Saint Lucia to host 28th Goodwill Swimming Championship from Aug 16-18

Saint Lucia is all set to host the 28th edition of the Goodwill Swimming Championship from August 16 to 18, 2024 at the Rodneys Heights Aquatic Centre in Gros Islet.

The Goodwill Swimming Championship is a premier swim meet in the Caribbean, and it is also seen as a launching pad towards higher levels of competition.

According to the information, some 300 swimmers from around ten territories will be participating in this annual swimming competition. This event will be the biggest meet ever hosted by the Saint Lucia Aquatics Federation (SLAF).

The visiting teams include 2023 hosts Jamaica, defending champions the Bahamas, 2022 winners Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao, Barbados, Grenada, Suriname and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

It is being said that Guyana which is a Goodwill founding member will be missing a third straight meet.

Notably, the Goodwill Swimming Championships is an annual age group swimming tournament in which only selected nations from the CARICOM participate. The competition was launched as a development meet to provide exposure to younger as well as less experienced swimmers.

Also, the Acting Director of Sports Clivus Jules said the Government has made a huge investment in a 50-meter pool, and were hoping it would have come to fruition before this year’s Goodwill Games.

The meet will begin with an opening ceremony at 4:30 p.m. followed by events in the pool.

During the event, each National Federation will have a maximum of 40 swimmers – four boys and four girls in the age groups eight and under, 9 -10, 11 -12, 13 – 14, and 15 – 17.

The event earlier took place in Saint Lucia in 2017 but this year’s meet is said to be more than twice as large as it was seven years ago.

The SLAF officials are also anticipating that the influx of visitors, including the swimmers, coaches, team officials, supporters, family, and friends, will be more than 600 people.

Teams are reported to arrive on the island on Thursday, August 15, 2024 with the Opening Ceremony to take place on Friday, August 16 from 4:30 pm onwards. Following this, there will be a three days of intense but friendly competition with hundreds of swimmers representing their nations and giving their best performances.

The officials also reported that competitors must either be citizens or residents of the nation they are representing. Swimmers who took part in the CCCAN, CARIFTA, CONSANAT Swimming competitions or any higher competition during this year are not eligible to compete in the Goodwill.

In addition to this, the SLAF also urged the Saint Lucians to come out and support the hosts as well as all the visiting teams. The 2024 Goodwill Swimming Championships will be supported by the Government of Saint Lucia, the National Lotteries Authority as well as the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee.

The member nations of the Goodwill Swimming Championship host this meet on an annual rotation basis. Last year, it was hosted by Jamaica while the Bahamian team became the champions.