what he is seeing in the level of competition, coach Bodie says it is very competitive. Although one or two of the athletes are pulling ahead of the pack, generally the top finishers are close, showing how competitive the events are.

Bodie is very happy with the support and as he walked around during the meet, it was very pleasing to see the parents, executives, officials, and others enjoying themselves. He says seeing the support and everyone involved doing their part and stepping up to the plate to make the meet a success, is very rewarding.

As to the mindset of the athletes going into the rest of the year, coach Bodie indicated the athletes should have much enthusiasm and motivation heading into 2018.  Moving forward, all the coaches will analyze and work with their athletes so that by February and March, they will be ready to compete for a pot on the CARIFTA team.