News
Turks and Caicos Islands Commonwealth Games Team Return after making history
#TurksandCaicos, August 20, 2022 – The Turks and Caicos Islands participated in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 in Birmingham, England which took place from July 28-August 8. They returned to the islands on Thursday, August 11th to a hearty welcome from the TCI Sports Commission and Commonwealth Games
Association executive members. Despite the team not garnering medals, history was made with athletes breaking a national record, recorded new personal bests and season’s bests, and newly made finals.
We were represented in three sporting disciplines: Cycling, Athletics (Track & Field) and Swimming (Aquatics).
Here’s a quick highlight of key accomplishments achieved by athletes at the Commonwealth Games:
- Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye making it to the finals for the second time in a row and placing 8th in the Men’s Long Jump. He recorded a season’s best of 7.80m.
- The Men’s 4x100m relay team shattering the National Record, achieving a time of 41.17.
- Rohan Shearer swimming towards a number of new personal bests including winning his heat in the 100m Freestyle at 56.78.
- Yanique Haye-Smith making history, as the first woman from the Turks and Caicos Islands to make it to the finals at the Commonwealth Games, in the Women’s 400m hurdles. She finished with a time of 58.20.
Upon arrival at the airport, the team was enthusiastic and made remarks about how they felt coming out of the
games. President of the Commonwealth Games Association (CWA), Godfrey Been welcomed the athletes and remarked on their performance by saying “We did a wonderful and tremendous job over there at the Commonwealth Games..this Commonwealth Games, you [athletes] put all of that [public doubts] to rest…Track athletes, you performed to the highest.”
Rosalie Ingham, General Secretary of the TCAAA, expressed gratitude to her management team who assisted her throughout the games. She also thanked everyone for making the CWG 2022 experience possible. With bouts of passion, she shared how proud everyone was of the athletes despite not returning with the medals they were anticipating. “We made it to finals in 2 events (Men’s Long Jump & Women’s 400m Hurdles), we did well in Swimming and we showed up and performed in cycling.”
Edith Skippings, President of TCAAA congratulated each athlete who competed in games and special congratulations to Mrs. Yanique Haye-Smith on her accomplishment of being the first female athlete in the Turks and Caicos to make the finals in the CWG. Further comments from Skippings, “We are looking for support from the public, from the government and from the corporate public of Turks and Caicos because much work and preparation
still needs to be done in all the disciplines to move sports forward here in the Turks and Caicos.”
Mr. Randy Ford, Head Coach for the games shared gratitude to the Turks and Caicos for their support and vicariously living the experience with the team. Mr. Ford stated, “I am personally inspired by the performance of all our athletes and as such I’d like to continue the journey…We broke a national record and I think if we continue doing that and just aim for a better performance each time, we will get there and we will rub shoulders with the best in the world as we saw earlier this week and last week.”
“To all my athletes out there who are watching and listening, it can only get better if you put the sacrifice and time in and put some passion with it.”
Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye, the Athlete’s Representative, stated that he has been to a total of three Commonwealth
Games and believes it is an experience where athletes from different sports come together revealing camaraderie amongst all teammates representing their country in each chosen sport. He expressed that the plethora of athletes he was introduced to built a community for TCI at the games. Despite the trials each individual athlete endured, the Commonwealth Games were very successful according to Otuonye, believing each person exceeded his or her expectations.
“I had my own expectations coming in, by a miracle making the finals and I ended up making the Top 8” Otuounye said proudly. The Long Jump National Record holder digressed and said “Sometimes in sports you just need a chance, you go to the big stage and you see what happens. That’s what we’re trying to emulate for everyone.
“We have the talent, we have the people, and we have the athletes. What we need is support.”
