Kids swim teams from Georgia, Tortola and St. Maarten joined local swimmers for friendly competition in the St. Croix Dolphins 30th Invitational Swim Meet.
“The children swim hard, swim fast, make friends, share experiences and, most importantly, they have fun.,” John Vasbinder, Dolphins head coach, said at the opening ceremonies Saturday at the Country Day School pool. The meet began Friday and goes through Sunday.
The Dolphins are part of the the St. Croix Swimming Association, founded 38 years ago. The program is open to the public.
The organization, which is open to the public, has helped develop athletes with the added benefit of teaching adults and children how to swim and be safe in the water. According to the group, it has taught over 1,000 people in the community to swim, among them National Basketball Association superstar Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.
The heat and sun were intense as swimmers of all sizes and shapes ages 7 to 17 warmed up and did laps before the meet. The meet began at 9:30 a.m. in the 50-meter Olympic size pool nestled in the hills. The teams were greeted by the Ebeneezer Steel Pan Orchestra and mocko jumbies.
Chrissie Bergstrom, coach of the North Georgia Aquatics team, said the 10 swimmers she brought were very happy and excited to come and compete with the children from the islands.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to have fun and meet kids from other cultures,” Bergstrom said. “They are even doing swim cap swapping.”
Niko Stines, 14, from the Dolphins, said he was excited to be able to compete with other teams because his competition is generally just within the Dolphin swim team.
Soraida Ersilia, coach of the St. Maarten Super Splashes, said the children and parents work hard at fund raising because they love coming to the meet. “It is great the way the swimmers interact with each other,” Ersilia said. “They like making friends with swimmers from other islands.”
Tracy Bradshaw, coach of the Tortola Makos, said this was their second time at the meet. She added they were having a great time and the people of St. Croix were very welcoming.
Cinthia Michele Sanes, Dolphins administrator, said they had 100 children registered to compete. On Thursday they had three swimmers from Tortola, 13 from St. Maarten, 10 from Georgia and 74 from the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Bryson Mays, Dolphins’ team captain, said he was pleased to see there were a few other teams in the competition. The 17-year-old-said he remembered when more teams took part.
Gov. John deJongh Jr. gave presented graduating seniors with a dolphin bracelet made by the jewelers at Nelthropp and Low.
Honored was Mays, who will be attending the U.S. Naval Academy. Also honored were Brigitte Rasmussen and Gloria Morales, both girls will be attending St. Peters University in New Jersey on swimming scholarships.
Some of the major sponsors were HH Tire & Battery, Caribbean Country Radio, The West Indian Company, Centerline Car Rentals, Marshall and Sterling and the U.S.V.I. Department of Tourism.
The results of the meet will be posted at www.dolphinsvi.org.
