ASATT president Lai Hing impressed with Water Polo, Swim Champs

President of ASATT Wendell Lai Hing, stated on Sunday, “this is the first time in the history of aquatics in Trinidad (and Tobago) that we had two tournaments running side by side.

“Because of the Aquatic Centre capabilities, we were able to host Water Polo and Swimming using two different pools simultaneously.” He went on to explain that this tournament was a test event for the forthcoming CCCAN games carded for June 2017, in addition to the UANA Water Polo Cup Championship which is set for early February 2017, at the same location.

Expressing on the exciting times for aquatics in the country, he detailed, “this can be used as a motivator for the kids to come out and participate in water sports as they get the opportunity to build comradery instead of being at home and watching television on a Sunday evening. We are here to guide these young athletes as we try to help them excel in the sport.” The ASATT president went on give special thanks to their main sponsors Republic Bank along with Caribbean Bottlers for making the event possible.

The event was part of Republic Bank’s ‘Power to Succeed’ initiative under the ‘Power to Make a Difference Programme’ which focus aims on the development of youths and individuals through sport.

The 2016 National Juniors and Marlins Water Polo Club coach Alan Too-A-Foo elaborated on an event that did not go too well for the club but was a major success in terms of the sport. “Anytime you can have a National tournament, it is all for the kids and for the development of the sport as it can go a long way for the future as well as helping them prepare for upcoming tournaments. These facilities are important for the sport but there still needs to be smaller ones to facilitate the growth of aquatic sports throughout the country as there are a lot of young talent in the pool,” he expressed.

Many of athletes were able to register qualifying times for both the CCCAN and CARIFTA events next year where they would be representing they club and country at home.

Kester Scanterberry, coach for the Roylin Seals Water Polo Club, also made special note of the young-stars as he stated, “our Under 14s were a very important category because at this age group, they tell us what our future is going to look like and both our Under-14 (A side and B side) teams did as expected, earning gold and bronze, respectively.

These youth teams are only going to be moving forward as they have a busy 2017 season and they would be hoping to medal in the coming tournaments.”