The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) President Drumeco Archer issued a strong warning to defending champions Jamaica and others to brace themselves for a stout challenge from the Bahamians at this weekend’s 51st edition of the Carifta Games in Grenada.

Perennial second-place finishers to Jamaica, the Bahamians collected 46 medals – 10 gold, 13 silver and 23 bronze –on home soil last year, which was 32 less than Jamaica’s 78 medal haul, that included 40 gold, 22 silver and 16 bronze.

Despite that, Archer is confident that the 77-strong Bahamian team will deliver strong performances in the “Spice Isle” at Kirani James Stadium.

“Jamaica has hell on their hands as well as Trinidad and Barbados and everybody else,” Archer told Nassau Guardian recently.

“I’m pumped about it because we have some wonderful talent, new and old,” he added.

Head Coach Caudell McNab also expressed confidence about the prospects for his Bahamian team, as expectations are high that they will perform at a high level at the Easter Weekend spectacle.

“I expect them to do well. We will be strong, and we will show all the other countries that we have worked hard, and we are there to win. I expect that most of the countries, because the meet is in the Eastern Caribbean, will field bigger teams than when we hosted it last year because of proximity. It will not make a difference and I expect us to do well in the competition,” McNab declared.

“Experience and the fact that some of the athletes are new to this level gives a good mix. The camaraderie is very good, even if they did not know each other in the past, it makes it very interesting. One of the things that impressed me most is that we have so many pre-qualifiers and at the trials, most of them met the standards again and it shows that they are at the peak and should do extremely well,” he added.

The 2024 Carifta Games will be live on SportsMax from the starting Saturday.