PanAm Aquatics held their inaugural Open Water Series on Saturday, 4 March, along Governors Beach – the first of three events to be held.
The series consisted of a 5K, 10K and 4×1.25K relay, the last race featuring visiting team Puerto Rico winning in 1:07:55 ahead of second-place Cayman’s Camana Bay Aquatic Club and Seven Mile Swimmers in third.
Taking the win in the 5K was Connor MacDonald in 1:03:54 for the men and Lola Haworth in 1:13:37 for the women.
In the 10K, the Puerto Rican swimmers again took the the top spot, with Christian Bayo and Alondras Quiles winning the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.
Following the competition, the Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association held a meet-and-greet event at the Lions Pool highlighting Olympian Alia Atkinson.
Jamaican breaststroker Atkinson, the 50-metre world record holder in that stroke, who was with PanAm Aquatics, told the Cayman Compass that while there wasn’t a huge turnout for the opening series, she hopes to see the event grow moving forward.
“We wanted to get something on paper to get it started at least,” she said. “So, the numbers weren’t what we wanted them to be. However, we are very grateful to [CIASA] for putting it together. I think because of that, a lot of countries will jump on board as well.”
PanAm Aquatics, headed by president Maureen Croes, aims to highlight sports that are not as recognised locally, like water polo, synchronised swimming and diving.
While Cayman lacks all the resources needed to accommodate the PanAm Aquatics initiatives, Atkinson said its natural assets could be key in growing aquatics.
“We are just trying to build, trying to get the kids excited about international exposure and also trying to build awareness in the country,” she said. “The beaches… it is beautiful. What we are trying to do is use our natural resources. Investing in open water, investing in beach polo, which is coming about as well.
“Funny enough, Europe is a big thing and it’s because they have the numbers. However, their locations are not grand. The Caribbean is the best place we can think of.”
The series will continue through Jamaica and then end in Pozuelo Bay, Guayama in Puerto Rico on 19 March.
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