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LIME makes a splash for 'Y' Speedos meet

Published:Wednesday | January 26, 2011 | 12:00 AM
(From left) Dr Brian James, meet director for the 'Y' Speedos Karl Dalhouse Swimming Championship; Martin Lyn, president, 'Y' Speedos Swim Club; Camille Taylor, LIME's corporate communications manager; and Julian Patrick, NCB sponsorships and promotions manager, laugh as they get a hand on the Karl Dalhouse trophy during the launch at the National Stadium pool yesterday. Ian Allen/Photographer

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

The 16th annual Karl Dal-house Memorial swim meet, which is hosted by the 'Y' Speedos Swim Club and will be held at the National Stadium Pool from Friday, February 4 to Sunday, February 6, will be sponsored this year by telecommunications firm LIME to the tune of $500,000.

The meet will, for the first time, act as a qualifier for the FINA World Swimming Championships - second only to the Olympic Games.

"LIME is thrilled to be the major sponsor of the 2011 Karl Dalhouse swim meet, which continues our policy of supporting national sports," said LIME's corporate communications manager, Camille Taylor, at yesterday's launch at the National Stadium pool.

Widespread sponsorship

"Over the years, we have sponsored and supported practically every major sport in Jamaica and we are happy to have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with the country's swimming community," she added.

With a reputation of being one of the best organised swim meets locally, the event will feature a host of the country's top and rising swimmers, including this year's RJR National Sportswoman of the Year's runner-up, Alia Atkinson.

The multinational record holder made the finals of the Delhi Commonwealth Games and World Short Course Championship in Dubai last year.

"This swim meet features top-class competition and, hopefully, record-breaking times and we again look forward to a successful staging," said 'Y' Speedos president, Martin Lyn.

The meet will have National Commercial Bank as an associate sponsor and is expected to have seven clubs and more than 350 swimmers participating.

Included among the participants will be Kendese Nangle, Alexia Royal Eatmon and Victoria Ho, who are expected to provide good competition for Atkinson.

Fifteen-year-old Royal Eatmon and Ho represented Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where the former advanced to the semi-finals of 100m butterfly.

Nangle was the country's lone representative at the Rome World Championships in 2009 and reached the semi-finals of the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore last year.

"The 400m freestyle for women and the 100m butterfly promise to be edge-of-your-seat stuff. We cannot see how anyone could miss this," said meet director Dr Brian James.

In the male section, last year's standout Timothy Wynter and Kevaughn Campbell will headline the list of participants, with the boys 13-14 age-group, which includes members of Jamaica's gold medal-winning Carifta 11-12 medley relay team, expected to be the most competitive.