Rezne, eight junior tankers off to Guam

Rezne Wong and eight junior swimmers from the Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan will take part in two swim meets this weekend in Guam.

Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said Wong will compete in the Guam Swimming Federation Long Course Meet in Saturday morning, while the club’s eight “rookie” tankers will take part in the 2008 Guam Short Course Championships in the afternoon.

Tsunami Saipan’s junior swimmers are led by 11-year-old Kaisei Toda and include Fumika Umeda (12), Sugie Takumi (9), Ritsuki Umeda (9), Kosei Toda (8), Kaito Yanai (8), Daisuke Fitial (8), and Ryosei Toda (7).

Kimura said Wong, the club’s and the CNMI’s top swimmer, will try to break a number of CNMI age group records in the Long Course Meet.

“This meet is the final chance for him before his 17th birthday. Rezne’s goal is to swim well in the Guam Championships at the end of next month,” said Kimura. Wong is enrolled at the Marianas High School.

The Short Course Championships, meanwhile, is expected to give much needed seasoning to the club’s youngest and most inexperienced swimmers, according to Kimura.

“This meet is for rookies (inexperienced or young). Tsunami Saipan thinks swim meets like these encourage young swimmers very much.”

He added that Tsunami Saipan’s junior swimmers have been training and preparing for the Short Course Championships the past six months.

“I can say this meet is our biggest goal for this season (August 2007 to June 2008) for our rookies.”

Asked what he expects from the eight rookie swimmers, Kimura said he anticipates Kaisei Toda to have the most success among the group by winning the breaststroke event of his age group.

The Saipan Community School 5th grader won his division’s breaststroke event in the 2007 Saipan All School Swim Meet.

He also expects Fumika Umeda to take home some hardware. Umeda studies at Saipan International School and is the only girl swimmer from the club going to Guam.

No less than first place in all events and the high point trophy is expected of Kaito, who is the champion of last month’s Saipan International Meet, according to Kimura.

“Every swimmer has chance getting a medal in this meet. And we have relay team to participate. That team is entered in the 8-and-under age group. They are the strongest team for the gold medal at that relay event,” he added.

Aside from the invaluable lessons in the pool, Kimura said Tsunami Saipan’s youngest swimmers will also get a chance to meet their counterparts from Tsunami Guam.

“Not only will they participate in the swim meet, they also will practice with Tsunami Guam swimmers Saturday evening and Sunday morning. They will swim at the Onward Resort’s pool on Saturday and Leo Palace Resort’s pool on Sunday. I hope this trip will facilitate a lot of exchanges and forge friendships among the swimmers.”