A number of swim coaches in the Virgin Islands have completed training and certification under the tutelage of two-time Olympian from the United Kingdom Brian Brinkley MBE. Photo: VINO

“I must be the luckiest man in the world because 110 people applied for this job and I got it,” said 2 time Olympian Brian Brinkley. Photo: VINO

Brinkley is greeted by Governor John S. Duncan OBE. Photo: VINO

Some of the swim coaches who took part in the programme pose with Brinkley and First Lady Lorna G. Smith. Photo: VINO

Brinkley competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. Photo: www.damekellyholmestrust.org

At a simple ceremony on Friday March 20, 2015 a number of certificates were distributed to the swim coaches who completed the intense programme that now prepares them to deliver coaching to school students and other persons interested in learning to swim.

“I must be the luckiest man in the world because 110 people applied for this job and I got it,” Brinkley said, speaking at the ceremony in the boardroom of Caribbean Insurers Ltd. “I had never been to the Caribbean before in my entire life and I have enjoyed meeting you guys and working with you guys,” he continued, speaking to the coaches.

Brinkley competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games.

He said with the formation of the BVI Swim Foundation, he came into the territory in September 2014 and got started with the training programme on two levels – 1 and 2.

Level one of the course is an introductory level and students will be expected to teach in the water. It is a mixture of Theory and Practical and both must to be passed to gain certification. Normally it is taught for three weeks and does require some home study.

Level Two is aimed at students over seventeen years of age who hold the level one qualification. This level is the full award and is eight weeks of study and is also a mixture of Theory and Practical. “You will also have some home study, both have to be passed to gain certification,” Brinkley said in an earlier interview with this news site.

UK assessed

While there are no examinations, the assessments made by the course tutor are internally verified by an assessor in the UK and are subject to External Assessment by the Awarding Body (ASA).

Making remarks at the ceremony was Governor His Excellency John S. Duncan OBE who said that while he did not have as illustrious a career in swimming as Brinkley, he achieved some certification and what it has taught him is that swimming is a very important life lesson. “What it taught me is that swimming is a very important lesson for life and I think all of you when you are teaching kids, you will be teaching them lessons for life, not only for the joy of swimming and the joy of being in the water but lessons for life,” said Governor Duncan.

He said that swimming teaches one not to hang around at the edge of the pool but to jump in and get on with it, metaphorically. “Keep going, even when it’s tiring and you want to give up,” he said.