NASSAU--29 May--CNW-AsiaNet/InfoQuest Stop a Bahamian on the street to ask them about snowboarding, and you may get a number of funny looks, but that is all about to change. At a beachside reception, escorted by a Junkanoo band, and joined by hundreds of Bahamian supporters, Korath Wright officially announced that he is ready to become the first-ever Winter Olympian from the Bahamas. Wright was joined by friends, family, members of government and the Bahamas Olympic Association for this historic event. All attendees also signed the snowboard emblazoned with the Bahamian flag, as a show of support for Wright's journey. He plans to use this board at his first competition on the path to Olympic qualifications in New Zealand in mid-April. While in Nassau, Wright met with government agencies, visited a primary school to speak with students about following your dreams, and took the opportunity to build excitement for this Olympic journey. On May 28th, he will be meeting with the Governor General of the Bahamas, His Excellency Arthur Hanna. "Now that the formal paperwork has been completed, I can focus on my dream of competing at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and representing my home country, I've been in Nassau for the past 10 days talking to people, letting them know my story, and gaining their support," said Wright. "Whenever I talk about what I'm doing, people are excited. It's great to know that I have the support of an entire country behind me." Just over two years ago in Whistler, the whole dream began for Wright. After taking third place in his first-ever World Cup, he was approached by the Bahamas High Commission, enquiring if he would ride for his home country. This contact has not only provided Wright with an opportunity in snowboarding, but has also established a new connection with his home country and family. VIDEO FOOTAGE AND PHOTOS FROM THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAN BE DOWNLOADED: With a web browser http://208.96.5.203 or http://snowboardbahamas.ftptoday.com user name: bahamas password: bahamas With an FTP client program Hostname: snowboardbahamas.ftptoday.com Username: bahamas Password: bahamas Default directory:/ftp/pub /NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca. Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/ SOURCE Korath Wright /CONTACT: or to set up an interview, please contact Betsy Cooper, (778) 329-7389 (office), (778) 229-4947 (mobile), [email protected]/