CHAPTER
385
SPORTS |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
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Minister corporation sole. |
Dissolution of The Bahamas Sports Commission. |
Duties and Powers of the Minister. |
|
Recognition of Sports Associations. |
Power to Commemorate Persons. |
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CHAPTER 385 |
SPORTS |
An Act to
make better provision for development and encouragement of sporting activities
in The Bahamas. | 77 of 1963
8 of 1970
E.L.A.O., 1974 |
[Assent 20th
December, 1963]
[Commencement 7th January, 1964] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Sports Act. | Short title. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- | Interpretation. |
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for Sports and Recreation. |
3. (1) For the purpose of acquiring land and any other
property in pursuance of this Act, the Minister for the time being shall be a
corporation sole by the name of the Minister for Sport, or such other style and
title as the Governor-General may from time to time assign to him, and all
property transferred to him by this Act or which otherwise becomes vested in
him shall be held by him in trust for Her Majesty in right of Her Government of
The Bahamas for the purposes of this Act. | Minister corporation sole. |
(2) Upon and by
virtue of the appointment of any person to be the Minister having the
responsibility for the administration of this Act, the benefit of all deeds,
contracts, bonds, securities and things in action vested in his predecessor at
the time of his predecessor ceasing to hold office shall be transferred to and
vested in and enure for the benefit of the person so appointed in the same
manner as if he had been contracted with instead of his predecessor and as if
his name had been inserted in all such deeds, contracts, bonds or securities
instead of the name of his predecessor. |
4. (1) The Bahamas Sports Commission as established by
law shall be dissolved by the Governor-General by notice in the Gazette
with effect from such date as may be specified in such notice, not being more
than one month after the coming into operation of this Act. | Dissolution of the Bahamas Sports Commission. |
(2) Upon the
dissolution of the said Commission all its property of whatever kind shall
thereupon be transferred to and vested in the Minister. |
5. The Minister shall have the duty of developing the
property vested in him for sporting purposes and of encouraging, managing and
controlling such sports as can be pursued thereon and to that end shall have
power to erect buildings and structures, landscape grounds and generally do all
such things as may be necessary or desirable for the creation and the carrying
on of sports grounds, stadiums and other similar undertakings or buildings in
furtherance of sports for the benefit of the general public. | Duties and powers of the Minister. |
6. The Minister shall be responsible for disbursing
such sums as may be appropriated from time to time by Parliament for the
purposes of this Act and, in addition, may receive donations, raise funds by
such lawful means as he sees fit to adopt and charge admission fees for entry
upon sports grounds, stadiums and the like and fix and collect other charges
for the use of any facilities afforded by him or any property vested in him. | Finance. |
7. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of
this section, the Minister may by instrument in writing recognise any
association as being the association officially representative of the interests
of persons practising any particular sport in The Bahamas. | Recognition of sports associations. |
(2) Before
recognising any association under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister
shall satisfy himself that the association- |
(a) by virtue
of its membership may properly be considered to be representative of the
majority of clubs engaging in the particular sport; and |
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(i) has
as its primary object the encouragement and fostering of the sport; |
(ii) has
as its members only clubs, represented by their nominees, practising the sport,
and requires no other qualification for membership; and |
(iii) is
controlled by a governing body the members of which are elected in the
prescribed manner, at such intervals as the Minister may approve, from among
the members of the association. |
(3) The Minister
may at any time cancel any instrument made under subsection (1) of this section
by virtue of which any association is granted recognition if it appears to him
that that association no longer satisfies any requirement of paragraph (a) or
(b) of subsection (2) of this section. |
(4) The Minister
shall, as he thinks fit, consult with the associations recognised by him under
this section in the exercise of his functions from time to time under this Act. |
(5) Before making
any rules under paragraph (d) of section 10 relating to any particular sport
the Minister shall consult with the recognised association, if any, for that
sport. |
8. The Minister shall have power to name different
parts of any immovable property vested in him as developed from time to time in
honour of persons who have made donations or who have made special contribution
by time and effort to such development either generally or in some particular
respect or who are outstanding Bahamian sportsmen or sportswomen. | Power to commemorate persons. |
9. The Minister shall lay upon the Table of each House
of Parliament before the end of March, or as soon as practicable thereafter, in
every year a report dealing with the discharge of his responsibilities and duties
under this Act, a description of immovable property vested in him and its
condition and a statement of audited accounts for the previous year. | Report. |
10. The Minister may make rules- | Rules. |
(a) prescribing
anything required to be prescribed under this Act; |
(b) providing
for the renting to sports associations (whether at nominal or commercial rents)
of land or other property vested in the Minister for sporting purposes, and
regulating the terms and conditions on which any such land or property may be
so rented. |
(c) to provide
for the fixing of and collection of charges for admission or for the use of
facilities or both either generally or in respect of any particular matter; |
(d) to provide
for the administrative control or regulation of any particular sport or
recreation and entries therein or in respect of any particular development or
stadium or building or ground; |
(e) generally
for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act. |