By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas’ 36-member swim team left town yesterday for Trinidad & Tobago on their quest for their seventh straight title over the Easter holiday weekend.

And, according to team manager Celestia Darville and head coach Travano McPhee, the swimmers are all eager to start the competition on Saturday at the National Swim Complex.

Having completed all of their formalities on The Bahamas end, Darville said they have been coordinating with Trinidad & Tobago for their entry to be as seamless as possible.

“The team in Trinidad has been amazing with us,” she pointed out. “Now it’s just our execution. All of the prep work has been done.”

Once they arrive in Trinidad & Tobago and their hour ride to their hotel, they will prepare for practice today and look forward to competing starting on Saturday.

“Everything has already been said. The only thing we are trying to do is to make sure their mental aspect is in the right place,” Darville said. “We just want to make sure that they are ready to execute.”

McPhee, who has been the head coach for the past six CARIFTA championship teams, said everyday as they get closer to the competition, the swimmers are looking faster and well rested. “So the mindset going into Trinidad is that once we get there, we will get a practice on tomorrow (today) so that they can get familiar with the environment and the starting blocks,” he said. 

“We’re looking good. This is the first time we are travelling three days before competition. Normally we go two days before competition. This will help us to get better prepared and have more time in the competition pool, especially our younger swimmers in the long course pool.”

McPhee assured the Bahamian public that the team is going to Trinidad with one goal in mind and that is to return home with its seventh straight title because the team “is focused and they look like they are ready to go and do what they have to do.”

Dr Keir Miller called this the best team he’s been a part of in swimming for the past three years. “What impresses most about them is that the older swimmers are taking an active role in mentoring the new =comers,” he said. “That =needs to be commended.” So far, Millr said there were no issues that he had to deal with. He noted that all of the swimmers are in tip top shape physically and ready to compete.

At 11 years old, Grand Bahamian Logan Comarcho, who attends LIS International School where he is in grade six, is the youngest member of the team, but he admitted that he put in the hard work to earn his spot.

“I feel really good about it,” said Comarcho, who admitted that when he heard he made it, he jumped up with excitement. “I hope I can get at least top ten or top five in all my races and I can get a few points for our team to win the seven-peat.”

Dexter Russell, another first timer at age 12 said he has a series of events to compete in, but he’s looking forward to it.

“I feel strong and I definitely feel that I can win some medals for the Bahamas,” he said. “I just have to go out there and do what I have to do.”

Semaiah Rolle, a 12-year-old making her debut as well, said while she have a number of events to compete in, she’s just proud that she was able to make the team.

“I’m really looking forward to the relays,” she said. “But my expectations are for us to go for the seven-peat. I want to finish in the top five in all of my events.”

Looking at the makeup of Team Bahamas, Rolle said she’s thrilled to be a part of the team. “All of my team-mates are very friendly,” she pointed out. 

As for the open water competitors, coach Allan Murray said the swimmers are all healthy and just waiting to compete on the final day of competition on Wednesday.

“The team manager has out a lot of things in place to make sure our travel is comfortable and our hotel accommodations are comfortable and the swimmers are comfortable in between competition time,” he said.

“We haven’t seen the ocean as yet. So we have to get as much details about it because we’re not sure if the course has been set up as yet. But we will try to get our swimmers into the water as much as we can leading up to the actual race day so they can get acclimatized to the conditions there.”

Murray said the swimmers are all eager and ready to go. He noted that swimming a five-kilometer race takes a lot out of oneself, so the swimmers will have to ensure that they are properly hydrated to compete on race day.