The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN showing their appreciation of the historic performances at both the CARIFTA swimming and water polo competition, the Royal Bank of Canada continued to show their support to the Bahamas Swimming Federation by presenting $35,000 for the RBC Bahamas National Swimming Championships.

The cheque presentation to the federation, as well as a certificate and a gift bag to all of the swimmers and coaching staff for the CARIFTA teams, was made on Tuesday, just days before the nationals are held this weekend at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex.

“We are proud of the contributions we have made to the development of swimming over the years,” said Larry Wilson, head of RBC’s finances in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. “RBC has been the title sponsor of the Bahamas National Swim Championships for more than three decades. During this time we have seen many successes and it has been a pleasure to watch many bright young swimmers rise to new heights.

“This evening I wish to announce that we will continue our support and provide $35,000 to the upcoming 2014 National Swim Championships and the Academic All Bahamas Swimming Team Award.”

Wilson said at RBC, supporting the youth of the nation is one of the core areas of focus for our community involvement programmes.

“Here in the Bahamas, we’ve chosen to support the Bahamas Swimming Federation because we believe that athletic training is critical to helping young people realise their full potential,” Wilson said.

“Swimming and water polo are sports that not only exercise the body, but also require setting personal goals and working hard in order to meet and exceed those goals. I want to thank the Bahamas Swimming Federation for the crucial role they play in teaching our youth how to be the best that they can be.”

The 36-member swim team returned from the 29th CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Savaneta, Aruba at the end of April with a total of 736.50 points and 55 medals (23 gold, 22 silver and 10 bronze) for its first title ever at the top regional annual meet.

And a week later in Willemstad, Curacao, the Bahamas’ under-16 water polo team also made history by picking up the silver medal at the CARIFTA Water Polo Championships, losing 17-2 to Trinidad & Tobago.

Federation president Algernon Cargill said it’s no small accomplishment that RBC has been faithfully committed to their sport for more than three years, and certainly, equally admirable, that during this long history, RBC has been their title sponsor for their national championships.

“This support has been the foundation of our success and is directly correlated to our outstanding performance at the 2014 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Aruba where the Bahamas won CARIFTA for the first time in our history,” Cargill said.

“We in the BSF therefore owe a great deal of gratitude and support to the Royal Bank of Canada for its unwavering support for our federation and also for continuing to support the Academic All Bahamian Merit Awards where hundreds of swimmers are recognised by RBC for outstanding academic success.”

Cargill also took the opportunity to highlight the performances of Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, who continues to keep the Bahamas in the international news as not only the first Bahamian to swim in a final at the Olympic Games, but also the winner of several Grand Prix races this year.

“I specifically highlight Arianna because she got her start in these championships and will also be competing in several events over the next few days along with several of our elite swimmers,” he said. “Every one of our CARIFTA swimmers and our national team swimmers have the same opportunity and foundation that Arianna has had.”

In addition to praising RBC, Cargill also gave credit to Subway Bahamas and John Bull for also assisting the federation with the CARIFTA team. He also thanked the coaching staff, including Andy Knowles, Andy Loveitt and Boris Marques, along with the medical staff of Dr Sadie Bowe and Dorothy Robert, chaperones Jeremy Allen and Nancy Knowles, team manager Patra Albury and technical officials Theda Weech, Elva Carey, John Bradley and Kevin Armbrister for the role they all played in the team’s success.

And he complimented senior team members Dustin Tynes, Laura Morley and Grand Bahamian Joanna Evans for their stellar performances over the years as they closed out their CARIFTA experiences by helping the Bahamas to win the title.

“It’s definitely nice to finish off with a win and to represent the Bahamas well,” said Morley, a 17-year-old student of Peddie School in New Jersey. “It was really nice for me considering this is my last one and I’ve been going since I was 11. I’m looking forward to following up on my team-mates in the upcoming years. But it was a good experience for me.”

Tynes, 18, said it was always his dream to end his CARIFTA experience as a champion.

“It wasn’t exactly what I had expected, but I am glad that we were able to win the title,” Tynes said. “The Bahamas was in a position to win the title for a long time, but we have finally done it. It was just an amazing experience to be a part of the team that finally did it.”

Tynes, who is preparing to enter Ohio State for his freshman year after he completed high school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said ever since he was 13, he has been talking about walking away from CARIFTA with the Bahamas winning the title. Now that his dream has come true, he said he can now concentrate on his future in the sport.