Grenada’s National Swim team was represented at the XXIII edition of the Goodwill Swim Meet from 18 to 20 August at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, Guyana.
Swimmers of the 8-member team departed Grenada on 17 August to participate in the competition for the first time since 2009. The Goodwill Meet is one of the premier developmental swim meets in the region, in preparation for higher levels of competition such as the CARIFTA, CCCAN and OECS swim meets. Each year Goodwill invites 1–2 additional teams, and Grenada was invited to participate after 8 years of absence.
The 8–member team that represented Grenada comprised Jonathan Bedeau in the 8 and Under Boys category; Jalena Coutain and Joshua Wilson-Dumont in the 9–10 Girls and Boys respectively; Kaiya Ramdhanny, Jaydon Hyson & Jovanni John in the 13–14 Girls and Boys respectively; and Christian Phillip and Bradley Gresham in the 15–17 Boys.
Team members competed in 6 to 10 races daily; all swimmers achieved personal best times in the majority of their races. Jalena Coutain and Jonathan Bedeau successfully shaved as much as 10 seconds off their race times during this competition.
At the conclusion of the 2017 Goodwill Swim Meet, Grenada successfully lobbied for Goodwill membership, which was unanimously accepted by the member countries. The Bahamas, as the 2nd invited country was also accepted into membership. As a member, Grenada is now expected to host the meet in the next 5 years, which will require a minimum 8-lane 25-metre aquatic facility.
The Grenada National Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) looks forward to hosting the meet in the new home of swimming, which we the organisation is assiduously working toward.
GASA
