A full pool in the month of May means continued growth for the sport of swimming. Cayman's three major swim clubs - host Stingray Swim Club, Camana Bay Aquatic Club and Seven Mile Swimmers - along with the Brac Barracudas, Special Olympics Cayman Islands (SOCI) and youngsters from two different Learn-To-Swim programmes dove in Saturday (18 May) for the 2019 Lions Sprint Meet. As the entire swim community navigated through 25-and 50-metre freestyle in traditional strokes as well as the 100-metre individual medley, Meet Director Kathy Jackson says the event is a unique opportunity for senior swimmers to mentor youth hopefuls.
"We came off a great season, the kids did really well at CARIFTA, and they've been training hard through the summer season," Jackson told Cayman 27. "The Lions Meet is one of our busiest meets. Stingray and Lions Club have had a great partnership for many years. They built this pool, and as part of our service to the community, the meet is free. We use it as an opportunity to teach the mechanics and operations of a swim meet for younger swimmers - how to read a heat sheet, when to go up for your races - and our Head Coach pairs our senior swimmers with our younger swimmers. The senior swimmers are responsible for making sure really understand what they are doing."
Lions Club Swimming Committee Chair Michael Havlin told Cayman 27 he hopes the club's continued support will translate into the realization of the much-discussed Aquatics Centre, while emphasizing the importance of learning to swim at a young age.
"The Lions Club of Grand Cayman has supported this meet for 46 years," said Havlin. "We hope with our partnership with CIASA, that we will have a new Aquatics Centre where the community can benefit from both a 25-and 50-metre pool. We are an island surrounded by sea, so it is one of the number one sports. Every child needs to learn how to swim."
Stingray Swim Club topped the competition with 323 points, edging second-place Camana Bay Aquatic Club with 312 points, while Seven Mile Swimmers placed third with 137 points.
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