2003

24th to 30th August - Jeremy Knowles achieves historic medal at Universiade
Jeremy Knowles achieved Bahamian swimming history at the Summer Univerisade in Daegu, South Korea on 24th August. He became the first Bahamian swimmer to participate in the World University Games with a 1:59.32 in the heats of the 200m Fly. He also became the first Bahamian swimmer to receive a medal at the Games, going 1:59.21 for third place and the bronze medal in the A-Final. Also swimming on the same day was his sister, April, who swam 36.75 for 23rd out of 31 swimmers in the 50m Breast. April came back the next day with two events: the 100m Fly where she finished 22nd of 24 swimmers in 1:07.73 and the 200m I.M. where she swam 2:32.19 for 22nd of 27. The third day (26th August) saw all 4 male swimmers in the pool. First up was April in the 200m Breast where she swam a 2:57.27 for 23rd. Next were Kristoph and Corin in the 100m Free where they swam 55.91 (47th) and 1:11.36 (54th) respectively. Corin returned a short time later to swim the 50m Back but finished 36th in a time of 29.85. Jeremy went 2:04.57 in the 200m I.M. to advance to the A-Final where he finished fourth in 1:59.32. August 27th was an off day resuming on the 28th with Jeremy in the 400m Free, Jeremy and Kristoph in the 100m Fly and Corin in the 100m Back. Jeremy qualified for the 400m Free B-Final in 16th place in an Olympic B Time of 4:00.18 but withdrew from the B-Final. Jeremy had to settle for 18th place in the 100m Fly in a time of 55.34, still keeping him in the forefront of Bahamian Olympic qualifiers for that event and Kristoph finished 50th in 1:01.63. Corin's time in the 100m Back was 1:06.98 for 38th out of 40. August 29th was the last day of swimming for the Bahamian contingent, with all swimmers in action. Jeremy led off the action with a 4:29.07 in the 400m I.M., good enough for 12th place in the heats but he withdrew from the B-Final. Next up was April in the 50m Fly but she was only able to go 31.42 for 30th of 36 swimmers. Kristoph's first of his events that day was the 200m Free where he swam 2:39.42 for 41st place. Over 90 minutes later, Kristoph and Corin swam in the 50m Fly. Kristoph came in 46th in 27.17 while Corin finished 53rd out of 62 in 27.92. To date, Jeremy has achieved Olympic B Times in the 400m Free, 100m and 200m Fly, and 200m and 400m I.M., bettering his times at the Pan American Games in the 200m Fly and 200 I.M.

19th August - Bahamian Swimmers off to Summer Universiade in Korea
Bahamian swimmers Jeremy Knowles, Kristoph Carey, Corin McCartney and April Knowles accompanied by Andy Knowles as Coach and Nancy Knowles as Team Manager left Nassau for the Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea.

Staged every two years, the Summer Universiade is the second largest sporting event in the world in number of participants after the Olympics, and consists of 10 compulsory sports and up to 3 optional sports. The ten compulsory sports in Daegu will be Basketball, Diving, Fencing, Gymnastics (and Rhythmic Gymnastics), Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, and Water Polo; optional sports will be Taekwondo, Judo and Archery.

The Universiade is open to competitors between the ages of 17 and 28 in the year of the Games, who are full-time post-secondary students (University, college) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution within the previous year of the event. The Universiade provides the airfare and accommodations for 2 competitors and a coach.

Jeremy is a 3rd year Education student at Auburn University in Alabama; April is a first year Religion student at Gardner-Webb University in the USA; Corin is a first year Accounting student at Florida Atlantic University; and Kristoph is a Health Science student at King's College.

