It was an excellent weekend of swimming and fun at the Lion's Aquatic Center, highlighted by fast races, big drops and surly pirates!   Even over the course of three grueling days back to back to back, four swimmers clocked personal bests in every single event: Sam Bailey, Cole Morgan, Ria Plunkett and Brandon Williams. Several others were only one event off from going 100%, while others clocked all personal best's with a couple of disqualifications. Every single swimmer posted personal bests in at least one event. And finally, there...

  EXCERPTS FROM: The Swim Coaching Brain by Wayne Goldsmith     Q: My child is 10 and is a great freestyler. What does he/she have to do to make it to the top?   A: The first thing is to accept that  there is no such thing as a champion ten year old freestyler. Swimmers who experience success during their pre-teenage years generally do so because of accelerated growth, i.e. they are bigger and stronger than the other kids.   Another common situation is that as kids grow, change and develop, their...

  The Power of Ownership by Daniel Coyle   As parents, we instinctively think we need to provide great facilities, and to direct the action like an orchestra conductor. But often it’s exactly the opposite: the smartest thing we can do is to step back, in order to allow the learners the freedom and pleasure of solving problems and building something they truly own.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v= jU4oA3kkAWU The attached video is about a group of Thai kids who wanted to play soccer, but who didn’t have space in their coastal...

  The Annual Pirates Festival 5km race was the occasion and if you're going to do 5km, the turquoise ocean off Seven Mile Beach is just about the best place you could do it. If the waters are idyllic, the sprint finish of Olympic Champion Oussama Mellouli - visiting Cayman to relax and shake off the tension of Olympic year - was not and the Tunisian had to settle for pieces of silver not gold. The major spoils went to Cayman's Alex McCallum of Stingray Swim Club, a man aiming...

Andrew Smilley made waves in Cayman again this weekend when he appeared not just on the front page, but AS the front page of the Weekend Observer. Smilley was recognized for his accomplishments on the world stage as one of Cayman's most decorated athletes. Below is the article in full, as printed...   Every Saturday morning, a group of volunteers and adults with intellectual disabilities meet at the Cayman International School pool. For an hour or so, each of them works on his or her swimming skills. Some need life...

  Only a small change on Saturday thus far, pushing the start time back. Please note this is for two reasons. First, as it is colder now this will allow all of the kids to train in a bit warmer weather. Second, there are a number of kids in the Senior and Gold Groups who are now swimming up to 10 sessions a week including 4 double workouts. These athletes are in great need of sleep by Saturday, and will need the extra few hours in bed. Sleep is good!...

  Stingray Swim Club Members Corey Westerborg and Alison Jackson set new Stingray Swim Club Short Course records when they travelled across town two weeks ago to take part in the CBAC hosted Spooky Splash.   Corey, set a new record in the Boys 8 & Under, 100m Freestyle  lowering his own record set earlier this year on 21 June 2012 from  1:33:63 to 1:28.18 … and if you missed it he also lowered his own 50m Butterfly record in the same age group from 45:64 to 43:84. Alison set...

  Results are in . . . Stingray Swim Club, Grand Cayman, 21 October 2012: 33 members of Stingray Swim Club (SSC) travelled across town on Saturday to compete in the Spooky Splash hosted by neighbouring team Camana Bay Aquatic Club (CBAC). A cross section of SSC swimmers, from seasoned CARFITA swimmers like Alex McCallum and Catrionae Macrae were joined by new comers to the competitive swimming team. “It’s always a good experience to compete in an environment which is different from that which you train in; against swimmers whom you...

Click here for results Stingray Swim Club, Grand Cayman, 13 October 2012: The Cayman National Sprint Meet saw 85 swimmers in the pool and two very famous swimmers supporting them from the pool deck – founding Stingray Members and Cayman Olympians Shaune and Brett Fraser.   When asked about their trip, Brett commented that: “… the opportunity to be a role model for Cayman’s young swimmers here at the Meet and later today at the beach is an honour.” Shaune was a little more nostalgic, “Being here, at the Lions...

  Sports Psychologist, Dr. Craig Handford, made a whistle stop visit to Grand Cayman to talk to Cayman Swim Coaches. Dr. Handford, Head of Technical Development for British Volleyball, was conducting a series of clinics in Puerto Rico for Track & Field Coaches as part of his role as Manager for the IAAF Coaches Academy and was invited by Ian Armiger, his longtime friend and Cayman’s Technical Director for Swimming, to make a detour to Cayman before returning to the UK. Coach Andy Copley along with several other coaches on...