JAMAICA’S swim team has now kicked preparations into high gear ahead of their departure to the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) in Barbados July 3-7.

The 12-member team, along with coaches and manager, will depart the island on Monday. Coach Gillian Millwood said that the preparation has been quite hectic, due to the swimmers completing end-of-year exams at their respective secondary institutions.

“We have been working on keeping our fitness levels up and fine-tuning our connections between heart rates, stroke count and also our speed and power from start to finish in each of our races. “The swimmers feel and understand the role of these components as part of their race technique and strategies through their various events,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Millwood added that the swimmers are upbeat about the championships as they will be seeking to better their performances from the Carifta Swimming Championships, which were held in Aruba earlier this year.

“The goal is to now execute against new faces from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Cuba. “The swimmers are excited about travelling again, and they are aiming to end their academic year with some fine performances.

A few are even hoping to surprise themselves as they have done in the training sessions,” she explained. When quizzed about the composition of the team, Millwood responded saying that overseas based swimmers such as Zara Bailey, Dominic Walter and Jevon Atkinson opted to take more time with their coaches to beef up preparations for the Commonwealth Games, which will follow soon after.

“Other selectees are out because of injury or inability to afford the costs involved with participation. This has led to us having no relay teams as we are taking the firm stance necessary to raise the quality of the Jamaican competitive swimming.”

The team’s performance at the 2012 staging of the championship in Aruba saw them earning a total of 36 medals, which placed them in seventh position on the table. They will be participating in events ranging from the 50 metres to 200 metres in all strokes — freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. Also, they will compete in the 400-metre freestyle and individual medley.

The experienced Sidrell Williams and Timothy Wynter will join forces with local sensations Joseph Black, Xavier Philips, Jesse Marsh and Jordane Payne.

Overseas-based swimmer Trudi-Ann Patrick, who will be donning the black, green and gold for the very first time, will be using this medium as a warm-up for the Commonwealth Games.

She will be joined by Alexia Royal-Eatmon and Danielle Boothe, along with the up-and-coming locals Leanne McMaster, Annastazia Chin and Angara Sinclair.

Team :

Males — Jordane Payne (11-12) 400m freestyle, 100m butterfly & freestyle; Joseph Black (13-14) 100m & 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke; Jesse Marsh (13-14) 100m & 200m butterfly; Xavier Philips (15-17) 50m, 100m & 200m, breaststroke and 200m & 400m IM; Sidrell Williams (15-17) 100m & 200m butterfly, 100m & 200m freestyle ; Timothy Wynter (15-17) 50m, 100m & 200m backstroke.

Females — Annastazia Chin (13-14) 100m butterfly, 200m IM; Angara Sinclair (13-14) 50m backstroke (Carifta Record Holder), 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle; Leanne McMaster (15-17) 50m, 100m & 200m breaststroke, 100m butterfly; Danielle Boothe (15-17) 200m IM, 100m & 200m backstroke; Alexia Royal-Eatmon (18&Over) 200m IM, 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m breaststroke; Trudi-Ann Patrick 100m & 200m butterfly, 100m freestyle.