Cargill looks forward to CARIFTA 2021

After not getting the opportunity to win four straight CARIFTA Swimming Championships this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahamas Aquatics Federation President Algernon Cargill is looking forward to getting that opportunity at the championships set for April 3-6, 2021 – Easter weekend.

The event is slated to be held at the Barbados Aquatic Centre in Wildey, Barbados. The 2020 edition of the meet was canceled after the COVID-19 pandemic became prominent on this side of the world in March. The safety of swimmers, parents, coaches and officials was also taken into consideration.

Cargill is excited that the regional meet is still on and said Bahamas Aquatics is preparing to send a team to Barbados next year Easter. The meet is also a FINA (International Swimming Federation) Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games qualifier.

“We are on track,” Cargill said. “We are certainly scheduled to do well in 2021. We have finally returned to the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre (BKKAC) which is good, but it has certainly put us well beyond where we should have been. We are behind, having been out of the water for a long time. Most of the countries in the southern Caribbean have been in the water, so we have a long way to go.

“The good thing for us is that we have a focused and dedicated group of swimmers who want to go to CARIFTA and do well. We feel that they will train hard to get back to where they should be, and be able to go to Barbados in 2021 and defend the three-peat.”

If Barbados had still hosted CARIFTA in 2020, The Bahamas was not going to send a team because they had made an independent decision within the federation that the risk of traveling outweighed the benefits. The Bahamas had a lot on the line as they were the defending champion – capturing three straight CARIFTA Swimming Championships victories and five of the last six championships. In water polo, they are the defending champions in the under-16 boys division.

Based on paper, Cargill said they were going to Barbados to dominate.

As for financing the trip, Cargill said that despite winning three straight Championships, five of the last six championships, they are always challenged in that area.

“Despite the excellent work of our athletes in bringing praise and recognition to The Bahamas by winning CARIFTA three years in a row, we seem to have a very difficult time, which we think will be exacerbated now that The Bahamas is on an economic downturn, there is no doubt about it. Being good corporate citizens is important but business people understandably are putting the welfare of their employees and staying afloat ahead of being great corporate citizens – we understand that. The government has more financial challenges this year than in the past so we do not believe that this is going to limit our ability to compete in CARIFTA,” Cargill said.

The Bahamas Aquatics chief added that it means they will have to work extra hard to raise funds in order to ensure that they provide the opportunity to 36 swimmers, water polo players and open water swimmers to defend the swimming and water polo titles.

They have a professional accounting firm that prepares their financial statement, which is made visible to the public and government.

The BKKAC, the only 50-meter pool on the island, was re-opened this past Monday after being shut down since early August. Barbados has had their aquatic center open from the end of July and their swimmers have been in the pool ever since. Other countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, have been training.

The Grand Bahama swimmers returned to the pool about a month ago and are training in a 25-meter pool. They are having their first competition this weekend. Without competition, the swimmers will not know where they are. Cargill stated that those may be ahead of where Nassau is but not by that much. They also have a lot of ground to make up as they, too, were in lockdown for some time. That island has played a significant role in the composition of the CARIFTA team.

On New Providence, there will be no swim meets before the year is out. However, the federation is planning to have two or three meets before CARIFTA. With those meets, they are hoping that the swimmers can get into the swing of competition and get into race shape.

Cargill is hoping there are no more interruptions to their training due to BKKAC and other pools being shut down because of the government enforcing stricter measures. He hopes the situation in the country improves.

“Every day out of the water puts them a week behind, so we ask all of The Bahamas to cooperate and respect the rules of social distancing. Also, to abide by the orders of the government, wear our masks, wash our hands, limit social interaction and group gatherings. When we do not do it, we are not only hurting ourselves but also young people who need a safe and productive outlet and certainly we felt the effects of the postponement of all global, regional and local sports,” Cargill said.

Sports activities around the world have resumed with limited or no spectators, and CARIFTA 2021 may be no different. Cargill said that will be difficult for the swimmers because they are used to feeding off the crowd. However, to get them prepared, there will be a few meets before the CARIFTA Championships where they will have that same protocol where no spectators will be in the stands. They will work with the athletes so they can get accustomed to that environment.

Bahamas Aquatics has compiled a comprehensive document on their COVID-19 protocols on its Facebook page and two websites – https://ift.tt/1IDppT4 and www.bahamasaquatics.com. It outlines the safe return of the sport. Cargill is urging other federations to replicate. The federation also produced a video showing the protocols the swimmers will use when returning to the sport.

The protocols were approved by the Bahamas Ministry of Health. Bahamas Aquatics modeled the protocols after FINA, USA Swimming and other global swimming organizations. Cargill is also a member on the FINA Bureau representing the Central America and Caribbean region and has the responsibility to ensure that guidelines are put in place to ensure a safe return of the athletes to the pool.

The 2020 National Swimming Championships have been canceled for the first time in over 35 years due to the global pandemic and the risk it brings. According to Cargill, it is more closely contested than CARIFTA and put on at a time when swimmers peak and display their best performances. It is held in June.

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