Blue Marlins retain National Invitational Swim Championships

With a combined total of 1314.5 points, Blue Marlins Swim Club continued its reign as champions of the SVG Gallagher National Invitational Swimming Championships.

When the four- day championships concluded last Sunday, September 21, 2025, at the Shrewsbury Aquatic Centre, Ratho Mill, it was the Blue Marlins clan that were the loudest.

Blue Marlins staved off competition from archrivals, Black Sands Swim Squad, who tallied 1269 points, H2O Lions Academy, the newest local swim club in SVG, but is listed as unattached on 392.5, along with regional club Sailfish of Grenada who booked 193 points.

To sweeten the pot, Blue Marlins, represented by 25 swimmers, won five of the age categories.

The club’s titles were pouched by Jayce Thomas, Zoey May, Saj Caesar, Belle Adams and Jadon Hamilton.

Thomas copped the Boys 8 and Under, age group, with 61 points, while May registered 82 points to win the Girls 9-10 age group.

Meanwhile, Caesar bossed the Boys 9-10, scoring 108 points as he claimed 12 gold medals. Adams also was perfect in the Girls 11-12 age group, amassing 108 points from her 12 wins.

Rounding up Blue Marlins’ individual titles was Hamilton, whose 97 points saw him taking the Boys 13-14 age category title.

The other titles were shared between Black Sands Swim Squad and Sailfish.

Black Sands’ Sarai Williams with 61 points, was the Girls 8 and Under champion, while Kione De Shong minted the Boys 11-12 with 100 points, to add to Black Sands’ achievement.

Black Sands’ Zariel Nelson-108 points, champed the Women’s 15 and Over, and Matthew Ballah, also of Black Sands, copped the Men’s 15 and Over with 99 points.

The lone title to leave these shores was the Girls 13-14, as Kristin Gersham of Sailfish, was a fine form copping 11 gold and a silver as she tallied 106 points.

Blue Marlins was prepared by coaches, Tamara St. Hilaire, Alyssa Davis ,and Rickydene Alexander. Speaking on behalf of the other coaches, Alexander said the swimmers worked very hard to prepare for this meet and that some had no break this summer. He was extremely happy with their performance, and thanked the parents for their continued commitment and support. He commented on the competitive nature between the participating teams, describing it as healthy, and congratulated the other teams on a job well done.

Meanwhile the Black Sands Head Coach, Kyle Dougan, also expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance, stating: “I’m very pleased with the results from the competition. It’s great to see that SVG swimming continues to improve. The standard is getting better and better.” Dougan extended congratulations to all the swimmers, and to Blue Marlins Club which won the championships. The next big event on the swimming calendar is the OECS Swimming Championships to be held at the Shrewsbury Aquatic Center from November 7-10, 2025.