New swim chief pleased with progress

Newly appointed president of the Barbados Aquatic Sports Association (BASA), Cheryl Lady Forde, says she is satisfied with the number of participants and performances by the country’s top local swimmers at the recent 2020 Short Course Nationals.

The championship, which concluded this past weekend at the National Aquatic Centre in Wildey, boasted over 1 300 entries across 160 events.

There were also a few record-breaking performances by Adara Stoddard and Diego Dulieu, two of the island’s outstanding junior swimmers.

“The kids were very enthusiastic and put a lot of effort into the preparation and the execution into the competition,” Lady Forde said.

“From a personal perspective I was not present last year but I started looking around to see how things changed over the year and I think again given the COVID situation, I think they all did well.

“The kids are all anxious now for the long course nationals which would be in March. The long course format gives them the opportunity particularly the senior swimmers to qualify for the Olympics and other high level competition.”

No stranger to the BASA board, Lady Forde is a past vice-president, president of water polo for seven years before taking over the reins from Tony Selby in elections which took place in October of this year.

“I have always been interested in playing a role in the development of the children,” she pointed out.

“I enjoy seeing children develop with very positive personalities and striving to achieve the best that they can achieve.

“Not only in swimming. I was a scout leader when my kids were in primary school and the objective is always to make life interesting and successful and worthwhile for the young people.

“I live in a house where I hear it all the time – something about swimming – and I was asked by a number of people if I would come back and help. Well I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that but they persisted, I gave it some thought and said why not.

“So, here I am hoping I can bring a freshness to the pool and just build on those that have come before me in this capacity.”

She added: “Mr Tony Selby, he has been very strategic with developing the pool operation and so forth. Kids go through different changes from one discipline to the other. So, you always need somebody at the top to try and balance that and help them go in the correct direction.”

Over the next two years in her capacity as head of BASA, Lady Forde said she would like to see more swimmers develop into high level competitors.

“I would certainly like to see more swimmers develop to the stage of elite athletes where they are focused on going the full route up to the Olympics,” she said.

“With the juniors, they have to enjoy swimming, they have to enjoy playing water polo, they have to enjoy being in the pool doing artistic swimming, open water swimming.

“The juniors have to enjoy those things and must not be seen as a burden or something imposed on them. And once a kid enjoys it, they automatically continue to become serious competitive athletes. I am hoping to see more of that transition from the juniors into the seniors.”

Barbados is scheduled to host CARIFTA in March next year, which is all subject to ratification by heath authorities due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, Forde noted that BASA was currently making preparations behind the scenes along with other member federations.

“We are going to put things in place so that if we get the green light we just have to turn the switch and put things in place.”

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb