St. Maarten News – Tuesday March 22 will be the day eight athletes of St. Maarten’s national swim team have been waiting for. For the past months they have been training hard to represent the team at the 2016 Carifta games, from March 22 to 26 in Martinique. After a careful selection process, eight swimmers were selected from the swimming clubs on the island.
Representing St. Maarten for the first time will be Sharmar Thomas, Kiemoy Fleming, Quinton Cornelius, Justin Williams, Keanu Jacobs Guishard, Sarah Courtar, S’Ade Williams and Gabriel de Vries. The selection will be led by head coach Burton Theodora as well as Nicole Maccow and Robbert Schrijvers of the St.Maarten Aquatic Federation (SMAF).
The federation is working hard on putting swimming in St. Maarten on the international map. With its accreditation by FINA (World Swimming Federation), SMAF is the official swimming federation on the island. This means that it supports St. Maarten swimmers participating in international swimming championships. It also means that all participations of St. Maarten swimmers in such competitions need the approval of the SMAF.
During the Carifta games the swimmers will be competing against 24 other Caribbean nations. One new addition to this year’s games is the possibility of qualifying for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Eight St. Maarten swimmers qualify for Carifta Games
