From the 5th to 8th April the Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre (RHAC) in St Lucia held their 19th Invitational swim meet and St Vincent’s number one swim club, Black Sands Swim Squad had 14 swimmers attend. The competition consisted of 22 clubs from across the region with over 300 swimmers competing.
Leading the way for Black Sands and following her siblings’ example of success in the pool was 10 year old Jamie Joachim. She swam herself to 6 medals – 2 Golds (200 Fly and 800 Free); 3 Silvers (200 Back, 100 Fly and 400 Free); and 1 Bronze (200 Free). Joachim was also brave enough to take part in the open water event placing a proud 10th place in her age group.
Akayla Crichton brought 5 medals home to St Vincent. 1 Gold, 2 Silvers and 2 Bronze and ended the competition placing 3rd overall for her age group.
The Defreitas siblings, Aaron and Mya both graced the podium with Mya winning 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medal and whilst doing so, Mya broke the SVG National record in the 800 free and 100 fly and finished 3rd overall in her age group. Brother Aaron brought home 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.
8 Years and under swimmer Kathryn Cumberbatch was competing in her first regional competition and managed to successfully win a place on the podium, receiving a Bronze medal in the 25 meter Freestyle.
Adriel Bullock, Abigail Deshong, Bryson and Brandon George, Tia Gun Munro, Kyle John, Tyrese Lewis, Anwar Medjahed and Mornnell Ollivierre made up the contingent of Black Sand swimmers and all swam personal best times in many of their events. Together, the 14 Black Sands Swim Squad swimmers claimed 5th position over all out of 22 clubs.
On the opposite side of the world coaching the National team at the Commonwealth Games in Australia, Head Coach Kyle Dougan was delighted to hear the news of his team’s achievements and shared words of congratulations to all the swimmers and parents that attended the competition.