Cyclist Sean Rodgers, shared that prior to the games he had plans on retiring but after the support that was given from the CWA and the public he decided to compete for another year. He further commented “I want to say to all the athletes whether you get a medal or not, giving your best is a victory in itself…competing with world-class athletes was a victory and thanks all who made it possible.”
| Commonwealth Games Team | ||
| Athletics | Rebecca Bernadin Yanique Haye-SmithAngelo Garland Courtney Missick Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye Ken Reyes Wikenson Fenelon |
Women’s 800m, 1500m
Women’s 400m Hurdles Men’s 400m, 4x100m & 4x400m Relay Men’s 100m, 4x100m & 4x400m Relay Men’s Long Jump, 4x100m & 4x400m Relay Men’s 400m, 4x100m & 4x400m Relay Men’s 100m, 4x100m & 4x400m Relay |
| Swimming (Aquatics) | Arleigha Hall
Rohan Shearer |
Women’s 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly & 50m Freestyle
Men’s 50m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 100m Freestyle & 50m Backstroke |
| Cycling | Sean Rodgers
De’Vaughn Williams |
Men’s Road Race
Men’s Road Race |
Caption: Members of Commonwealth Games TeamTCI meet Liz Truss, UK Foreign Secretary and Lord Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics while in Birmingham for the Games. Pictured from TCI: Courtney Missick, Godfrey Been and Rita Gardiner.
TCIG knew from April that fuel factor could surge almost 80%; Minister says $500 cost-of-living payment was part of Government’s response
PROVIDENCIALES — The Turks and Caicos Government knew months before July’s shocking electricity bills that consumers faced a potentially massive increase in the fuel factor.
Minister of Information Technology and Energy E. Jay Saunders revealed Friday that Pelican Energy warned his Ministry in April that generation fuel costs were projected to rise from $3.09 per gallon in May to $4.79 in June and July.
That translated into a projected fuel factor jump from about 17.5 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of almost 80%.
Saunders said he personally advised Cabinet of the projected increase and presented options for cushioning the impact.
He characterised Government’s $500 cost-of-living payment as its “initial response” to rising fuel costs, before a separate fuel-factor subsidy was approved.
Cabinet records show Government agreed on June 24 to provide funding to mitigate the fuel-factor impact, with the relief programme approved July 8.
Eligible residential customers — those averaging less than $1,500 monthly over the previous three bills — are capped at 22 cents per kWh from July through October.
Pelican confirmed Friday that Government’s contribution was already applied to July bills, meaning the bills now triggering widespread public outrage would have been even higher without the subsidy.
Saunders did not disclose the programme’s total cost.
His admission that Government knew since April, however, raises another question amid the backlash: why were consumers not directly warned by Government about the scale of the approaching increase?
NASSAU, Bahamas — More Bahamians are accessing HIV and sexually transmitted infection-related healthcare through National Health Insurance, a trend the NHI Authority says should be viewed positively.
NHIA stressed in an August 6 statement that its 2025 figures measure healthcare utilisation, not newly diagnosed infections. They include beneficiaries screened, treated, monitored or receiving follow-up care, including people diagnosed previously.
“Increased utilisation of these services should be viewed as a positive development,” NHIA said.
The Authority pointed to “greater enrolment and use of NHI, improved access to screening and testing, continued treatment and monitoring of existing conditions, and increased willingness to seek medical care.”
The development comes amid a mixed three-year HIV picture. New diagnoses rose from 130 in 2023 to 156 in 2024, before declining to 142 in 2025.
NHIA said increased utilisation demonstrates that more beneficiaries are accessing needed healthcare and actively managing their health, reinforcing the importance of screening, early diagnosis and continued treatment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Americas has recorded 47,459 confirmed measles cases and 44 deaths in 2026, the region’s highest case count in 22 years, prompting the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to urge stronger vaccination, surveillance and rapid outbreak response.
As of July 18, cases were already more than triple the 15,011 recorded during all of 2025. Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Peru
account for 95% of confirmed cases. Guatemala leads with 30,371 cases and 26 deaths, followed by Mexico with 12,255 cases and 17 deaths.
PAHO classifies the regional public health risk as very high, citing active outbreaks, immunity gaps, international travel and populations with inadequate vaccination coverage.
The organization says prevention starts with vaccination. Countries are being urged to achieve and maintain at least 95% coverage with two doses of measles-containing vaccine, particularly protecting children and under-vaccinated communities.
Measles spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash.
PAHO is urging health authorities to detect suspected cases early and respond rapidly to stop transmission. Unvaccinated and under-vaccinated people, young children and communities with limited healthcare access face increased risk of severe illness and death.
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