Synchro swimmers heading to Cali

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

With no space at this year's CARIFTA Swimming Championships for synchronised swimming due to the extremely low number of entries from teams across the region, local officials have been forced to make alternative plans for Jamaica's synchronised swimmers, who will now be heading to California in the United States (US) to compete instead.

Synchro Stars Jamaica and the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) will send a team to compete at the 2011 Central California Association and Pacific Association Intermediate Championships and Seaside Novice/Age Group Invitational Championships, a US Zone One-level meet scheduled for the Pattullo Swim Centre.

Over 150 athletes will be competing at the meet, with the Jamaicans being the only non-USA entrants.

The meet is being hosted by the Cypress Swim Club, which competed at last year's Jamaica International Synchronised Swimming Championships.

Actually, the California engagement is a bit more than just an alternative option for the Jamaicans, as the opportunity will also be used to expose the young synchronised swimmers to an entirely different level of competition, training techniques and methods, during a three-day pre-meet camp, which has also been arranged.

A group of eight Jamaican synchro swimmers have been selected for the trip, including five age-group swimmers - Breann Campbell, Alexandria Chin, Bianca Isabella Cisneros-Wynter, Ackeem West and Joley Campbell; plus three novices - T'Neil Gooden, Amore Hunter and Mia-Elizabeth Lawrence.

The team leaves on April 6 and will participate in a training camp with coaches from one of the leading clubs in the US, Aqua Maids, before bowing into action on April 9 and 10.

Diahann Campbell, vice-president synchronised swimming, ASAJ, and chairperson of Synchro Stars Jamaica, puts the situation into perspective.

Sport facing decline

"Synchronised swimming has been on a decline across the region, particularly at the CARIFTA level. Luckily we have a 'Plan B' so the impact isn't so great, but CARIFTA would have been the first meet for national teams in the region for the year and so we were looking forward to it," said Campbell.

"We will be going off to a bigger meet in California. We will also be going to several clinics there, focusing on training techniques, development, equipment use and so on," Campbell added. "This meet is primarily for the exposure of the girls and to give them an opportunity to see what they can do against this level of competition.

"They will be exposed to new techniques, new methodologies and will be performing in front of judges, and that is always important. Also, they will be judged at different standards because judges there mark differently than those in the Caribbean."

Campbell further stated: "Last year February Synchro Stars travelled to Minnesota, and this year we are travelling to Los Angeles. The idea is to expose the athletes to different climates, pool types, training styles and judging teams, with the hope of creating well-rounded athletes."

The team will actually be hosted by the Cypress Swim Club and Campbell is also hoping to use the opportunity to convince one of the USA's top coaches, Chris Carver, to come to Jamaica to work with the talent here.