40 swimmers picked for Goodwill splash

The national squad had their first training session yesterday and will continue training twice a week until they leave for Barbados on August 13. Goodwill is a quad-nation developmental meet which is designed to allow swimmers with limited or no exposure to regional competition to participate in a minor tournament and to provide a stepping-stone for swimmers to progress to the higher level meets.

Swimmers who participated in the Carifta, CONSANAT and/or CCCAN, or higher swimming championships in 2009 are not eligible for selection to the Goodwill Team.

TT placed second at Goodwill 2008 in Guyana with Suriname finishing first and the hosts third. Only eleven members of the current team were a part of the 2008 outfit.

Walter Romany, the most experienced member on the team, won six gold medals and established two new goodwill meet records, and was the 15-17 male high point trophy winner.

He is both a Carifta and CISC Gold medallist and was a member of TT’s inaugural FINA Youth World Swimming Championships team to Brazil in 2006.

Also making the team is Arielle Downes, the 8 and Under champion at Goodwill last year. She has moved up to the 9-ten age group but is still expected to give a good showing. Also in the running for Goodwill glory is Jewel Mulrain who won 10 gold medals at the recently concluded National Short Course Championships.

Syriah David was third in the 9-10 female group last year. She has qualified for Goodwill with six “A” times and is likely to be a multiple Goodwill medallist this year. Christy Romany, sister of Walter Romany, was third in the 11-12 age group last year with a gold and Goodwill record in the 100 metre freestyle. Despite moving up to 13-14 this year, she qualified with “A” times in two events. Alexander Pantin did not medal in 2008 but should mount the rostrum after qualifying with “A” times in four events in the 13-14 male division.

Meanwhile, Abraham Mc Leod has qualified with “A” times in seven events — the most by any member on the team.

TT Goodwill team:

Hannah Chatfield, Jada Chai, Jessie Changar, Sabrina David, Joshua Bankay, Josiah Parag, Kael Yorke, Luke Gillette, Arielle Downes, Chelsea Bynoe- Sawyer, Jewel Mulrain, Shania David, Adam De Gannes, Joshua Gonzales, Revash Ramtahal, Tariq Lashley, Chelsea Downes, Hadassah Morales, Katherine Keane, Syriah David, Aaron Joseph, Craig Wood, Jonathan Fabio, Sebastien Cabral, Cardesha Lyons, Christy Romany, Marie Marcano, Summer Telfer, Alexander Pantin, Demetrius Bones, Jonathan Gillette, Nicholas Mitchell, Makayla Armstrong, Renee Gordon, Shani Granderson, Simone Maundy, Abraham Mc Leod, Marcus Craig, Samuel Elvin, Walter Romany

Neal Marcano (manager), Wendell Lai Hing (assistant manager), Brian Wickham (Head Coach), Ronald Corke (Assistant Coach), Edric Hargreaves (Assistant Coach), Maurice Faria (Assistant Coach), Gail Bynoe (chaperone) and Hazel Morales (chaperone).