Eighteen of Bermuda’s most promising young swimmers have returned home from Florida after completing the Sharks Swim Club’s annual high-performance training camp, DC11. Led by Head Coach Ben Smith, the week-long intensive was designed to push the dedicated squad to their absolute physical and mental limits in preparation for the championship season.
The DC11 camp was an exercise in extreme endurance. Over the seven days, the athletes, including Elena Bortoli, Luca Bortoli, Noah and Elanna Fulton, and Zach Johnson, covered a staggering distance in the pool—logging close to 100,000 yards, which is the equivalent of nearly 60 miles.
This colossal volume was complemented by intense land training. Each swimmer completed nearly 25 hours of swimming, coupled with eight hours of core land sessions focused on strength and mobility, and over ten miles of running through daily one- or two-mile team runs. The schedule demanded resilience, featuring two demanding two-hour swim workouts every day.
“This camp is about preparation and resilience,” said Coach Smith. “I asked these swimmers to go beyond what they thought possible, while trying to maintain perfect technique even when exhausted. They had to remain focused on execution as they grew stronger both physically and mentally.”
The camp is a vital part of the Sharks' build-up toward the upcoming Bermuda Sharks Kattegat Sprint Championships and the Winter Age Group Championships. Distance swimmers are targeting peak performance in the grueling 1500m freestyle, while sprinters and IM specialists honed their speed and precision under the heavy training load. Coach Smith reinforced the training with team talks on athlete nutrition and motivation.
Team Managers Rebecca White and Shirene Fulton worked tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring smooth logistics, coordinating meals, and managing recovery for the 18 athletes to keep them fuelled and focused.
The camp’s demanding "Extreme Week" mindset challenged every swimmer to embrace discomfort. Coach Smith emphasized the commitment shown: “Many young people will have spent the school break sitting on the couch while these 18 chose to accept the challenge. They return home with the DC-11 mindset.”
As a reward for their dedication after the hard week of training, the young athletes were treated to a night out to attend an Orlando Magic Basketball game before flying back to Bermuda.
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