The 4th Annual Cayman Water CARIFTA Trials Swim Meet this past weekend set a new milestone for Cayman swimming.
What began as a fierce competition of swimmers fighting against the clock to earn a place on the treasured 2007 Cayman National Junior Team ended with many not only beating the necessary time standards but shattering records that had lasted for as long as seven years!
Caymans 2007 CARIFTA Team. Selected members of the 2007 CARIFTA Caribbean Championships Swim Team together with (on left hand side) Mark Matthews, Head of the Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association Selection Committee, Dominic Ross, Head National Coach, Alex Webb, Asst. National Coach, Jeanine Rix, Asst. National Coach and (far right) Eleanor Messer, Cayman Water Representative. Photo: Joe Stasiuk |
Record breakers included Danielle Boothe in the Girls 9-10 years 50M Butterfly, Amanda Shum in the Girls 11-12 years 50M Freestyle & 100M Breaststroke (breaking the record by more than 2 seconds!!), and Carolina Watler in the Girls 15&Over 100M Breaststroke (also breaking the former record by more than 2 seconds!!) & 200M Breaststroke.
National Head Coach Dominic Ross was not surprised at both the superior results of the record breakers and the majority of swimmers at the Cayman Water CARIFTA Trials. ‘All of our swimmers have been chomping at the bit to prove that they deserve a spot on the National Junior Team. Not only did records fall, but we had several swimmers that had personal bests in every one of their weekend swims’, noted Coach Dom. He added, ‘It is a good sign that we already are seeing this level of time drops without even having our swimmers tapered. Providing our swimmers remain focused and continue to devote themselves to the practice regimen, we should see even more dramatic personal bests in Jamaica.’
Perhaps the most telling sign of the health and renewed vigor of the Cayman swim program is the naming of a 21-member strong CARIFTA Team. The 2007 team has grown by an additional three swimmers this year compared with the prior year. While there is the expected large number of rookies (six) in the 11-12 Years entry level age category, both Summer Flowers (14) and Madalena Alves (15) have also made the CARIFTA Team for their very first time. Both swimmers have shown tremendous dedication and intestinal fortitude over the past few years to legitimately earn their rightful places on the team.
The four day meet had begun with the distance events, 800M & 1500M Freestyle, on this past Wednesday and continued on Friday, Saturday & Sunday in exactly the same format of the CARIFTA meet. While young swimmers Joshua Bain, Amber Myrie, Geoffrey Butler, Alora Davis-Myles and their eventual teammates were putting their cases forward for selection to the CARIFTA team, two older swimmers were raising their sights even higher. With personal bests of more than six seconds, Carolina Watler and Peter Stasiuk were also rewarded for their months of toil with qualifying times for the Island Games that will be held from June 29 through July 6 in Rhodes, Greece.
Echoing the overreaching efforts of the weekend was Eleanor Messer of Cayman Water, (Cayman Water is a subsidiary of the Consolidated Water group). Ms. Messer remarked ‘Cayman Water is especially proud to be a major supporter of the Stingray Swim Club and the sponsor of this watershed meet for the 4th year in a row. This weekend we have seen the result of the tremendous efforts put in by these young women and men over the past many months and which has allowed them to raise their level of performance and earn a place on the Cayman National Junior Team. We also recognize the dedication and hard work of the Coaches that have helped guide and mentor our young athletes to their success. We trust all of their efforts will only be superseded by even more success at the CARIFTA Caribbean Championships over the Easter weekend. Good luck in Jamaica!’
While the meet events went from one great performance to another, some might argue that the best was saved for last. Zach Myrie, a favorite amongst the swimmers, was on pins and needles waiting for the 200M Backstroke event, the exact last event of the weekend meet. Up until that point, Zach had failed to qualify. Myrie needed to better the CARIFTA qualifying time of 2:34.19 to punch his ticket to Jamaica. With the entire crowd cheering him on, Zack used every inch of his outstretched reach to touch out in 2:34.16 – qualifying by three hundreds of a second, or one hand length!
Long-time Stingray Swim Club Board Member Sara Mackay made perhaps the most interesting observation about this 2007 CARIFTA team selection. ‘Over the past five years it has been interesting to watch many of our swimmers compete for a chance to represent Cayman at the CARIFTA Championships. In some cases we had some swimmers that fell short of the necessary time and went away heartbroken, but vowing to make it ‘next time’. This is perhaps the first year in those five where every swimmer that has wanted a place on the team has earned it. While we are proud of every member of the CARIFTA team, we are especially happy for Madalena Alves and Summer Flowers who have persevered to make CARIFTA for the first time, and for Zach Myrie who had been unable to qualify last year only to battle back and fight for his spot this year.’
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