There's now less than a month to go before the 36-member team selected by the Bahamas Swimming Federation (BSF) represents the country at home at the 2017 CARIFTA Swimming Championships. According to recently appointed head coach Travano McPhee, the swimmers are peaking at the perfect time and are in a great position to reclaim the regional title. Team Bahamas won two consecutive CARIFTA swimming titles in 2014 and 2015, but fell short of a three-peat last year, finishing second to Guadeloupe in Fort-de-France, Martinique. This year's championships are set for April 15-19 at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Aquatics Centre in New Providence, here in The Bahamas.
With a team filled with members from last year's squad, team coaches feel that this is the year for them. Their main goal is to reclaim the CARIFTA swimming title.
"This year's team has been looking really good in the practice sessions," McPhee said. "The kids are working hard, and I think we are in a good position to defend our home turf. We'll have the home field advantage, which will play a major factor. It's an advantage we plan to make the most of. Last year, in Martinique, we barely lost to Guadeloupe. We had a bit of a drop off in a couple areas, but we feel that we corrected a few things and now we're ready to compete. We have a lot of younger swimmers who had good performances last year returning to this year's team. I think they'll be even better than they were last year, because now they know what to expect. All of the nerves and jitters are out of the way, so now it's time to get down to business."
Along with the action in the water, McPhee said that being a part of Team Bahamas also has a lot to do with attitude and team spirit. He said that the way the athletes interact outside of the pool is almost as important as how they perform inside of it.
"The newer athletes will learn quickly what it means to be a part of Team Bahamas," he said. "We have developed a winning culture over the last few years, and now it has become a point of emphasis to cheer on your team, to make sacrifices for the team and to be there for your teammates, regardless if they have a good or bad swim. We have some good senior leaders who will help us coaches control things out of the water, so I know we'll be okay in that regard."
The Bahamas finished a close second to Guadeloupe at last year's CARIFTA Swimming Championships. Guadeloupe ended the meet with 796 points, while The Bahamas had 774.5 points. Host country Martinique finished third with 586.5 points.
Team Bahamas
Swimming (36)
Abayomi Brown
Salene Gibson
Rachel Lundy
Liya Moncur
Zaylie Elizabeth Thompson
Katelyn Cabral
Jamila Hepburn
Anya MacPhail
Jolise Newbold
Katherine Slatter
Jasmine Gibson
Lilly Higgs
Margaret Albury Higgs
Brianna Nesbitt
Victoria Russell
Virginia Stamp
Brayden Dam
Nigel Forbes
Jared Reckley
Ishan Roy
Jake Thompson
Erald Thompson III
Trent Albury
DeVante Carey
Kevon Lockhart
Sean Neely
Ian Pinder
Tristan Russell
Lemar Taylor
Miller Albury
Izaak Bastian
Samuel Gibson
Peter Morley
Joshua Roberts
William Russell
Alec Sands

Open Water Swimming (12)
Giovanna Eneas
Anya MacPhail
Jazmine Trotman
Jasmine Gibson
Tenniya Martin
Keitra Lloyd
Rommel Ferguson
Tristan Russell
Lemar Taylor
Darren Laing
Shimon Lopez
Kris Smith

Water Polo (20)
Aidan Johnson
Loron Bain
Johnathon Demeritte
Adrian Burrows
Thor Sasso
Damian Gomez
Gabriel Sastre
Alexander Turnquest
Liam Mills
Nicholas Wallace-Whitfield
Jelani Grant
Gabriel Encinar
Thomas Illing
Stearlin Lewis
Marcel Ingraham
Saequan Miller
Joshua Knowles
Kendrick Stubbs
Adonis Sasso
Sean Knowles

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