Seventeen Club have confirmed their participation in this weekend’s Powerade 20th Annual Aquatic Centre International which got underway last night at the Aquatic Centre.
And as it is for every year, the question is whether Alpha Swim Sharks will win again, the tenth consecutive year, or if Pirates Swim Club can break their long-standing dominance.
If the total number of entries is any indication, a tough battle is at hand between Pirates and Alpha, indicating that the trophy will stay at home again.
The meet continues at 9 a.m. today and 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.
As a competition sanctioned by the world body FINA, the meet has attracted swimmers from the region vying to meet the qualifying standards for the 14th FINA World Swimming Championships in Shanghai, China, in July and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in October.
Age group swimmers entered in this meet will also be assessing their chances of qualifying for the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships slated for Puerto Rico at the end of June.
Top Trinidadian swimmer Carlyle Blondell is on course to meet the FINA standard in the 100M freestyle and he will be competing in a line-up that will feature compatriots Joshua McLeod and Abraham McLeod. Â
Joshua will also face off against St Lucia’s Julien Brice and top sports personality for St Lucia, Joshua Renako Daniel, in the 50M backstroke. Â
The CARIFTA swimmers who rocked Barbados to first place in the gold medal table will be back, but this time competing for their respective clubs.
Lee-Ann Rose will meet St Lucia’s top female swimmer Siona Huxley in the backstroke events. Both Huxley and Rose competed at the Youth Olympics in Singapore.
Zabrina Holder, Amara Gibbs, Deandre Small, Inayah Sherry, Kimberley Willoughby and Christian Selby are expected to put on an entertaining show.
Sariyah Sherry, a CARIFTA division champion, and Alex Sobers, best first-timer, will also be contributing their best in the quest for the challenge trophy, while top junior swimmers Damon St Prix, Kendi Bynoe, Danielle Titus, Jack Kirby and Tiffany Titus will also be heating up the water. (PR/SAT)
