1 year ago
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INTER-SECONDARY SCHOOLS Sports Association (ISSA) chairman of swimming, Andrea Bryan Hughes, is pleased with the way the first meet in her post, the High Schools and Tertiary Swim on Saturday at the National Aquatic Centre, went.
“I think we had a very successful meet,” said Bryan Hughes.
“We started on time, ended on time, and most of the swimmers that registered were there. We had no major issues or injuries, so we thank God for that,” she said.
Immaculate Conception High and Wolmer’s Boys’ School walked away with the girls’ and boys’ titles.
Immaculate defended their title in the girls’ category as they raced to glory with an unassailable final tally of 434.5 points.
They were by far and away the most dominant girls’ school, their closest rivals, Wolmer’s Girls, finishing second with 231. Campion College rounded out the top three with 224.
It was a massive gap for the leaders in the boys’ category as well, Wolmer’s dethroning Campion in staggering fashion.
The Wolmerians took the top spot with 445 points, with last year’s champions, Campion, settling for silver with 293.
Kingston College (KC) took the final podium spot with 171.
A key performer of the meet was Hillel’s Kia Alert, who dominated in the girls’ 13-14 age group, ending the meet with the High Point trophy.
Alert, who recently won the 2024 Aquatics Athlete of the Year at the RJRGLEANER National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards, competed in seven races, medalled in six.
She took home gold in the girls’ 13-14 age group categories in the 50-metre breaststroke, 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and the 200m medley relay.
In the events open to all ages, Alert also won gold in the 100m breaststroke and silver in the 200m individual medley.
Speaking on the meet’s execution, Bryan Hughes also sang praises for the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) which she said played a key role in ensuring the meet ran on schedule.
“As my maiden meet, I did have the support of the ASAJ and as long as I have the support of my fellow colleagues and the ASAJ, then all things will go well. The ASAJ played a major role in the meet’s execution as it was their officials who officiated. Without them, the meet would not have been a success,” the ISSA chairwoman explained.
She also stated that even though the number of schools which compete in the annual meet continues to rise, ISSA will continue its efforts to encourage other schools to participate.
However, Bryan Hughes said she is aware of the struggles that come with securing the use of a pool for consistent training with several schools in Jamaica not having access.
“ISSA is always happy to welcome newcomers and, as a matter of fact, we had some newcomers this year with one of them being Westwood High School,” she said.
“It is our intention to see the sport continue to grow from strength to strength, even if the schools do not have pools on their compound.”
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