The Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) held a Qualifying Swim Meet at the Warwick Academy Pool, this was the first time that BASA has hosted a meet at a different venue than the Saltus Pool in 30 years.
At the start of the day 10 Bermuda Swimmers had officially qualified for this year’s Carifta Swimming Championships, with the coaching staff hoping to increase the number before the end of the Meet.
Young Alyssa Paynter from Harbour Club had reached her first Qualifying Time earlier in the season and was working hard to reach her second time which would make her eligible for selection and give Bermuda the 4th person to make up the 11-12 Girl Relay Team.
In the 11-12 Girls 100m Freestyle Paynter dropped nearly a second and a half to swim a 1:09 and become the 11th Qualified swimmer.
Josh Irvine who already had his qualifying time in the 11-12 Boys 100m Butterfly was trying to reach his second time for the Age Group. In the 11-12 Boys 50m Butterfly, Irvine dropped nearly a full second to get his second time and become number 12 on the list.
National Coach Ben Smith said, “As the meet went on it was obvious that everyone was swimming very well and almost every swimmer was hitting personal best times. We had several swimmers come within hundreds of a second of qualifying times and the excitement was building. Maddie Moore from Sharks Swim Club who has already made her 2 times for selection had a great swim in the 200m Backstroke where she was able to lower Rebecca Sharpe's record by 3 seconds. This swim bodes well for Moore’s Carifta preparation as she looks to follow the long line of Bermuda female Backstrokers at Carifta.”
“When the meet ended the coaches got together and decided to add a couple more events to see if some of the swimmers that were close during the meet could get to the times. It turns out that was a good decision as the fast swimming continued,” Smith went on to say.
“Some swimmers lowered their times again and will be looking to hit their time on the 23rd at the Best of BEST meet. In the last event of the day Jesse Washington and Dejan Wellman squared off in a battle in the 100m Freestyle. Wellman was looking for his second time and they battled all the way to the touch. It was an exciting moment when Wellman hit the wall and reached his second time to be number 13 for selection,” concluded Smith.
