One of Barbados’ oldest swim clubs is preparing to commemorate its own legacy.
Alpha Sharks are set to celebrate 47 years of existence with the rest of Barbados when they host a Legacy Day and festive Water Carnival on Saturday at the Aquatic Centre.
The club’s vice-president Stefan Sherry disclosed details of the event while explaining the concept of the Legacy Day.
“We want to reflect on the tradition of the club; so we plan to bring in speakers and former presidents while putting on display our various trophies, plaques and other awards,” said Sherry.
“But we don’t want to just have a legacy day; so we also decided to hold everything around a Water Carnival to draw the crowds and use it as a form of fundraising because we too obviously feel the effects of the economic downturn.
“We are trying to raise some funds to defray the cost of swimming because people have had to drop out due to not being able to afford staying in the sport and we have not been in a position to even help our club members to go to meets and to pay for our coaches to train,” he added.
Featuring the likes of former Olympic swimmers Leah Martindale, Andre Cross and Terrence Haynes, Alpha has been at the forefront of the sport in local competitions for almost five decades.
But Sherry says the Legacy Day will focus not only on promoting the club’s achievements as he believes the Barbadian public should understand the wider benefits that swimming can provide.
“One of our goals has always been to develop people through the discipline of swimming because there is so much to reap from the sport,” said Sherry, whose daughters Inayah and Sariyah are currently on swimming scholarships.
“Almost all the country’s swimmers do well academically, especially those who not just learn to swim but are competitive swimmers. It helps to develop a discipline in the children and the results at Common Entrance, CXCs and A Levels prove this.” (JM)
