As we countdown to the 2013 CARIFTA Championships in Jamaica, www.islandstats.com will be spotlighting the Swimmers who will represent Bermuda. We begin today with Joshua Irvine, Born January 1st, 2000.
Q. How did you first get involved in Swimming?
A. When I was about 7, I didn’t have any particular sport that I, to be quite frank, actually had any natural talent or physical ability. I joined a swim club because two of my friends had also signed up (and my Mom was tired of me rushing home to play LEGO Racers on the computer), and I haven’t stopped swimming since.
Q. Did you have a particular swimming idol?
A. Not really. When I first started swimming, I didn’t know squat about sports (short of knowing how bad I was at them). The first time I actually found out that there was such thing as “professional swimming” was when I watched Michael Phelps in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I swim to stay fit and compete with people my own age, and leave world records for people like Phelps and Lochte.
Q. When did you realize that you wanted to keep swimming?
A. I never had any doubts about whether or not I would continue swimming. It is the one sport I truly have talent in, and I honestly don’t know how or why I would stop.
Q. What would you describe as your strongest discipline?
A. Butterfly is definitely my forte. To this day, it’s the one stroke I can always do well in, and is quite definitely my fastest.
Q. Which do you feel needs the most improvement?
A. Ironically, it’s my Butterfly. I continually need to fix and improve my Butterfly to ensure that my stroke is clean and focused so that I can stay fast and streamlined in competition.
Q. What one moment in Swimming to date are you most proud of?
A. There was one year (2010) of which I am particularly proud. This was the year that I won High Points in the Summer Age Groups. At the time, I was competing for first with a friend, and it all came down to the 50m Free. I barely beat him, but I finally won that High Points for my age group. That was probably my most memorable achievement in swimming thus far.
Q. What are your goals for 2013?
A. Perfecting my Butterfly and improving my Breaststroke are probably some of my highest goals. I also want to work on improving my Freestyle, and improve my overall fitness level. Finally, I would like to swim the 10k in the annual Round the Sound this October.
Q. Can you give an insight into an average week of training for you?
A. Most of the time I train 5 days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday with the Dolphins and Saturday morning with the BASA Training Team. For Carifta, however, I have added training on Mondays and Wednesdays as well.
Q. Have you seen the new 50 meter pool at the National Sports Center?
A. Briefly—I noticed it at the Rugby Classic last year. I didn’t see much more than the basic pool outline though, so I don’t know much about it.
Q. If yes what do you think about it?
A. I definitely think it’s great for Bermuda to have a full-sized competitive pool now—it will definitely help for the Island Games this year, and will also be great for local events.
Q. What do you do when you’re not swimming?
A. Along with swimming, I play the piano and play tennis, do homework, and play video games. And homework. Did I mention the homework?
Q. You are the president of BASA for one day, what drastic changes would you make?
A. I would try to ensure that the pool was regularly serviced and checked to avoid any issues. Also, updating the area around the BASA pool would be largely important, so it could continue to function effectively and comfortably for anyone using the pool.
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