A STRONG 19 member swim team has been named by the Saint Lucia Amateur Swimming Association (SLASA) Technical Committee to represent Saint Lucia at the 24th edition of Goodwill Championship in Barbados. The stiff rivalry among ween the seven nations will take place at the Aquatic Centre, Wildey, St. Michael, from Friday 17th – Sunday 19th August 2018.
The Goodwill championship is a developmental swim meet and is designed to allow the less experienced swimmer who shows great potential, to compete at a level comparable to his or her own, in the hopes of generating the experience needed to be competitive at a time trial.
CARIFTA and CCCAN 2018 participants now take a back seat at this championship to allow these swimmers an opportunity to earn their places on the podium as well.
The Saint Lucia team includes – Zoe Bernard, Maya Brathwaite, Mikaela-Shae Casimir, Karic Charles, Eden Crick, Antoine Destang, Tristan Dorville, Isabelle Esper, Ethan Hazell, Anya -Marie Hilaire, Maya – Jean Hilaire, Fayth Jeffery, Shalini Joseph, Sunshine Mauricette, Courtney Paul, Tammy Pultie, Ziv Reynolds, Jasmine Stiede and Jeannot- Mitchel Walters.
Also competing are teams from Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and host Barbados.
In Barbados, the team will be under the watchful eyes of Manager Cheryl Goddard-Dorville, she said, “The technical staff is confident that the team will perform well at the championship, despite the strength of the other swimming nations competing at the games. The selected swimmers know that and they are up to the challenge”.
Dorville will be assisted by chaperones NicklerVelinor-Paul and Lisa Pultie.
Head Coach David Peterkin and his Assistant Coach Henry Joseph will lead the 19 member team pool preparations.
The coaches have been working with the team at practice sessions which commenced on Tuesday 24th July 2018. The team trains 2 days weekly on Tuesdays from 5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. and Sundays from 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p. m. Thus far the team has had four training sessions and worked assiduously to improve their stroke, turn and overall techniques.
As part of the closing ceremony to mark the end of the championship, team Saint Lucia will participate in the cultural presentation aspect where the teams show their peers that they possess talent beyond swimming.
Saint Lucia’s presentation is always highly anticipated by the other participating nations and this year will be no exception. The team intends to present a combination of song and dance which will showcase the work of Saint Lucian soca artistes.
Last year in Guyana at the 23rd edition of the Championship, a 26 member team from Saint Lucia medaled in several events bringing home six gold, eight sliver and seven bronze.
Meanwhile, since the announcement of the team, SLASA together with the swimmers and their parents held a beach barbecue/family fun day to assist the team in raising much needed finances to defray the cost of the trip.