The year 2007 was a challenging one for swimming, but there were also some positive developments, according to the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA).
One of the positives is that Guyana will be hosting the 2008 Goodwill Swimming Championships, which have been expanded to include Barbados.
In a wide-ranging review, GASA stated that one of the challenges with which it was confronted, was the significant curtailment of access to the Castellani Pool; this had severely affected the already limited training time for young swimmers; additionally, time for meets had also been seriously restricted, with the Pool not being available had been on Sundays and only up to 2:00pm on Saturdays. Consequently, meets had to be held at the Colgrain Pool. This, in turn, meant that the times registered were useless for the establishment of national records or for entry times into international competitions.
The unavailability of the facility also had affected the level of competition at the national championships : ” Due to the combination of the effects of decreased training time, the late receipt of approval for the use of the Castellani Pool and the fact that some of the youngsters had their end-of-term exams at that time, the number of competitors was lower than usual,” GASA stated. The dearth of training time resulting from the unavailability of the facility had also resulted in non-participation at the Carifta Swimming Championships in Jamaica. The championships were held in April.
On the positive side, in spite of the serious constraints recounted above, Guyana recorded its best performance ever at the Goodwill Championships in Trinidad &Tobago , in August. The twelve swimmers who participated brought home a total of fifteen individuals medals: three gold, four silver and eight bronze. Additionally, Goodwill records were set by Earlando McRae,in the boys’ 15-17 50m breaststroke (31.61secs), and Yannick Roberts in the boys’15-17 100m freestyle (54.41). The boys’ 15-17 relay team of Earlando McRae, Jamaal Sobers, Yannick Roberts and Niall Roberts captured the record in the 4×100 medley relay, with a time of 4:10.80.
Meet Management
Continuing on the positive note, GASA reported that application of the Hy-Tek Meet Manager computer programme continued to enhance the efficiency of general management of swimming competitions, including the provision of results to coaches, swimmers, parents and the media at the end of each day. The programme also makes possible the insertion of qualifying times, so that during a meet, it is possible to know immediately whether a swimmer has qualified for an upcoming competition.
International Coaching Course in Swimming
The Association disclosed that coach Christopher Mc Adam had been nominated to attend an international coaching course organized by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) at the Semmelweis University, Faculty of Physical Education&Sport Sciences, Budapest, Hungary, from September, 12-Dec-ember, 5,2007. McAdam has since successfully completed the course.
Meanwhile, on the academic side, Yannick Roberts was granted a Government of Guyana scholarship to pursue a degree in Agronomy in Cuba. He left for the Spanish-speaking island last September.
Awards
GASA was the recipient of two awards at the National Sports Commission Annual Sports Award ceremony: Female Sports Personal-ity2006, which was won by general secretary, Karen Pilgrim, and Junior Sportsman of the Year Award 2006, went to Niall Roberts. The Association’s annual award ceremony for this year will be held during this month, when the age-group champions will be annou-nced. According to the report, the champions have been selected on the basis of a points system devised by the creators of the Meet Manager computer programme. The Association explained that, the Hy-Tek points system compares the times achieved by a swimmer to a standard time for that particular sex, age-group, and event. To be eligible for the title of “age-group” champion, swimmers eight years and under must have participated in at least three events and their top three scores totalled; swimmers nine years and over must have participated in at least five events and the top five points totalled.
GASA concluded that the new executive which acceded to office on January,1,2007, faced the daunting task of sustaining the Association’s morale against the backdrop of decreased training time and the resulting overall decline in the sport. The body contended however, that everything possible was done to uphold standards.
Finally, the association thanked the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for allowing access to the Colgrain Pool, especially for the staging of competitions during the year.
