Swim team heads to CARIFTA championships
On-island members of the national swim team bound for CARIFTA in Jamaica
(CNS Local Life): The Cayman Islands National Swim Team will be heading to the CARIFTA Aquatic Championships in Jamaica 29 March, with 36 swimmers, the largest overall squad in history. For the first time, Cayman will be competing in synchronised swimming, along with competitive age group swimming in a 50 metre pool and in open water swimming categories.
Cayman’s swimmers, coaches and team managers are hoping to match or even surpass last year’s record achievement of 50 medals, good for third place overall, stated a Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association (CIASA) press release.
The team consists of 14 male and 22 female athletes, with 11 competing at CARIFTA for the first time. Noticeably absent are Lauren Hew, who has aged up and Allison Jackson, who is now on the Commonwealth swim team.
CIASA president Michael Lockwood said of the team: “It is great to see a full complement of swimmers going to Jamaica. This in a strategic and important competition and is a great opportunity for swimmers to see the product of their hard work since last summer.
“This will be the first national level competition for synchronised swimmers and we are excited for them to compete in the Caribbean alongside their peers.”
The CARIFTA Aquatics Championships is an annual, age-group competition for the Caribbean. It has been held since 1985 and is similar in form and origin to the track and field CARIFTA Games. The event is held under the auspices of CANOC, the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees. The 33rd edition of the aquatics championships, which began with water polo 15 March, will run to 4 April at the National Aquatic Centre Kingston, and James Bond Beach, Oraccabessa, St Mary, Jamaica.
More than 550 athletes from 24 Caribbean countries are vying for regional bragging rights in swimming, artistic (synchronised) swimming, water polo and open water swimming.
CIASA director Steve Broadbelt added, “We are immensely proud of what our swimmers have been able to achieve at CARIFTA. Imagine what our athletes would do if they had a 50 metre pool in Cayman to train in. CIASA looks forward to a time in the not too distant future when we can host CARIFTA in our own 50 metre pool.”
