Team Barbados for Carifta 2019
At the recently concluded 2018 Goodwill Swimming Championships, Barbados was
awarded the Age Group Champion trophy in 4 Age Groups and had several second
and third place finishes.
It would be a clean sweep of the top 3 placements in the 8 & under girls with Heidi
Stoute being the winner, amassing 29 points from the 5 events contested. Second
place would go to Jaiya Simmons with 28 points while Ayobami Leon Barker would
finish in 3 rd with 24 points, tied with Guyana’s Shareefah Lewis.
Nikolai Sisnett with 4 gold medals from 5 events would be the champion of the 8 &
under boys, finishing with 40 points. Second place was a tie between the Bahamas
Maxwell Daniels and Trinidad’s Rylan Thomas, with 28 points each while Tariq
Greenidge of Barbados would finish in 4 th place with 26 points.
Kenyah Deane would be the lone placement for Barbados in the 9-10 age group,
finishing in 3 rd place overall with 42 points. The age group title went to Christanya
Shirley of Jamaica (67 points). Heidi Baker would finish in 4 th place with 22 points.
In the 13-14 age group, Takiyah Weekes was 2 nd overall with 39 points behind
Trinidad’s Isabella Edwards with 48 points while 3 rd place went to Liya Moncur of
the Bahamas. Christopher Pollard and Eli Zerpa would swap gold and silver medal
positions throughout the meet but Pollard’s performance was strong enough to
eventually earn him the title of Age Group champion with 55 points while Zerpa had
to settle for 2 nd place with 50 points.
In the 15-17 age group, Ashley Weekes and Destiny Harding, having medaled
between them in every event contested, were awarded the first and second place
trophies respectively. Weekes’ finished with 63 points while Harding secured 53
points. The 3 rd place went to Trinidad’s Courtney Lawrence with 31 points.
With solid performances all round from the team, Barbados would finish in 2 nd
position with 983 points. The overall winner was Trinidad with 1,242 points while
the Bahamas finished in third with 633.50 points.
The final qualifying time trials for the upcoming Goodwill Swimming Championships were held last weekend at the Aquatic Centre, and coming out of the Technical Meeting held on Tuesday, the Barbados Amateur Swimming Association is pleased to announce the National Team that has been selected and ratified for this regional meet in August.
8 & Under Girls: Jaiya Simmons, Heidi Stoute, Ayobami Leon-Barker, Amiya Harrison
8 & Under Boys: Tariq Greenidge, Nikolai Sisnett, Jacob Gollop, Brennan Watson
9-10 Girls: Kenyah Deane, Heidi Baker, Melanie Walkes, Rylan Marville
9-10 Boys: Jayden Lavine, Jaden Johnson, Matthew DaCosta-Hinds, Joshua Ross
11-12 Girls: Kyla Beckles, Kimberly Griffith, Amelia Mayers, Toni Walrond
11-12 Boys: Storme Collymore, Ethan Roachford, Khaleb Gaskin, Charlie Williams
13-14 Girls: Takiyah Weekes, Chara Hinds, Kayla Renwick, Kayla Smith
13-14 Boys: Christopher Pollard, Eric Lashley, Jake Chee-A-Tow, Elijah Mahy
15-17 Girls: Destiny Harding, Ashley Weekes, Shannan Smith, Shirkeitha Hunte
15-17 Boys: Nathan James, Jalani Blenman, Matthew Mayers, Keon Jessamy
HEAD COACH: Darny Olalde-Hernandez
ASSISTANT COACHES: Ancille Inniss, Henderson Clarke
TEAM MANAGER: Samantha Clarke
TEAM CHAPERONE: Gale-Ann Weekes
The 2018 Goodwill Swimming Championships are being held in Barbados from August 17th – 19th at the Aquatic Centre. We will be welcoming teams, officials and supporters from St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas, Suriname, Guyana, Grenada & Jamaica, for what promises to be a weekend of keen competition and regional sportsmanship!
The Barbados Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) recently held it’s Annual General Meeting at the Barbados Aquatic Centre, and is pleased to announce the election of the following individuals as Officers of the Federation for the 2018 – 2020 period.
PRESIDENT: Mr. Anthony “Tony” Selby
1st VICE PRESIDENT: Mrs. Cicely Chase-Harding
2nd VICE PRESIDENT: Mrs. Samantha Clarke
SECRETARY: Mrs. Pamela Mullins
TREASURER: Mrs. Anne-Marie Burke Brewster
The Barbados Amateur Swimming Association is proud to announce our National Swimming Team for the upcoming CCCAN Swimming Championships, to be held in the Aruba June 29th – July 06th, 2018.
