Cayman’s young swimmers pass Olympic-sized test
The Camana Bay Aquatic Club team in Florida
(CNS Local Life): The next generation of swimmers from all three Cayman Islands clubs competed in Olympic-sized 50-metre pools at Florida meets held 21-23 April. Representing Cayman were 43 swimmers, aged 8 through 17 years old, with close to half of those participating 10 and under. Seven Mile Swimmers (SMS) and Stingray Swim Club (SSC) attended the Rowdy Cup Invitational in Winter Haven and Camana Bay Aquatic Club (CBAC) competed in the Gulf Coast Swim Team Spring Invitational, in Fort Myers.
Between the two meets, more than 1,000 swimmers competed from more than 30 different teams. The swim meets had entries from Florida, Cayman and Costa Rica.
Many of Cayman’s swimmers had never competed in a 50-metre pool and this was one of the primary motivations for the young athletes and their families to travel overseas.
Michael Lockwood, president of the Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA), said, “It is great to see our swimmers competing internationally and testing their boundaries in other places. Their hard work and dedication is visibly paying off for them and their coaches.”
SSC president Kathy Jackson noted, “This growing depth of fast swimmers at the club level is a strength for the overall growth and future of the national development and junior swim teams.”
Overall for the three Cayman Islands clubs, the meets resulted in 10 first-place, three second-place and eight third-place finishes, including strong first-place results in the girls relays by SMS, SSC and CBAC. Other standout achievements included six first-place results by Lila Higgo, with Sierrah Broadbelt setting three new national records in the 8 and under girls.
SMS head coach Darren Mew said, “ We are a young team and it was an awesome opportunity for the swimmers to swim in an Olympic-sized pool. They took the experience of swimming in a big pool in their stride and had a lot of fun doing it.”
Caleb Miller, CBAC head coach, added, “I loved watching the kids cheer each other on throughout the meet and grow together as a team. I was also impressed by the performance of the swimmers and how much they have improved over the course of the season.”
Youngsters interested in swimming competitively in Cayman and overseas can contact any of the local clubs for more information. Swim meets are held locally throughout the year and a calendar of events, along with links to the clubs, can be found on the CIASA website.
