The top swimmers were presented with medals and awards by Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon Sharie B. de Castro (AL), left, at an Awards Ceremony held at Tola Brewery, VI on March 22, 2023. Photo: BVI Swim School/Facebook

BVI Swim School Head Coach Rebecca Nockolds speaks to her swimmers at the swim meet on St Thomas, USVI in February. Photo: BVI Swim Meet/Facebook

Swimmers from the [British] Virgin Islands in action at a swim meet on St Thomas, USVI in February. Photo: BVI Swim School/Facebook

The [British] Virgin Islands (VI) Swim School has awarded its top swimmers who performed exceptionally well at two swim meets in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands (USVI) in February and March of this year. Photo: BVI Swim School/Facebook

In February, the group which represents 6 different schools in the VI received 18 top 3 placings (1st, 2nd & 3rd), while in March it received 20 top 3 placings, with a total of 38 top 3 finishes between the two meets. 

This feat was achieved by 12 swimmers between the ages of 6 and 15.

The top swimmers were presented with medals and awards by Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon Sharie B. de Castro (AL) at an Awards Ceremony held at Tola Brewery, VI on March 22, 2023.

'We are so proud of them'- Swim coach

BVI Swim School Head Coach Rebecca Nockolds said all of the swimmers performed well, with many achieving new Personal Best times, while others competed for the first time in the meets. 

“We are so proud of them for all of their hard work in the lead-up to these swim meets. The majority of their training sessions take place at the beaches, so seeing how well they are able to perform in the meets with limitations to their training is amazing.

“These swimmers have only just begun their competitive swimming journey and we are proud of all their progress so far. We now have swimmers legal in all four strokes- Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke and Butterfly, along with competing with legal turns and finishes,” Nockolds said.

She added that six swimmers are now confidently diving off the blocks at meets and 2 others have started on the blocks for the first time in March. 

'It hasn't been easy'

“It hasn't been easy and their training has consisted of mostly beach training, where they have gained strength on days with larger waves, avoided seaweed while swimming and learned how to circle swim by use of a makeshift noodle lane line at Nanny Cay. This year the swimmers have been able to practice their dives and turns once a week in a pool, huge thanks to Bananakeet Restaurant management. 

“Every session and each meet we see the swimmers gaining strength, improving strokes and dropping their times. These are huge accomplishments for BVI swimmers who are overcoming the training challenges to become swimmers,” Nockolds noted.

The swim coach said most of the swimmers have been training together since September 2022, with a few of them commencing this year. 

“We would love to let everyone in the BVI community know more about what is going on with swimming for the BVI Youth and welcome support for our swimmers to make this possible. We are now offering both swim lessons, stroke development and competetive swim training,” Nockolds added.

Interested persons can contact the school via Facebook at 'BVI Swim School' or WhatsApp/Call 1-284 -544 -7152.