Although the Aquatics Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) still have many challenges, newly re-elected President Lance Rochester says he’s confident that his plans will transform the sport into a sustainable and financially-sound enterprise in the long term.

The former national water polo representative, who has served in various capacities at the ASAJ including vice-president for over a decade, won his second presidential term earlier this month.

At the start of his presidency in 2023, Rochester outlined a strategic plan to bring stability and growth to the sport through various initiatives including learn to swim programmes and the development of a high-performance system.

While happy with the progress that has been made, he says more needs to be done to ensure the long-term success of the various aquatic disciplines.

“I would say we’re about halfway or a little less than halfway, to be quite frank, in terms of what we intended to do over a four-year period,” Rochester told the Jamaica Observer. “The truth is that the fruits of this particular strategic plan, you won’t see over a four-year period. You’ll hopefully see the fruits way down the line.”

“If you teach a child to swim today, even if that child has all the greatest talent and the best coaching and all the support involved, you wouldn’t expect to see that child at a national level or world level in a four-year period. So, of course, we are really thinking long term and doing what we believe needs to be done in the short term to set up Jamaica to reap the benefits way down the line.”

Rochester added, “As far as the other pillars of the strategic plan is concerned, which is high performance, we’re seeking to bring all the critical elements to bear on the career pathway of our athletes across all disciplines. We still have significant work to do there but one of the things we have done over the period is to conduct a gap analysis to identify where the issues are that have been limiting performance.”

“And on the third pillar, we’re looking at our own internal operations and have identified that the association needs to sort of re-engineer how it operates internally to get the efficient and effective outcomes that we need.”

ASAJ has continued to face financial difficulties, which has led to continuous fund-raising from the association and the families of the athletes.

Rochester believes the governing body has to be more strategic if they are to attract more corporate support.

“The need is huge across all disciplines and for the association and the management of facilities and so on,” he said. “You’re talking about a number of teams, which travel not just at the club level, but also at the national level for a range of events regionally and also internationally. You’re talking about large sums of money, which have been borne still significantly by our parents and our parents, continue to play a humongous role in terms of the development of our athletes and their participation in competitions.”

“We do continue to receive support from corporate Jamaica, particularly around events when we’re travelling and we’re grateful for that. But we have to double down as an organisation to sell ourselves a little bit better in terms of the value that we bring to the space. We also have to do more from an advertising perspective to leverage the assets which we do have available.”

Rochester says his mission isn’t a selfish one but one with building a future where all aquatic disciplines are positioned to succeed.

“I would have taken a baton from a previous administration who would have taken a baton from those before who have made a mark on developing the aquatic sports. So it’s important that for me, in particular, to define the problem that we are facing and our limitations or shortcomings and ensure that when I pass that baton, I would have made a material, if not transformational contribution to addressing those issues so that those who take the baton after are left in a better standing than I would have received that baton in,” he said.

“Ultimately that augurs well for our athletes who are the critical and most important stakeholders in this process to ensure that they are better placed to deliver on their talents and deliver results from their training inputs and can bring glory to the Jamaican stage when they are out there competing.”

Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica President Lance Rochester.

Jamaica’s Marlon McIntyre (left) drills the ball against Colombia in a 2018 tournament at the Stadium Pool. (Photos: Garfield Robinson)

Members of the Island Aquatics Synchro Club showcase their skills..