A number of swimmers are set to take part in the Sea Waves Aquatics Invitational set for this weekend over at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex. The meet will get started at 6pm on Friday and 9a.m on Saturday.

This weekend presents a golden opportunity for swimmers who weren't able to qualify for the 2016 CARIFTA Swimming Championships to qualify for a different regional meet. CARIFTA is set for March 22-26 in Fort-de France, Martinique, and the Goodwill Swim Meet will be held August 12-14 in St. Lucia.

Immediately following the Sea Waves Aquatics Invitational, which is set for Friday starting at 6 p.m. and Saturday starting at 9 a.m., over at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex, the team that will represent The Bahamas at the Goodwill meet will be selected.

"We're selecting this team so early this year because we want to have time to raise funds for the event," said head of the Sea Waves Aquatics Club and Goodwill team coach Shirley Mireault.

"We had to cut last year's team down considerably because of some visa issues. This time we're more prepared and we look to carry a full 40-member team to St. Lucia. As long as the parents are willing to help with fundraising, we should be more than ready to go by August.

"The kids who went last year are excited for the meet this year, some were even asking about it from September. This meet is a good chance to show the region that we have a lot of young swimmers coming up and not just the ones they see representing us now. CARIFTA takes the top two in each event, while the top three are able to come for Goodwill, so it allows more athletes a chance to compete."

The Goodwill meet is open to kids aged 7-17 and is made up of seven member countries and one invited guest. For the second consecutive year, The Bahamas will compete as the invited guest.

At last year's Sea Waves invitational, the Barracuda Swim Club pulled off an impressive victory, racking up a grand total of 703 points. Alpha Aquatics was second with 485 points, Swift Swimming was a distant third with 238 points, the Dolphin Swim Club finished fourth with 217 points, and the host Sea Waves team rounded out the top five with 148 points.

Randy Smith

Guardian Sports

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