CARIFTA SwimTeam Tapered and Ready
2001 Cayman CARIFTA SwimTeam
Sport
CARIFTA SwimTeam Tapered and Ready
2001 Cayman CARIFTA SwimTeam
Tapered and ready, in new gear and looking strong, the Caymanswim team departs Wed 18 April on Cayman Airways for the 2001CARIFTA Swim Championships.
Competition is Friday, Saturday and Sunday,20-22 April in Nassau at a new 50metre pool, at the ElizabethKeating Aquatic Center in the morning prelims, evening finalsformat. The Dutch Antilles will be joining the other 13 countriesin competition for the first time this year.
"The standard of CARIFTA swimming hasexperienced a huge surge in the last 5 years," stated SaraMackay one of the public relation officers for the Cayman IslandsAmateur Swim Association.
Cayman's team this year is young and hardworking. For six youngsters, this will be the first time theywill be entering the CARIFTA Championship as competitors. Twoof those six, Gillian Roffey and Laura Elphinstone, attended previousyears competition to watch their older sisters compete successfully,inspiring them. Their families are already in the swim life-styleand frame of mind. Younger swimmers don't do before-school workouts,although some are clambering to.
The other four novices, Jodie Foster, BrettFraser, Michael Lockwood and Taylor Foster, will have their firstbig Caribbean experience.
"I kind of envy them," said LizzieHaines, a CARIFTA medallist.
"Your first CARIFTA is the most fun,it's all so new and exciting," she added.
"CARIFTA has the best atmosphere ofany of the meets we attend," several parents stated.
"Caribbean competition, in the outdoorpools, especially at night during finals, with the stands fulland loud, are so exciting. It's just great fun."
"The six experienced competitors arelooking forward to improving their times, having trained for along time, finally to taper for this meet. In many of the othermeets they have competed in along the way, they have faced 'taperedand shaved' competitors, while they tested themselves 'mid-season,"Ms. MacKay explained.
This will be Laura Stafford and Shaune Fraser'ssecond CARIFTA experience.
Both have improved significantly, are primedto 'show their stuff'. The training season started in September,increased at Christmas time, with the senior swimmers trainingup to 70k per week. They have fine-tuned their act (training ata lower quantity and intensity) for the last two weeks, to peakat the right time, resulting, hopefully, in personal-best performances.
Cayman will always be one of the smallercountries at CARIFTA. Dominated by the larger islands; Barbados,Jamaica, Trinidad, Bahamas, and a combined French-islands team,with their larger populations, 50 metre pools and bigger swimprograms, they all field multiple relay teams (double points).Cayman has come top of the smaller island nations in points inthe last several years' competitions.
"Each country will be limited to twocompetitors per event in the three day meet, held in the regions50m pools. CARIFTA swim competition has three age groups, 11-12,13-14 & 15-17. (CARIFTA Track competition has just two.),"said Ms. MacKay.
"Being at the top of your age groupgives a physical and psychological advantage. Many of the regionstop older competitors live and train at swim-oriented schoolsin the States," said Ms. Mackay.
The Cayman Islands Amateur Swim Association(C.I.A.S.A.) is still in need of financial support for these hard-workingathletes. Contact Shane Foster, President at 949-2928 or sendto P.O. Box 10376APO.