Team Bahamas’ enthusiastic spirit made them extremely popular at the FIA Motorsport Games 2022 and they made friends with everyone they came into contact with. They formed a special bond with Team Ukraine and, on the last day of the games, donated all the tables and chairs they’d purchased just a few days before to the Team for them to take back to the Ukraine. From the moment Team Bahamas met Team Ukraine at the Games Opening Ceremony, a special bond was formed, with both Teams silently recognizing what the other had overcome just to be there.

When the ‘family photo’ of all 72 Teams’ 462 drivers was taken, both Teams stood proudly shoulder to shoulder, centre stage, for all to see. And, throughout the Games, whenever their paths crossed in the busy schedule, cheery greetings and warm hugs were exchanged. There was also enthusiastic support from the sidelines when each Team was competing. Feeling they wanted to support further, Team Bahamas were very happy to offer their folding tables and chairs to the Team to take back to the Ukraine with them. This gesture was warmly received and, unexpectedly, reciprocated with some hand-made gifts the Ukrainians had been selling to raise much-needed funds. 

Team Bahamas was told the chairs would go straight to the makeshift hospitals on the front line for the benefit of exhausted staff and wounded soldiers and were shown poignant photos from the front line of battle-scarred soldiers, none of whom is alive today! Bonds like that made at the Games will never be broken and as Team Bahamas reflect on the enormity of the struggle they went through simply to be at the Games, this was a stark reminder of the cruelty man can inflict on his fellow man and of how small gestures such as their donation can remind Ukraine the civilized world is with them every step of the way. 

About EduKarting: A hugely successful stealth education programme born out of the Bahamas Speed Week Revival, EduKarting has expanded from a purely karting-focused initiative to include Road Safety. Its students have even succeeded in persuading the Bahamian Government to change its country’s driving laws. With some of its graduates using the life-skills and knowledge they gained from the programme by becoming trainers themselves and others seeing doors open for them that otherwise would have remained firmly shut, it was logical for the programme to expand. Step one – competing at the Motorsport Games and getting noticed – has only been achieved by an extreme amount of hard work, late nights and relentless fundraising by a very small core Team. Step two (watch this space) will be achieved with the cooperation of the Bahamian Government.

 About the FIA Motorsport Games: Unofficially dubbed ‘The Olympics of Motorsport” the event provides a rare opportunity for drivers to compete for their own nations. Combining Gender Equality, Accessible Inclusive Racing and Environmental Responsibility, the Games also provides a platform for both young and amateur drivers to showcase their talent against the professionals. The first ever Games was held in Rome in 2019 and the second edition of this bi-annual event, this year centered on the Paul Ricard Circuit in the South of France, was due in 2021 but was one of many events across the world, delayed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. According to the organizers, the next two upcoming events will also be staged in Europe for logistical reasons but will spread its wings after that.

Team Bahamas Donates Chairs to Ukraine