11-12 GIRLS: Amelie Baker, Adia Deane, Mill-Jo MacDonald & Adara Stoddard
11-12 BOYS: Omari Sealy
13-14 GIRLS: Aza Dunwoody & Danielle Treasure
13-14 BOYS: Roan Baker, McCallum Clarke, Niel Skinner, Tristan Pragnell
15-17 GIRLS: Danielle Titus
15-17 BOYS: Nkosi Dunwoody, Luis-Sebastian Weekes
Amelie Baker, Girls 12-13
SWIMMING COACHES: Ancille Inniss & Henderson Clarke
TEAM MANGER: Andrea Titus
CHAPERONE: Adua Kinch
OPEN WATER COACH: Harold Lewis
OPEN WATER TEAM MANAGER: Wendy Baker
The BASA Awards Ceremony for the 2017 aquatics season took place on Sunday February 25th at the Radisson Aquatica Resort. The event kicked off with a Welcome Address by Mr. Tony Selby (BASA President) and an inspirational speech by one of the founders of the Aquatic Centre, Mr. Maurice Foster. The Aquatic Centre celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2017, and Mr. Foster shared the stories and experiences that led to the development of the facility.
The evening also included a presentation by Guest Speaker Mr. Erskine Simmons (Secretary General of the Barbados Olympic Association).
The Awardees for the 2017 aquatics season are as follows:
The Leah Martindale Trophy for Most Valuable Swimmer: Danielle Titus
The Victor Norville Memorial Trophy for Best Overall Swim: Jack Kirby
Best Female Open Water Performance: Danielle Clarke
Best Male Open Water Performance: Eric Lashley
Women’s 18 & Under
The Most Improved Player: Suann Spencer
The Most Committed Player: Thea Beckles
Men 18 & Under
The Most Improved Player: Tyrese Beckles
The Most Committed Player: Nathan James
MEN 16 & Under
The Most Improved Player: Darien Maynard
The Most Committed Player: Anij Brewster
14 & Under Mixed Team
The Most Improved Player: Rihanna Philips
The Most Committed Player: Fozlo Brewster
The Coach of the Year: Ryan Forde
Best Overall Female Performance: Lani Cabrera
Best Overall Male Performance: Alex Sobers
Most Valuable Swimmer: Nkosi Dunwoody
Best Female Open Water Performance: Amelie Baker
Best Male Open Water Performance: Nathaniel Roach
Most Improved Swimmer: Samaiyah Forde
Best Performance of the Year: Erica Loustric
Coach of the Year: Kiera Bloom
Best Overall Female Performance: Danielle Titus
Best Overall Male Performance: Jack Kirby
6th FINA WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Best Overall Female Performance: Danielle Titus
Best Overall Male Performance: Jack Kirby
Best Overall Female Performance: Lani Cabrera
Best Overall Male Performance: Alex Sobers
Most Valuable Female Swimmer: Rebecca Lashley
Most Valuable Male Swimmer: Niel Skinner
Most Motivated Swimmer: Xian Trotman
This award is given to an individual who selflessly made a significant contribution to the sport, their Association and Clubs for 2017. The individual receiving this award for 2017 is a constant presence at all local swim meets as either a timer or chief timer and is always willing to go where help is needed. He has also been instrumental in the development of open water swimming in Barbados over the past few years. He accompanies our swimmers on every practice to ensure their safety and keeping them on course. He served as part of the management team for the 2017 CCCAN championships and was brought in by Trinidad to assist as part of the open water safety crew for the 5KM event.
SONIA O’NEAL made her official debut in officiating when she attended an officials’ course held at the Gymnasium in support of the 1998 Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships hosted by Barbados to develop officials for that occasion. She continued her development as a swimming Referee and Judge, officiating at all local competitions, travelling to officiate at the Carifta Swimming Championships, Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships and the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships annually. During that time she attended several clinics and was accredited as a FINA International Body Official from the year 2000. She officiated at several FINA sanctioned events, including the World Championships and World Junior Championships.
Sonia continues to assist the Barbados Amateur Swimming Association with the development of officials and management of locally held swimming competitions. She also travels to sister islands to assist with the management and organization of their events.
Sonia is currently the Chair of the UANA Swimming Technical Committee, and has recently been selected as a member of the International Body – FINA Technical Swimming Committee.
To add to all of this, Sonia has also served local aquatics in an administrative capacity, having been President of the Barbados Amateur Swimming Association for 12 years – (2000-2012); and President of Alpha Sharks Swim Club for 2 years (1998-2000). She is currently the Treasurer of the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Federation
Coach Tony has been committed to and involved with the development of swimming in Barbados for over 20 years. He has travelled as the National Coach with swim teams to numerous events around the globe, and in 2017 was the Head Coach for the teams travelling to Carifta in the Bahamas, CCCAN in Trinidad and the FINA World Championships in Budapest. He also successfully led his local team to another victory at the Aquatic Centre Invitational in May 2017.
MOST OUTSTANDING JUNIOR FEMALE SWIMMER: Aza Dunwoody
MOST OUTSTANDING JUNIOR MALE SWIMMER: Zachary Taylor
MOST OUTSTANDING SENIOR FEMALE SWIMMER: Danielle Titus
MOST OUTSTANDING SENIOR MALE SWIMMER: Alex Sobers