With swimming slated to become Cayman’s top focus sport, Brett Fraser and Jordan Crooks – two of the nation’s greatest swimmers – have expressed support for the decision that has drawn mixed reactions from the community.
For Fraser, a three-time Olympian and Pan-American gold medallist, the decision by the Ministry of Sports is a commendable one, when considering all that Cayman swimmers have accomplished.
“I think it’s very exciting that swimming is being considered,” Fraser told the Compass. “I think the calibre of swimmers that have been produced throughout the years certainly deserve recognition, given their success … on the world stage.”
Fraser and his brother Shaune are among those who put Cayman swimming on the map. Brett, in particular, was the first Caymanian swimmer to make an Olympic semi-final and first finalist in swimming at the Commonwealth Games, where he placed fifth in 2014 in the 50-metre butterfly with a time of 23.66 seconds. That remains a national record.
Many others paved the way for the new wave of athletes to enjoy swimming in Cayman, among them Andrew Mackay, Heather Harvey (née Roffey), and siblings Geoffrey and Lara Butler.
Today, Caymanian swimmers Kyra Rabess, Sierrah Broadbelt, and siblings Jordan and Jillian Crooks are heralding a new age in the sport.
From five consistent years of dominance at the CARIFTA Championships, to making the podium at major competitions like Youth Commonwealth, Central American and Caribbean, and Island Games, Cayman swimmers have excelled when put to the test.
But the crowning achievement came in 2022, when Jordan Crooks won a historic gold medal for Cayman at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, becoming the first Caymanian world champion in any sport.
‘More Caymanians’
While Cayman’s success has spanned both the youth and senior levels, many in the community feel the sport has more expats involved both in the pool and at an executive level.
For Fraser, he believes that more Caymanians should embrace the sport, which will ultimately strengthen the country’s international presence, but said more incentives are needed for that to happen.
“It would certainly be good to see more swimmers come out of the Cayman Islands. After all, we are an island surrounded by water,” he said, noting that the Ministry of Sports could initiate campaigns to promote swimming, ultimately presenting opportunities for the next generation of Caymanians.
Crooks, who is currently finetuning his preparation for his Olympic debut in Paris, echoed those sentiments.
“I hope to see more Caymanians give swimming a shot, as we have many talented kids on the island who could make it very far with the right help,” Crooks told the Compass.
Two of the main factors preventing Caymanians from getting into the sport are the costs involved in club membership and the logistics of travelling to pools for training.
The government has purchase agreements with eight focus sports, including swimming, where they all receive $150,000 per year.
While the Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association is not presently running any initiatives to enable those who can’t afford training in the sport, Dara Flowers Burke recently confirmed that a local swim club sponsored the membership of 10 Caymanian kids who participated in the Swim Free Programme.
“I’ve had the pleasure of closing knowing the Flowers family, who have embarked on a very admirable and very visionary project to get learn-to-swim lessons more accessible to anyone who wants them at zero cost through their Swim Free Programme,” Fraser added.
50-metre facility
One of the measures in the works to drive swimming in Cayman is the long-awaited multi-million-dollar aquatic centre, which will house a 50-metre pool. At the moment, that pool is in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it was recently used for the US Olympic trials.
The pool will be broken down and shipped to Cayman in the coming months, with the plan to have the new facility constructed by the end of 2025, according to Joan West-Dacres, the sports ministry’s deputy chief officer.
Sports Minister Isaac Rankine told the Compass in May that he was hoping by the end of this year, the public would start to see the facility materialise.
The project has been in the works since Fraser was 14 – and that was 21 years ago. He said the aquatic centre will open many doors for Cayman swimmers, who train and compete locally in a 25-metre pool.
“I’d love to see the 50-metre pool that has been talked about for decades come to fruition,” he said. “Having the right facilities to be able to train and develop talent is critical.”
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Every Cayman citizen should have the right and readily available free access to learn to swim.
Our swimmers are by far I most successful sportspersons, however I really feel we don’t need to have a “national” sport. That said, I agree they thoroughly deserve a 50meter pool which has been promised, and needs to be delivered. Our athletes have enjoyed a dedicated facility for many years with far less success.