SHARKS Swim Club continue to prove that they are the powerhouse in local swimming as they emerged champions of the inaugural Tropical Rhythms/Sea Jays Swim Club national trials held this past weekend at the Rodney Height Aquatic Centre.
The meet sanctioned by the Saint Lucia Amateur Swimming Association saw Sharks finishing first with a combined total of 1325 points; 182 points clear of second place rivals Seajays on 1143 points, 3rd Lightning Aquatic 663 points, 4th Southern Flying Fish 235 points, 5th RR Aquatic 114 points, 6th Sports Academy 74 points.
The two day meet to select Saint Lucia’s team for the 28th edition of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Swim Championship (OECS) attracted close to 180 swimmers from six swim clubs has been dubbed a success by the organizers.
Absent from the meet were Katie Kyle (England), TerrelMonplaisir (USA), Devin Boodha (USA), Ethan Dyke – Elliott (Canada) all studying overseas; Jayhan Odlum – Smith participating in Youth Olympic Games in Argentina and Naima Hazel out with an injury. Some of the island’s leading swimmers took to the pool including members of the 2018 Carifta and Goodwill Games team.
Other entrants in the pool were former national swimmers Julien Brice, Runako Daniel and Joshua Adjodha, all university students. More on the trio in our Weekend paper.
Meanwhile, Fayth Jeffery originally from Saint Lucia, but resides in Barbados and a member of the Southern Flying Fish Swim Club set a new record in the 8 and under 100 meters Individual Medley (IM) with a time of 1 minute 31.36 seconds. Jeffery broke her own record set recently at the Goodwill Games 2018 (1 minute 32.66 seconds).
Antoine Destang (Sharks) continued his good run on form in the boys 9-10 category, when he hit pad in a time of 34.69 seconds in the 50 metres back beating the old record of 34.79 seconds he set at the Goodwill Games 2018.
Karic Charles (Lightning Aquatic) was the man to beat as he rewrote the record book in the boys 9-10 category 100 metres breast with a time of 1 minute 26. 22 seconds. The old record of 1 minute 27.09 seconds was held by Terrel Monplaisir (Seajays) on 18th October 2013, Capri Sun.
For the second time in the day, Antoine Destang (Sharks) had statisticians going through the 19 year history of records held at the RHAC, when he went on to smash the 9-10 category 100 metres IM with a time of 1 minute 14. 63 seconds. The old record was held by Ethan Dyke Elliott 10th October 2013, Capri Sun Short Course. It must be noted, TrisanDorville (Seajays) 1 minute 14.72 seconds and Karic Charles (Lightning Aquatic) 1 minute 14.97 seconds also broke the record.
D’ Andre Blanchard (Seajays) who won silver and bronze medals on debut at the 2018 Carifta Games in Jamaica was untouchable as he went on to set three records. In the boys 11-12 50 metre free, new record 26.46 seconds. Old record 27.10 seconds was held by Terrel Monplaisir 4th December 2015, at Saint Lucian Grand Prix.
In the 50 metre breast Blanchard won with a time of 33.14 seconds, old record 34.18 seconds by TerrelMonplaisir on 5th November 2015 at the 25th edition of the OECS Championship.
Blanchard final record came in the 11-12 50 metre fly with a time of 28.48 seconds. Old record 29.16 seconds by JayhanOdlum- Smith on 4th April 2015.
In the High Points awards, Sharks Swim Club captured seven out of the twelve awards presented; Seajays three and Lightning Aquatic and Southern Flying Fish one each. In the 8 and under girls, Fayth Jeffery (SFF) 63 points; 8 and under boys, Antoine Thaeden (Sharks) 54 points.
9-10 girls, Jasmine Steide (Sharks) 81 points, 9-10 boys, Antoine Destang (Sharks) 72 points.
11-12 girls, Naekeisha Louis (Lightning Aquatic) 90 points; 11-12 boys, D’Andre Blanchard (Seajays) 90 points.
13-14 girls, MikailiCharlemange (Sharks) 85 points; 13-14 boys, Allandre Cross (Sharks) 86 points.
15-17 girls, Mikaela Casimir (Sharks) 78 points; 15-17 boys, Nicholas McLennon (Seajays) 76 points.
18 and Over girls, Evelyn Day (Sharks) 66 points; 18 and Over boys, Omar Alexander (Seajays) 76 points.
The VOICE spoke to Sylvia Auberto, Brand Manager, Peter and Company Distribution, the main sponsor (Tropical Rhythms).
Auberto said, “The opportunity presented itself and PCD felt it was important to engage in this partnership, in terms of fulfilling our corporate social responsibility and also understanding the importance for the young and aspiring swimmers and understanding the challenges encountered by the previous title sponsor. We also felt it was a good opportunity and to have the privilege to embark on this journey whereby we can inject ourselves in such a process to show our support for the swimming fraternity in Saint Lucia”.
“Entities such as the Saint Lucia Amateur Swimming Association and Seajays Swim Club that hosted this meet, worked very hard towards advancing the agenda of youth and sports development, so we felt it’s was important to show our support in this type of venture”. noted Alberto.
“It was amazing to see how enthusiastic the kids are to participate in this type of sporting event, the comradery is amazing, its very family oriented in terms of the environment, there is a very high air of healthy competition. I think that is important in terms of the discipline it brings to the fore for these youngsters. We understand the challenges with our youth today; it is very fulfilling to see how seriously they take it and how much it helps them in terms of developing a certain level of discipline as it relates to the sport and how they can take it throughout their journey”.
The Voice: Its year one of your sponsorship, will you come back again next year?
Her reply was, “Once the opportunity presents itself it’s certainly something we will be on board with. Having seen everything unfold this is certainly something we will not hesitate to participate in next year as long as the opportunity presents itself”.
