Kristina Chuck-Smith, Jamaica’s team manager to the Goodwill Swimming Championship, is beaming with confidence about the team’s prospects at the event to be staged in Barbados from August 15 to 17.

She said the contingent boasts 39 talented swimmers, aged 7 to 17, and a seasoned five-member management staff.

“I’m very happy to see this team that’s going down. It’s going to be a strong team. We’re going to have some great performances. We have swimmers that are national record holders and meet record holders, but also some very strong swimmers who have won medals in local meets recently,” Chuck-Smith said.

“Now, one may ask why we’re sending such a big team that’s being funded by the parents but I will say that, you know, you could look at it another way. Why aren’t we sending more with a 39-member team that’s made up of five age groups and multiple disciplines, you know? Because we do have four different strokes and we do have different levels of swimming.

“So we had the sprints and then we had the middle distances. This meet doesn’t have any long distances, but…with three coaches going for 39 swimmers, it really isn’t as many as if you look at some of the other disciplines who take for that same level as many as 15 members of their management team,” she added.

Chuck-Smith explained that the cost of participating in the championship is substantial, with each swimmer’s family expected to fund over $400,000. This amount covers accommodation, airfare, food, transportation, and gear.

“Anyone who has travelled in the Caribbean knows that the airfare is significantly high. It really is. When you compare it to travelling to the US (United States), it is high and that’s not something we can control. Also, the accommodation, transportation and meals were not controlled by us. We were given the amount by the local organising committee, and so we have to go by what they tell us.

“With regards to gear, we have to have decent gear. We’re not going to go down there with kids not being dressed appropriately. So we are getting the gear that is necessary for them to not only perform, but to look decent. I will say the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) has given us some help already. They have some, they raised some funds at the award ceremony and they have pegged some for us,” Chuck-Smith explained.

The team has received support from the ASAJ. Chuck-Smith said that the ASAJ has contributed funding and planned fund-raising initiatives to help reduce the financial burden on parents.

“We are going in with some funding from the ASAJ… We have already received some pledges, so we do know that we are going to reduce the burden on the parents,” Chuck-Smith said.

“We didn’t have any swimmers drop out due to finances, so that’s good. And parents in our fraternity understand that this is where we are right now. We are not expecting to stay like this, but this is where we are right now. So they were ready for the financial commitment. And you know, luckily with all these initiatives that we have, I think going forward we won’t have such a significant burden and we don’t expect it to hinder anyone else,” she affirmed.