ROBYN Chin Sang has every intention of building on the platform left by her predecessor to move artistic swimming forward but knows all too well that it will require increased support for her ambitions to materialise.

As a former athlete Chin Sang is familiar with the challenges that come with taking the reins as acting vice-president with responsibility for artistic swimming in the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ), but says her vision to bring more recognition to the sport fuelled her decision to replace Maureen Smith.

“The previous VP [vice-president] reached out to me, asking if I would take the spot for her. I enjoy the sport and didn’t want it to die out because there would have been no VP so I took the role — and since taking the role I have made it my duty to get the sport recognised because we have a lot of potential here,” Chin Sang told the Jamaica Observer.

“The artistic swimming community in Jamaica is indeed progressing. We still have a far way to go but I’m grateful for where we are presently.

“We have three locations — Kingston, Portland and Montego Bay — actively training and also we have two new schools on board that are offering it as an extra-curricular activity. Our aim is to get into more schools so we can get more awareness of artistic swimming in Jamaica,” she added.

Along with adding Emmanuel Christian Academy and Stella Maris Prep to its catalogue, Chin Sang pointed out that having six athletes — Nyouka Bough, Ajoni Llewellyn, Joydayne White, Sarah Anderson, Nishtoy Beckford and Ashli Pearce — compete at the Central American and Caribbean (CCCAN) championships in October was another major step in the right direction for the sport.

Beckford and Pearce competed under the Island Aquatics Synchro Club banner.

“Not only were we able to have two new schools added to the family, but having had six club members compete at CCCAN in Panama speaks to our development.

Again, we still have a ways to go but I’m grateful, based on where they are coming from,” Chin Sang, a Wolmer’s Girls’ alum, said.

“The fact that we had six representatives going to CCCAN in artistic swimming was a first for Jamaica, and they did really well. We also had two senior members of the club visit Colorado Springs with Coach Olga [Novokshenova] for a senior duet camp with several other countries, to prepare for next year’s games.

“They are still progressing and we are just hoping that we can get more support and sponsorship to continue driving the sport forward,” she noted.

To boost her intentions Chin Sang and the Island Aquatics Synchro Club hosted the first of two Christmas shows at Stella Maris Prep on Sunday, with the second scheduled for Portland on December 18.

“It was good. We got a good turnout and it basically falls into what we are trying to achieve because more persons are now familiar with the sport, having had an opportunity to experience it.

“We also had a development meet recently with 63 participants and were able to record all figures and moves and upload them to a synchro platform where we had judges mark and score each child and gave them grades so they could be awarded,” she explained.

Looking ahead, Chin Sang stressed the significance of getting the requisite support to aid the athletes’ preparation for what is expected to be another busy 2023 season.

“We do have a very busy season coming up so we just have to prepare them for those.

“[We] want to thank our active sponsors, Eustace Lee — they are always happy to support — VM Group, Knutsford Express, and we have a few companies that sponsors some events for us and we are grateful for that and hoping more will come on board with the sport,” Chin Sang ended.