‘Recruit from within’
Bobsleigh boss says local talent drives programme
Published:Friday | January 23, 2026 | 12:15 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
Chris Stokes, president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (JBSF), said Jamaica’s qualification to the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games was fuelled largely by developing a pool of local talents.
Jamaica will field athletes at the upcoming Winter Games in the women’s mono-bob, the two-man bobsleigh, and the four-man bobsleigh races.
Mica Moore has qualified for the mono-bob while pilot Shane Pitter and his crew of Joel Fearon, Nimroy Turgott, and Junior Harris qualified for the two-man bobsleigh.
Pitter is also the pilot for the four-man bobsleigh team alongside Tyquendo Tracey, Andrae Dacres, Harris, and Fearon.
Overseeing development
Stokes explained that much of the success was largely due to the JBSF’s programme of recruiting local athletes at an early age and overseeing their development in the sport.
“In January 2023, we started a programme to get a team on the podium by the 2034 Olympics in Park City, Utah. That was the goal of the programme, and we had recruited very young athletes, brand-new athletes,” Stokes explained.
“This is part of another strategic decision we made, which was termed the Back to the Well Programme, where we focused on recruiting athletes in Jamaica, who lived and trained and grew up and competed in Jamaica, and turning them into world-class bobers.”
Stokes explained that the idea behind the programme was to ensure that the JBSF could build a sustainable model that could ensure long-term success for Jamaica.
In recruiting local athletes, the federation also paired them with the guidance of world-renowned coach Todd Hays.
Hays, a former medallist as an athlete and a coach, proved to be the right personality for the job as the country has seen recent success on the regional stage.
“We retained the most successful active coach in bobsleigh in the person of Todd Hays, who himself was a silver medallist from the 2002 games in Park City, Utah.
“He has coached Canada, Russia, and the United States, and he has coached athletes who have won multiple medals for Canada and the United States,” Stokes continued.
“He’s much in demand, but he’s intrigued by the possibility, or the opportunity, to put Jamaica on the Olympic podium, and as he describes it, it will be the greatest story ever told in sports.”
Despite their focus on growing a local pool of athletes, Stokes said the JBSF did not turn away foreign-based athletes who expressed an interest in competing for Jamaica.
One such athletes is Moore.
Moore, born in Wales, competed for Wales as a sprinter before switching to bobsleigh for Great Britain.
She made the switch to Jamaica last year and has qualified for her first Winter Games in Jamaican colours.
Stokes explained that while the JBSF is not actively recruiting foreign-based athletes, they always keep an open door for those who decide to make a switch on their own.
“There are many countries who intentionally shortcut the system, trying to say, let me get a number-three driver from Britain, or Monaco, or wherever, and put some fast persons behind them,” he said.
“But we made a conscious decision to recruit from within Jamaica, which is a testimony to our confidence that the Jamaican athlete and Jamaican character can be a world-class bobsled.”
Stokes said the 2026 Winter Games will be used as a measuring stick of Jamaica’s strength against the world’s best, with the overarching goal of securing a medal by the 2034 Winter Games.