Tsunami Saipan swimmers leave for Guam meet

  The nine-member team of Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan left for Guam yesterday morning where it will take part in this weekend’s 2012 Guam Swimming Championships at the Hagatna Pool.

Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said his son Kensuke Kimura, Takumi Sugie, Kaito and Ryuto Yanai, Heongjoo Yoo, Ryosei Toda, Miku Tammy, Angel De Jesus, and Angel Tan all left Saipan in high spirits and are eager to swim their best in the meet.

Not really concerned in taking home high point trophies, the elder Kimura said his wards’ focus in the Guam Swimming Championships is to break records, improve their times, and try their hardest-exactly in that order.

It also helps that the meet pushed his swimmers to achieve BB U.S. time standards.

“If a swimmer marks BB time at any swim meet, he or she can participate in any event of the Guam Swimming Championships. That’s why I set up the original qualifying rule for participation in the meet,” he said.

In short, Kimura said any Tsunami Saipan swimmer who fails to achieve the BB U.S. time standard will not be allowed to go to the Guam Swimming Championships.

Add to that, Kimura required those who want to take part in the competition in the U.S. territory to clear BB U.S. time standards in not one, not two, but three events in order to make the Tsunami Saipan team to this weekend’s meet.

“When a swimmer gets BB time on three events, Tsunami Saipan allows the swimmer to come with us to Guam. It is very strict, but it is natural for the team. Because the swimmer is going to Guam as a representative of Tsunami Saipan. He or she should show good performance in Guam for teammates who are left on Saipan,” said Kimura.

The Tsunami Saipan coach said off-island swimming competitions like the Guam Swimming Championships is also very important for individual swimmers because it’s only one of the few times they get to compete on foreign soil.

“Now, the CNMI economy is facing a very hard situation. Families are having a hard time. We really can’t go to off-island meets as much as we want to. The Guam Swimming Championships is very important for us under such circumstances,” he said.

He promised though that the crème de la crème of Tsunami Saipan will compete in Hong Kong next season and some of them will also have a chance to show their wares in Japan.

Kimura also took the opportunity to thank the club’s sponsors, namely Tan Holdings, Mariana Resort and Spa, DFS Galleria, Pacific Islands Club, McDonald’s Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands Swimming Federation, and Guam Swimming Federation for making their trip to the U.S. territory possible.