Palau swimmers return; Marshalls, Pohnpei bets join SSC tourneys, too

Saipan Swim Club members and coach Jacoby Winkfield, back row third from left, pose with Palau swimmers and their coach after the visitors arrived on island last Saturday. (Contributed Photo)

Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Pohnpei will be represented in the 2016 Saipan Swim Club International Invitational Meet that will kick off this Thursday at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

Palau is fielding its national team in the March 17 to 19 swim meet and is headed by coach Billy Brown. The Palau delegates arrived on Saipan last Saturday with Brown joined by Dirngulbai Misech, Osisang Chilton, Jericho Maido, Noel Keane, Keemo Kanai, Shae Gaymann, Lolmei Uong, and Klei Andreas.

“This is the third year in a row that the Palau team has come to Saipan. The kids have developed great friendships with our swimmers and compete hard against each other and we are happy that they have come back this year,” SSC head coach Jacoby Winkfield told Saipan Tribune.

The Marshall Islands is also competing in the SSC swim meet for the third straight year, but will have only two swimmers in Kwajalein’ Kathryn and Sydney Montgomery. Pohnpei, on the other hand, will be participating in the annual competition for the second consecutive year and will have four swimmers in Nicole Adams and Kestra, Kaleo, and Kyler Kihleng. The Pohnpei and Marshall Islands swimmers were scheduled to arrive on Saipan yesterday.

“It is great for swimming in Micronesia when we can get so many teams together to compete. Despite the fact that we are relatively close, it is very difficult to get teams in the region together to compete. Aside from the Micronesian Games, there are limited opportunities for interaction between clubs. So it remains our goal to attract as many teams from the area to come and compete in the beautiful CNMI,” Winkfield said.

“We are happy to welcome the teams to Saiwpan this year and we are looking forward to a great weekend of camaraderie, fun, and fast swimming,” he added.

SSC is managed to host this international meet despite the damage left by Typhoon Soudelor, which forced the cancellation of some local competitions.

“With the support from the community, the hardworking parents, and the dedication of our swimmers, despite the setbacks we suffered from Soudelor, SSC is happy to host this year’s meet and 37th Annual Saipan Ocean Swim,” the SSC head coach said.

The ocean swim will be held this Sunday in the waters off World Resort. Swimmers in the U8 age group will swim the 600m course, while entries in the 9 to 10 and 11 to 12 will cover the one-kilometer and 1.3K courses, respectively. The remaining age groups will take on the longest course—the 2.5K—while the open course has a distance of 1.3K.

As for the swim meet, Thursday and Friday’s sessions will begin at 4pm and 2pm respectively, with swimmers in the 11-and-over age group racing in the 1,500m freestyle, 200m backstroke, and 200m breaststroke (for Thursday), and 400m freestyle for 11-and-over and 100m butterfly, 50backstroke, 100m freestyle, 200m mixed medley relay, and 4x100m freestyle relay for all ages (for Friday).

The remaining 12 events—200m medley relay, 100m breaststroke, 800m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 400m individual medley, 100mbackstroke, 50mbreastrroke, 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 200m IM, 50m freestyle, and 200m freestyle relay, will be split in the morning and afternoon sessions this Saturday.

“SSC would like to thank the community for its unwavering support for the Saipan Swim Club. We also want to thank the Marianas Resort and Spa for the new renovations completed post Soudelor as well as their tireless maintenance of the pool and support and assistance with our swim meets. Thanks to Naked Fish for their support with the awards ceremony, Department of Boating Safety, and to all the volunteers who give their time and resources,” Winkfield said.