11th to 16th August - Jeremy Knowles does the Olympic triple at Pan Am Games
The swimming programme at the XIV Pan American Games got underway under the blazing heat of the sun in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Of the three Bahamian swimmers in action on the first day, only April Knowles was able to advance to a B-Final, where she finished 8th (16th overall) in the 400m Free in 5:28.19, bettering her prelim time of 5:32.62. Travano McPhee and Nikia Deveaux did not fare as well in their events, with Travano going 1:07.54 for 17th place in the 100m Breast [2.52 seconds off the Olympic B Time] and Nikia falling way below her seed time to 1:01.19 for 23rd place in the 100m Free. Day 2 proved to be much better when Chris Vythouilkas did a 55.76 for an Olympic B Time in the 100m Fly Prelims but was not able to match it in the evening's B-Final where he finished 5th (13th overall) in 56.39. [Vythoulkas, Jeremy Knowles and Nicholas Rees have now all made Olympic B Times in the 100m Fly but only one of them can swim the event in Athens. This should prove to be a very interesting contest over the next 11 months]. Jeremy Knowles swam a 4:27.05 in the 400 I.M. Prelims to qualify for the A-Final and lowered his time by 5 seconds to 4:22.04 [an Olympic B Time and 1.87 seconds off the Olympic A Time] for 4th place but was unable to secure a medal when the top three finishers all did 4:19's. Nikia Deveaux fared no better in her second event in 2 days and finished well out of the running in the 200m Free in a time of 2:13.63 for 18th place. The Men's 800 Free Relay Team finished 7th in that event in 7:58.58 when the first place USA was disqualified for an early takeoff. Day 3 saw Chris Vythoulkas in action again in the 100m Free where he finished 23rd in 52.53 [0.39 of a second off the Olympic B Time] and Alana Dillette had her first swim but finished a disappointing 20th in 1:10.07. Day 4 started with Travano McPhee finishing 17th and just shy of a place in the 200m Breast B-Final in a time of 2:27.84. April Knowles had two swims on very short rest, going 1:11.05 for 19th place in the 100m Fly followed a short time later by the 100m Breast where she went 1:20.90 to place 18th. The Men's 400 Free Relay Team swam 3:33.58 in the Prelims to qualify for the evening's finals where they finished 7th in a time of 3:33.69. Chris Vythoulkas led off the Bahamian swimmers on Day 5 with a 24.46 in the 50m Free for 23rd [0.82 of a second off the Olympic B Time], then later returned to go 59.45 in the 100m Back Prelims and qualify for the B-Finals where he lowered his time to 59.09 [0.68 of second off the Olympic B Time] while finishing 5th (13th overall). Jeremy Knowles' second event and Travano McPhee's third event of the meet was the 200 Fly. Jeremy swam a strong 2:02.89 in the Prelims, well under the Olympic B Time of 2:04.56 and qualified for the A-Final. The evening saw him come back even stronger in 1:59.82, just 1.19 seconds off the Olympic A Time of 1:58.63, but was nipped out of a Bronze medal at the finish by Pedro Monteiro of Brazil in 1:59.38 to finish 4th in a very close and exciting race that had the crowd going wild. Travano was not as fortunate. He swam a 2:11.78 to finish 20th. Alana Dillette's second swim of the meet was the 200m I.M. where she finished 18th and out of then running for the B-Final in a time of 2:32.43. However, between the prelims and the evening session, 2 of the B-Finalists withdrew from the race, thus allowing Jamie Shufflebarger of the Virgin Islands and Dillette into the B-Final as the first and second alternates. In fact, Valeria Silva of Peru's withdrawal was made so late that Dillette's was asked to report to the Clerk of Course just minutes before the march-on of swimmers for the start of the B-Final. Dillette must have been so elated at the news that she went out and swam a 2:30.18 to finish 5th (13th overall). The final day of the meet was The Bahamas' strongest of the meet with all of the day's swimmers and relay team making a final. The morning session started with Nikia Deveaux qualifying for the 50m Free B-Final in a time of 27.42, her best swim of the meet. Jeremy Knowles soon followed with a 2:04.72 in the 200m I.M. to qualify for his third A-Final of the Games. Unfortunately, he was unable to accomplish his objective of securing The Bahamas' first swimming medal ever at the Pan American Games when he once again finished 4th in the A-Final. Still, he had an excellent meet and undoubtedly secured the continuation of his Athens 2004 Scholarship with his outstanding performances. Alana Dillette's third event of the meet was the 200m Back where she qualified for the B-Final in 2:34.44 in an abbreviated field of swimmers. The Men's 400m Medley Relay Team closed out the meet by qualifying for the final in a time of 3:57.44 and then finished 7th in the final in 3:53.57.

31st July - Minister of Sport signs Copenhagen Anti-Doping Declaration
At a press conference populated with officers from the Bahamas Olympic Association and major National Sports federations, the Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture, the Hon. Neville W. Wisdom, today signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sports on behalf of the Bahamas Government. That brings the number of countries that have signed on to the Copenhagen Declaration since its introduction on 3rd March to at least 74. This is the first step within The Bahamas in a multi-faceted process of compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. One consequence will be that the Bahamas Olympic Association and all of its Member Federations (of which the BSF is one) will have to amend their statutes and implement regulations to achieve this objective.

