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VOS Invitational Meet in Suriname Guyana’s swimmers depart for Dutch Nation today
By Sean Devers
Guyana’s swimmers will leave here today for Guyana’s Dutch neighbour Suriname to participate in the VOS Invitational Meet this weekend in Paramaribo, the largest City in the smallest sovereign state in South America.
The Meet is set for Saturday and Sunday and Team Guyana will comprise four clubs; Swim Academy Sea Octer, Orca, Silver Sharks and Dolphin, while the Dorado swim club has opted to go to Trinidad for the ASATT Swim Meet held in December of each year.
The over 50 swimmers and their supporters will leave in two batches; today and tomorrow and they will compete in the six years and under, 7-8, 9-10, 11 and over in addition to Boys, Girls and mixed 50×4 relay and 100 IM.
“Our focus will be on the Boys relay which is our strongest chance of winning and the 11 and over,” informed Head Coach Sean Baksh during the swimmers last training session from 17:00hrs to 19:00hrs at the Aquatic Centre on the East Coast of Demerara.
Team Guyana before their final training session at the Aquatic Centre on Tuesday. (Sean Devers photo)
The Guyanese will vie for top honours in four relays while competing in two mixed relays (Boys & Girls) and the first batch which includes the Coach will arrive in the 64,000 Square-Mile Nation this evening and hope to get some time before the Event commences.
This competition will be contested in a 25-meter Pool since the local season ends with short course races.
This competition can be considered motivational especially for those who missed out in this year’s Goodwill games in Barbados the youngest swimmer in the Guyanese continent is nine-year-old Shareefah Lewis while a lot is expected of 12-year-old local swimming sensation Aleka Persaud who broke six records in 11-12 events in this year’s Goodwill games; breaking the 28.77 in the 50 meters freestyle record with a stunning time of 27.95 which is fastest time over that distance in any age group by a Guyanese girl.
“Aleka is immensely talented as her times indicate, plus she has age on her side. We will try to get her ready for the 2024 Olympics,” said Coach Baksh.
The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, France, for a third time, exactly one hundred years after the city’s last Summer Olympics in 1924.
Coach Baksh says the standard of swimming in Guyana is good and should get better with hard work by Swimmers and more Government and Corporate support.
“We ended third in the Goodwill games on home soil in 2017 and fourth in this year’s games but I would say our performances this year was better despite our placings,” Coach Baksh added.
Aleka Persaud broke 6 records in the 2018 Goodwill Games.
Coach Baksh informed there are programmes to develop and expose hinterland swimmers since many from the interior showed promise in the National Schools Swimming Championships but struggled with technique, especially with turning off the Wall since they are no pools in the Hinterland.
Coach Baksh said their last Open Water Swim event was held at Lake Mainstay as one of our outreach programmes.
“FINA is helping to fund our outreach programmes and in fact, it was the Minister of Amerindian Affairs Sidney Allicock who opened the Open Water Meet at Lake Mainstay,” revealed Coach Baksh.
The City based Coach said getting a Pool constructed in the Hinterland will not be an easy task but added that there are ongoing talks with the Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Sports Dr George Norton on this issue among others for Hinterland swimmers.
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