Bahamas Sports and Recreation
Bahamian tennis player Mark Knowles along with Daniel Nestor (Canadian) won the Men’s Doubles Championship at the 2002 Australian Open 36.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia, the results were analyzed on a per capita basis for the first time. It was revealed that with two medals (1 gold and 1 silver), The Bahamas actually won the Games
The Bahamas women’s 4×100 relay team (athletics) won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and a gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney
The most popular physical activities include jogging, walking, swimming, fishing, football, cricket, baseball, basketball, tennis, volleyball, squash, bowling, racquetball, rugby, and soccer. Or one may find Bahamians sitting under a tree or in a backyard enthusiastically engaged in a game of checkers or dominoes.
The most popular viewed sports are football and basketball–the favorite team of most Bahamians being the Miami Dolphins.
Sailing regattas are held in many of the Islands of The Bahamas at different times of the year. Locally-built sloops, representing each of the major Islands of The Bahamas wage competition on the high seas.
The sports popular with visitors include swimming, snorkeling, boating, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, private piloting, golf, tennis, water skiing, wind surfing, parasailing, jet skiing, casino gambling (for visitors in casinos only–Bahamians gamble illegally in the streets), bird watching, shell collecting, and horseback riding.