1 month ago
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KRISTINA CHUCK-SMITH, Jamaica’s Goodwill Swimming Championships team manager, said parents are committed to shouldering the exorbitant costs of over $400,000 per swimmer needed for the team to compete at the upcoming meet.
Jamaica will be represented by a squad of 39 swimmers and a five-member management staff for the 2025 Goodwill Swimming Championships, which will be held in Barbados from August 15 to August 17.
The cost for the team to travel and compete, however, will be a sizeable figure, as Chuck-Smith explained it is expected to cost in excess of $400,000 per athlete.
This cost, she explained, will be taken on mostly by the parents involved.
“Speaking of parents having to fund, yes, we have a little over $400,000 for most people for funding per child. But that includes accommodation, airfare, food and transportation while we’re there, and gears,” she said.
Chuck-Smith explained the extensive cost for the team’s travel was out of their control, as they were provided the figure by the competition’s organising body.
She also said it is often more costly to travel within the Caribbean region when compared to travelling to the United States.
“Anyone who has travelled in the Caribbean knows that the airfare is significantly high. It is really is,” she said.
“When you compare it to travelling to the US, it is high and that’s not something we can control. Also, the accommodation, transportation and meals were not controlled by us. We were given the amount by the local organising committee and so we have to go by what they tell us.”
Faced with the high cost, Chuck-Smith has defended the team’s decision to travel with 39 swimmers, rather than reducing their number of athletes.
She believes each swimmer has earned the opportunity to compete at the regional championships, and is confident of a strong showing from her charges.
“One may ask why we’re sending such a big team that’s being funded by the parents but I will say that you could look at it another way. Why aren’t we sending more than a 39-member team that’s made up of five age groups and multiple disciplines,” she said.
“With three coaches going for 39 swimmers, it really isn’t as many as if you look at some of the other disciplines who take for that same level as many as 15 members of their management team.”
She added, “We’re gonna have some great performances. We have swimmers aged seven to 17 that are national record holders and meet record holders, but also some very strong swimmers who have won medals in local meets recently.”
The Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) has also been a source of support for Chuck-Smith’s squad.
She said the association has contributed funding and has planned various fundraising efforts to help lessen the financial burden on the parents.
“I will say the ASAJ has given us some help already. They have raised some funds at the award ceremony and they have pegged some for us,” she said.
“So we are going in with some funding from the ASAJ, but also they have two initiatives that they are having on the 12th of July, a movie night and a kaluki (Jamaican Rummy) night, and we expect a lot of support there that will help to lower the cost parents have.”
The team has also appealed to corporate Jamaica in order to attain sponsorships that will help with their cost.
With these efforts in place, the team manager was happy to report that, at this time, there had been no withdrawals.
“We have already received some pledges, so we do know that we are going to reduce the burden on the parents. We didn’t have any swimmers drop out due to finances. So that’s good and, you know, parents in our fraternity understand that this is where we are right now.”
At last year’s staging of the Goodwill Swimming Championships, Jamaica finished fourth, claiming 20 gold, 14 silver and 15 bronze medals.
English (US) ·