Junior swimmers head for Championships

(CIASA): As the Commonwealth Games’ swimming competition draws to an end, 10 of Cayman’s Junior Representative Team swimmers are preparing to compete in the 2014 Southern Zone Senior Long Course Championships in Fort Myers, Florida this week. The swimmers left on Sunday morning and were training in the 50m pool at the Florida Gulf Coast University Aquatic Centre on Monday, in preparation for the Championships which started on Tuesday, 29 July. Representing the Cayman Islands are: Jonathan Key, Samantha Bailey, John Bodden, Matthew Courtis, Wunyae Crawford, Alison Jackson, Sarah Jackson, Iain McCallum, Cole Morgan, Zororo Mutomba and Ella Plunkett.

“This is a Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) sanctioned overseas meet for our Junior Swimmers,” said Technical Director Bailey Weathers. “Following CARIFTA, I met with swim club coaches who agreed that our swimmers need to have opportunities to participate more frequently in competitive; prelim-finals swim meets. We found this meet and it was a perfect fit. The times are fast, the competition will be strong and our swimmers will be able to work on their race preparation and execution as well as getting in and swimming as fast as they can.”

The Cayman team is coached by Coaches Brad Hutton and Andy Copley and the Team Manager is Coach Marie Shepheard. The meet: 2014 Southern Zone Senior LC Championships is available on Meet Mobile (you can download the app for free) and follow the team as they represent Cayman.

Not to be outdone by the Junior Swimmers, Cayman’s Masters are also heading off to another CIASA sanctioned swim championship. They are taking part in the 15^th FINA World Masters Championships, August 2-10^th in Montreal, Canada. These championships are held every two years and the group from Cayman: Michelle Bailey, William Balderamos,  Lee-Anne Corin, Kim Eckart and Elliot Smith, look forward to racing against some of the worlds’ best Masters Swimmers.

“We are so happy that Cayman Swimming will be represented in Montreal,” said CIASA President Michael Lockwood, “With two years until the next competition I might start some serious training again myself … but in the meantime it is great to see so much happening with swimming this summer. From the government swimming camps at the Lions Pool with Coach Ryan Mushin, to overseas competitive age group swim meets, Cayman representative teams in Ft. Myers and Montreal and of course the stellar swims produced by our swimmers at the Commonwealth Games, there is no doubt that Cayman Swimming is growing from strength to strength and I am already looking forward to the upcoming swim season.”