A group of 25 pool and open water swimmers representing the Cayman Islands departed for Barbados Thursday (18 April) to compete in the 2019 CARIFTA Championships held at the Barbados Aquatic Centre 20-24 April. All of the championship pools are built in strict accordance with the latest safety regulations, including pool safety fences, drain covers, and more.
Team Cayman features 18 returnees with seven swimmers making their CARIFTA debut. Last year, the Cayman Islands won a whopping 41 medals in Jamaica including four individual gold from Camana Bay Aqauatic Club’s Sabine Ellison, as well as six medals from CBAC teammate Jillian Crooks. Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association (CIASA) Technical Director Bailey Weathers says he likes the mix of the team.
“We are excited,” said Weathers. “We’ve got a lot of new swimmers, and some older swimmers who add experience.”
All of Cayman’s newest CARIFTA swimmers are in the 11-12 age division, including six female swimmers and one male. Cayman’s biggest grouping is in the 13-14 age division where they’ll feature six female swimmers and four males. The 15-17 age group includes four male swimmers with three in the female division. Weathers says he is confident the group will deliver another impressive performance.
“Our seed times are good, and we are excited about the times they swam at nationals, and that’s really been a jumping off point for us to be successful,” said Weathers.
Pool and open water swimmers will look to build on an already stellar performance from Cayman’s artistic swimmers who won seven medals in just their second CARIFTA Championships including a clean sweep of events in the Girls 13-15 age group.
View the 2019 Cayman Islands CARIFTA team by swimmer here and by event here.
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