The best part of swimming with a team is that after all the training, you get to go to meets (that’s what swimming competitions are called). Last month, 10 young swimmers with Carib Swim Team (CST) got to go to Aruba for a three-day meet.
Before the meet, the swimmers worked with Coach Pittman on race strategies including best swimming techniques and how to make a sprint finish. Coach also helped each swimmer set individual goals, such as best and target times for each race. And, of course, regular swim practice carried on as normal!
Then with permission letters from the Education Department to miss a couple of days at school and passports and tickets in hand, the squad met at the airport. The 10 were accompanied by Coach Pittman, two mums, a dad and younger brother (by far the biggest supporter!) on the trip.
Looking smart in their Team kit, the excited swimmers waved goodbye and boarded the plane. They were a little nervous to be flying to another country, being away from parents, and three intensive days of swimming as it was a lot to deal with – and the youngest member of the squad was only eight.
The meet was BIG. There were 220 swimmers from 11 different teams. Most swimmers were from Aruba; then there was CST from St. Maarten, as well as swimmers from Bonaire, Curaçao, Venezuela and the USA. And the pool was big too. It was 50m, that’s double the length of CST’s 25m pool and it looked a little intimidating.
It was the first time for the squad to compete over three days. That meant each swimmer swam 10-12 races, which is a lot of swimming and it all had to be fast! Luckily, CST swimmers are used to swimming 4-8km every week in training, which gives them plenty of strength and stamina. But it was still tiring. When Coach insisted on naps, the swimmers were surprised. “Aren’t naps for babies? We can’t possibly sleep during the day!” But funnily enough, everyone did fall asleep.
All the training and preparation paid off. Alison, Chloe, Devesh, Emma, Matias, Maxime, Nahel, Paul and Sahil all came away with awards. Between them, they won 31 ribbons (placed 4th-8th) and 13 medals; and Emma won the third-place overall trophy in the girls 11-12 age group category. And they still managed to go out bowling one night and enjoy some Halloween candy!
If you would like to swim with Carib Swim Team, visit www.caribswimteam.org or go to the pool in Cole Bay one weekday afternoon and watch the training. There is also the opportunity for all children to swim in the upcoming Caribbean Gems sponsored schools meets. The high school meet is on Sunday, January 24, and the elementary school meet is on Sunday, February 28. So talk to your teacher, make a school team and compete in a swim meet soon. It’s fun!
