Bermuda is not the only country in which the CARIFTA Games have been making hot headlines.

Bahamians recently witnessed public wrangling between their Sports Minister Neville Wisdom and Senator Desmond Bannister over the annual regional junior athletics meet.

It began when the minister notified The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) ? of which Bannister is president ? that he would not be able to give them the annual $40,000 grant this year because of budgetary constraints.

Instead, he offered to charter a Bahamasair jet to transport the athletes to Bermuda and sell the remaining seats to Bahamian parents and fans.

However, Bannister countered that the the sport?s national governing body needed financial assistance and that the $40,000 would only ?partially supplement the costs of fielding a team to the Games? and that he would be pulling his hair out to figure out how they would raise funds for CARIFTA.

?Every year the total cost of taking athletes to the CARIFTA Games for the BAAA is around $80-85,000,? the senator revealed, adding that was a low-end estimate.

On Wednesday, though, the saga came to an apparent end when Wisdom, while speaking in parliament, offered to absorb the entire cost of the Bahamas? CARIFTA team this year on behalf of his government.

Bannister hurriedly and gratefully accepted via fax that evening, saying he looked forward to ironing out the monetary details with the Minister.

?I have received a budget from the team manager of $77,957,? outlined Bannister.

?This budget does not include the cost of transporting college-based athletes directly to Bermuda, which will add approximately $4,800 to the estimate noted above.

?Of course, these figures include the cost of airfare. After this figure is deducted ? due to the minister?s generous offer to charter the aeroplane ? the total cost to the ministry will only be $32,157, provided that no additional athletes qualify.

?The proposal will be quite helpful as we no longer have to seek additional sponsorship for the team.?

Speaking to this week, the BAAA head said the Bahamas would field a squad of 40 to 50 athletes and that they were ?looking forward to coming?.

There was one concern, however, as the BAAA had agreed to work with their Jamaican and Turks and Caicos Islands counterparts in transporting all three teams to Bermuda.

?We made a commitment to them . . . I have to tell them that we are not going to be able to do that and that they have to find their own way to Bermuda . . . but other than that everything is okay,? said Bannister.

?It is good news that we don?t have to take care of anything.?