After a two-year hiatus, the George Anderson Memorial 45th annual Lions Swim Meet returned to Cayman Brac over the weekend, with 70 swimmers competing for top honours.
Though there were some heart-thumping close calls, in the end West End Primary School and Hurricane retained their respective primary school and high school house championships.
A total of 50 races were held at the Brac’s 25-metre swimming pool on the Bluff.
District Commissioner Mark Tibbetts, who delivered opening remarks, welcomed the return of the event to the Brac saying that it was a great opportunity for training young swimmers.
The meet is held annually in honour of Anderson, who was heavily involved in swimming on the Brac.
His family put up a $1,000 top prize for the final event, the community team swim.
Team Barracudas eventually emerged on top in that race, beating teams Marlins and Brac Orcas.
Anderson’s children Tiffany and Mark, presented the top prize to the community swim winners.
Tiffany Anderson, who spoke at the event, congratulated the swimmers, saying her father would have been proud to see how the event has grown and the level of skill demonstrated.
She told the students that they douls do anything they want. She said that her father, at 16, left the Brac to be a “merchant marine”, but he eventually became a teacher and returned to the Brac.
After learning about the world of competitive swimming, she said, her father started the Cayman Brac swimming team with Michael Hunt and taught “top-notch skills”.
“He taught us to respect the water and that’s why we became lifeguards, scuba divers… we can do anything in the water,” she added.
Results
Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet – Caden Falcon
Primary Champion (Girl) Marsee Walton – West End Primary School
Primary Champion (Boy) Che Scott – Creek and Spot Bay Primary School
Champion Primary School – West End Primary SchoolHigh School Champion (Girl) – Naihima Ordoñez-Miller, Tradewinds
High School Champion (Boy) – Caden Falcon, Northwester
High School Champion House – Hurricane
The swim meet is a joint event between the Lions Club of Grand Cayman and the Lions Club of Cayman Brac.
Lions Club of Grand Cayman president Michael Havlin, in his welcome address, lauded the opportunity to support the Cayman Brac club and join in the annual swim meet.
“For over 40 years, our Lions club has been an integral part of this fantastic event, which brings together swimmers of all age groups to compete in a spirit of camaraderie and friendly competition. As Lions, we are proud to support this event and to help promote physical fitness and healthy lifestyles in our community,” he said.
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