All set for weekend's Mayberry swim meet

SOME 900 swimmers from 40 schools will take part in the 12th staging of the Mayberry Investments Swim Meet this Friday and Saturday at Bournemouth Bath, off Norman Manley Highway in Kingston.

The high school and university section will get underway Friday, with prep and primary schools for action the following day. And hopes for action at the National Stadium Pool has again been dashed.

At a press conference yesterday at the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) on Phoenix Avenue, president of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica John Eyre said: "We had hoped to have had the National Stadium Pool back in operation for this event, but our technical people were concerned that it might cut it too close, but if you go by the Stadium now you'll see that water's back in the pool and we're in the process of doing the final works to actually get the pool back in operation.

"Right now we have over 550 prep/primary students entered in the competition from 21 schools and the high/university entries are little lower -- just over 300 from 15 schools -- but we expect that to increase slightly in the next couple days," he said.

Eyre said he was pleased with these numbers instead of the usual 600-plus swimmers normally associated with Mayberry at the Stadium Pool, which would have been "a crunch" at Bournemouth Bath facility.

He said sponsors Mayberry Investments would take a new approach this year in emphasising to parents the importance of the institution to their financial position.

"We believe they're a wonderful tool for management investments," he said.

Client relations manager of Mayberry, Tamara Whyte, noted: "We invest in projects and we seek to create greater strength from which one can stand to a position of advantage.

"Investment does take patience, years even. There is just no quick fix. So too, if one trains for any sport, it takes years to gain the speed required for international competition," she pointed out.

Whyte later handed over Mayberry's $353,100 token sponsorship cheque to the local swimming boss.

Chairman of the Sports Development Foundation David Mais said his team responded to efforts of sports association when they show good leadership and work with them on projects such as Bournemouth Bath.

"Our contribution to Bournemouth is now allowing community swimming," Mais noted.

After work at the National Stadium, Mais said the SDF would turn to GC Foster College.

National coach Jackie Walter said she expected the Stadium Pool to be reopened in time for the Carifta Championships on April 3-6.

She said 36 swimmers were selected and approved Monday night and announcement would be made Friday at the Mayberry meet, which has nurtured a number of Carifta and Olympic development swimmers.

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