A number of swimmers are expected to qualify for this year's CARIFTA Swimming Championships, at the annual Barracuda Swim Club event this weekend. The two-day meet is the first on the Bahamas Swimming Federation's (BSF) calendar and should set the tone for the local swimmers. So far, more than 100 swimmers have registered for the meet which will be held Friday and Saturday at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex.

According to Travano McPhee, trainer in the Barracuda Swim Club, all of the local swimmers are fully aware of the times needed to qualify for their events and the majority of their club members are on target. "In this meet you should see a lot of the swimmers qualifying or nearing the qualifying times for the CARIFTA Swimming Championships," said McPhee. "With this being the first meet of the year, you will see that many of them have already put the times in their heads and will be looking up at the clock to see if they have actually achieved those goals.

"The CARIFTA championships are two weeks earlier than usual so our swimmers never stopped training. We tried to keep them going straight through because we knew it will be beneficial in the long run. This meet you will be able to pick out the persons who took a break and those who didn't." McPhee said the training regiment for Barracuda Swim Club members has changed since the new dates for the CARIFTA Swimming Championships were announced.

The annual regional meet will be held March 30-April 3, in Kingston, Jamaica. The Bahamas Swimming Federation's (BSF) timed trials were also moved up on the calendar, and will take place February 22-23, at the Betty Kelly Kenning complex. Several other meets fall in between, giving local swimmers a number of opportunities to qualify. The Barracuda Swim Club has a tentative meet set for February 15-16.

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