Make it the best ever

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Swimming Federation has undertaken to host the 26th edition of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Swimming Championships at the Shrewsbury Aquatic Centre at Ratho Mill, from November 10 to 13.

Competition, though, will not be confined to the Shrewsbury facility, but there will be the open water events, slated for the Buccament Bay area on the morning of November 13.{{more}}

Significantly, it will be the first time that SVG will be charged with taking the reins of staging the championships.

This is mainly so because of the improvements to a six-lane facility, causing it to be re-christened Shrewsbury Aquatic Centre.

Included among the embellishments have been the placement of small pavilions and other amenities, a warm-down pool and an upgrade of Shrewsbury House, which will provide change rooms and a place for food preparation.

Such improvements come by dint of hard work and commitment to the cause by the local swim body.

This type of extra effort and preparation will welcome the participating teams from the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Martinique, St Lucia, along with guests – Saint Martin and St Maarten, with the host team SVG adding to the lot.

Expected in are over 180 swimmers, their coaches and parents, who will converge on these shores for at least five nights.

This number puts the championships in a different light, thus making it more than a sporting event.

Certainly, like the case with the annual International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior tournament, which has been held here at the National Tennis Centre for the past nine years, the OECS Swimming Championships provide hotels and other business establishments, mainly in the Villa area, with a boost in their occupancy.

Surely, with this number of persons coming in for the swim championships, our Sports Tourism product, whilst it is for now, merely a concept rather than an economic pursuit, should jolt the policy makers into a spirit to do more.

The OECS Swimming Championships is just the latest sporting event that SVG is hosting in what has been an unprecedented last 11 months.

Among the major hostings gone by for this year have been the three-match women’s cricket series between SVG and Grenada; the Windwards and West Indies U-19 Cricket Tournaments, along with World Cup Qualifiers, with SVG hosting Trinidad and Tobago and the USA, as well as the Caribbean Football Union’s play-off between SVG and St Kitts and Nevis.

Also hosted here was the OECS Under-23 Netball Tournament and the staple ITF Junior Tennis Tournament.

So far we have had a fair share of hosting, and making a grand impression on those who come in for the Swimming Championships will be a powerful marketing tool, not only for the persons directly charged with its administration, but for St Vincent and the Grenadines as a whole.

The Swimming Championships should not be viewed as confined to the members, volunteers and those directly involved, but as a national effort.

Set aside the stigmatization that swimming is a bourgeoisie sport, everyone who, in some way, can make the championships a positively memorable experience for all, should endeavour to do so.

St Vincent and the Grenadines, with its first attempt of taking on the task of the sub-regional championships, will be under the microscope for its all-round execution.

This will ensure that the SVG can put in another bid for the championships, as we would have passed the test and shown to the others in the sub-region our acumen for shouldering such events.

More so, SVG will be opened up to other visiting countries; hence local swim clubs, as well as the national association can, from time to time, stage invitational swim meets, and woo other clubs from the region to come here and compete.

Sporting events being hosted here thus far for the year, be it the sub- regional, regional or international, have all been given good reviews, so it should not change when the 26th OECS Swimming Championships descend on these shores for the better part of next weekend.