PHILIPSBURG:— SMAF’s (Sint Maarten Aquatic Federation) first event as a new board was a swim camp. It is one of the many swimming activities scheduled to take place this season. The swim camp was held during the mid-term break on October 5 and 6 2023. The swim camp was originally a 4-day event; however, it was shortened due to the passing of tropical storm Philippe. This swim camp was organized, in an effort to rejuvenate our local swimmers and give them opportunities to interact with other fellow swimmers in a non-competitive environment and provide them with skills to better their swimming performance. The Swim Camp consisted of swimmers from the three swim teams on the island namely Carib Swim Team, Dolphins, and St. Maarten Super Splash Swimming Team. The swimmers in the swim camp were between the ages of 6 to 17.
During the two days, swimmers watched videos and were able to learn new drills in the areas of backstroke and butterfly from our local swim coaches Dwight and Eline. The swimmers then applied these drills when swimming in the pool. There were other professionals in the field of swimming who also imparted information to our swimmers. One such workshop was the rights and responsibilities of a swimmer, such as their right to attend any sanctioned meets as a paying member of their swim club, and a member of SMAF. Trainer, Ms. Peggy Illis spoke to the swimmers about their rights to having a safe environment to swim in such as having good water quality and an area that is free from structural hazards. The swimmers also have a right to a positive swimming environment, free from physical and verbal abuse. During the second day, she discussed anti-doping and went on to elaborate on their responsibilities such as the types of nutritious foods they should eat and avoiding junk food, encouraging resting as this is important for both body and the mind, attending practice regularly, meeting the qualifying times and creating and having positive vibes. Mr. Derick Prince, as one of our swimming officials, explained to the swimmers through his illustrations, the ways in which they can be disqualified while swimming in a meet.
Overall, the swimmers felt that the swim camp experience was beneficial to them, they learnt new techniques and would use the drills they learnt in their training. They also mentioned that they would attend a similar swim camp again and will encourage other swimmers to be a part of the next swim camp. We would like to thank Coach Eline Broere, Coach Dwight Vermeer and also Coach Mariette Schrijvers, who assisted during the swim camp, without their contributions this swim camp would not be a success.
To read more: https://smn-news.com/index.php/st-maarten-st-martin-news/44022-smaf-2023-swim-camp.html
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