Carifta Games Swimming (2014)

[Historian]

While I’m not necessarily looking for any track and field-style dominance in the annual Carifta Games swimming competition, I wish that our results could be more encouraging. Of course, we have to consider the immense economic constraints in Jamaica over the past several decades, but it is nevertheless very disheartening that our results in a major sport such as swimming (especially considering our huge population size) cannot be more impressive.

The 2014 Carifta Games swimming competition is still going on in Aruba, but at the moment Jamaica is sitting way back in seventh position.

[Peter R]

Population size has NOTHING to do with it Histy!! You should know that! Why has Australia done so well in swimming when its population relative to let's say Canada, or France or even GB is relatively low. How many pools (where an athlete can train) are there in JA? don't expect there are many..

[Mosiah]

Exactly! All swimming hopefuls in Jamaica train at the stadium pool. There is only one such in the country. I hear T&T boasts quite a few, which might explain their superior performances at the Carifta level.

[Peter R]

I think there are three in T&T, and the George Bovell III Aquatic Centre is under construction now... not sure what will be included there but at least one more such pool.

[Historian]

Peter and Mo....

Please read the following quote from my original statement. What do you think I meant?

Of course, we have to consider the immense economic constraints in Jamaica over the past several decades....

And gentlemen, we don’t have to take my comments on a simple regional Carifta Games swim meet to the level of swimming superpower Australia’s dominance on the world level. I was not talking about Jamaica even dominating swimming in our tiny Caribbean region!! So my point about our large population size vs. our Carifta Games swimming performance is still valid.

Aside from Trinidad & Tobago, how many of the other islands currently ahead of Jamaica (in this 2014 swim meet) have multiple swimming pools? Has Trinidad & Tobago’s multiple swimming pools benefitted them in ensuring overwhelming Carifta Games’ swimming dominance over the years? You might be surprised at the answer when you check the records.

What we need to address is our failures in sports outside of track and field at the junior level, and the sprints and netball at the senior level (and cricket to a lesser extent). Even the GC Foster Sports College, which [*sarcasm button on] we do such a tremendous job at maintaining [*sarcasm button off] had little to do with our physical efforts: It was a 1970s gift from the government of Cuba.

I have consistently maintained that for Jamaica to become a bona fide Caribbean sports power, more resources have to be somehow found and creatively utilized. To their credit, Norman Washington Manley and his son Michael Manley were true sports visionaries. In fact, the greatness of both men in this regard has not been sufficiently recognized, in my humble opinion. Why can’t their examples be followed by other Jamaican leaders?

[Mosiah]

I did not forget that part of your post, Historian, but I also remember this

...especially considering our huge population size...

In any case, I was really responding directly to Peter R's post.

I agree with your overall sentiment on the matter though. I think many other sports could be further along. Have all the good athletes taken up T&F?

The pool at GC Foster, complete wtih diving boards, has been raising frogs for decades! There was talk a couple years ago of restoring it. Was it ever done? Perhaps not!

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...-pool_14366185

The lack of a swimming pool at the college is also impacting its ability to train swimming coaches to fill the current shortage in the island.

- Observer

That could certainly be one reason why our swimming is not nearly as successful as T&F or even football or cricket.

[Jangle]

Calabar can challenge GC Foster College's swimming pool for number of frogs raised. He'll they should probably start a frog farm for export. Frog legs are quite tasty. Cbar's pool was functional for only the first year that I was there, and it's a nice big pool too.

[Assasin]

Not to mention a "a who mash up the Mobay swim pool"

[Gamma]

Sounds like a broken record but a cousin anchored the U17 4 *1 freestyle for a gold medal. Suh mi have dem pon di track and in di water. Working on the football yah now....

[Historian]

Definitely Not a "Broken Record"

Sounds like a broken record but a cousin anchored the U17 4 *1 freestyle for a gold medal. Suh mi have dem pon di track and in di water. Working on the football yah now....

Congrats, Gamma boss, and I mean it most sincerely! Jamaica has an overwhelming number of naturally talented athletes and potential world beaters in probably every realm of sports (we have seen numerous isolated examples of this), but the sports authorities and other associated entities -- that is, the decision makers -- have consistently failed our children and young adults.

Even in our most successful enterprise, track and field, we find that the governing body, the JAAA, has had a terrible record. Our immense success in this particular enterprise has been due solely to our extremely dedicated local high school coaches, a handful of senior coaches (Francis, Mills, etc.) and the much maligned American college system.

As pointed out above, Norman Manley’s and Michael Manley’s visions have hardly been replicated elsewhere among the leadership level in sports, with a few notable examples like Dennis Johnson, Stephen “Franno” Francis, Capt. Horace Burrell, Maurice Wilson, and a handful of others.

[Hortical]

KC's pool has been a mess for years....broken pump etc. In 2007 the cost of refurbishing the pool was $8M.