25th July - Rees lowers his 100m Fly PB at the FINA Worlds
Swimming in the seventh of fifteen heats in the 100m Fly, Bahamian Nicholas Rees out-touched his nearest competitor by 1.5 seconds to win his heat in a Personal Best Time of 55.89. This was sufficiently under the Olympic "B" Qualifying Time Standard of 56.16 for this event to ensure the continuation of his Athens 2004 Scholarship through next year's Olympic Games. SwimBahamas congratulates Nicholas on his accomplishment.

20th July - Rees does 25.45 in 50m Fly at FINA Worlds
Nicholas Rees did a 25.45 PB in the 50m Butterfly at the 10th FINA World Championships today. Although this was not quite fast enough to get him into the semi-finals, Rees finished a respectable 49th out of 118 swimmers in the event. Rees used this race as a tune-up for his main event, the 100m Fly, on 25th July.

18th July - Rees and Bell leave for FINA World Championships
Swimmer Nicholas Rees of Barracudas and Ohio State University, and Coach Bert Bell of Freeport Aquatics Club left today for the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Rees is slated to compete in the 50m Butterfly on 20th July and the 100m Butterfly on 25th July. Rees, the Bahamas Record Holder in the 100m Fly, is the also the holder of an Athens 2004 Scholarship under the Olympic Solidarity programme of the International Olympic Committee for the purposes of assisting him in qualifying for the 2004 Olympic Games in his specialty, the 100m Fly. Rees was originally expected to be joined by Jeremy Knowles of Auburn University, the other Bahamian swimmer holding an Athens 2004 Scholarship. However, Knowles opted to bypass the World Championships and focus instead on the Pan American Games where he has told the local press that he believes he can get to the medal podium.

15th July - BSF announces Pan Am Games Swim Team
The BSF today announced the composition of the Swimming Team for the 2003 Pan American Games being held in the Dominican Republic from 11th to 16th August. The Male Swimmers include Travano McPhee of Dolphins and Western Kentucky University (100m /200m Breaststroke, Relays); Chris Vythoulkas of Sea Bees and Florida State University (50m/100m Free, 100m Butterfly, 100m Backstroke, Relays); Jeremy Knowles, Unattached and Auburn University (100m/200m Butterfly; 200m/400m Individual Medley, Relays); and Kristoph Carey, Unattached (Relays). The Female Swimmers include Nikia Deveaux of Barracudas and University of Kentucky (50m/100m/200m Freestyle); Alana Dillette of Freeport Aquatics (100m Backstroke); and April Knowles, Unattached and Gardner-Webb University (200m/400m Individual Medley). Algernon Cargill, BSF President, is the Team Manager and Claudette Charlton is the Assistant Team Manager. Head Coach is Andy Knowles and Assistant Coach is Shawn Neely of Dolphins. The team leaves for Santo Domingo on 8th August and returns on 17th August. The announcement of the coaching staff, particularly Knowles as Head Coach, was not without its share of controversy. While Knowles was registered with the BSF as a coach in March this year, he currently has no club and has not been actively involved in coaching at the club level since announcing his retirement following the Sydney Olympics in October 2000. Neely's selection was also objected to by several of his colleagues, based on the fact that he has already served as Assistant Coach of the CARIFTA Team in April.

13th July - FINA Congress joins on to World Anti-Doping Code
FINA met in an Extraordinary Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and its members unanimously approved the Federation signing the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sports. At the same time, the Congress also approved various amendments to the FINA Constitution and Rules that would bring the organisation constitutionally in line with provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code ratified by WADA at the Copenhagen Conference on 3rd March. In due course, all FINA Members (including the BSF) will also have to amend their national regulations to comply with the WADC.

10th to 13th July - Barracudas repeat as Nationals Champions
The 2003 National Swimming Championships concluded on Sunday 14th July with Barracudas still reigning as champions. But, like Roger Maris's 1961 Major League Baseball Home Run record, an asterisk (*) should be affixed to their achievement. This was the most unusual Nationals ever, with multiple question marks arising as to the eligibility  and right to participate by numerous swimmers. The BSF's National Championship Rules require that (1) swimmers must have registered by 31st January each year; and (2) that swimmers must have participated in at least one BSF meet (for qualifiers) or 3 BSF meets (for relay-only swimmers) since 1st October of the previous year in order to be eligible to participate in the Nationals. The BSF Council chose to ignore these Rules and allowed swimmers to participate who had not registered by 31st January, 2003, as well as swimmers who had not swum in any or sufficient BSF meets since 1st October, 2002. As a result, many of the purported times and records achieved at the meet, as well as the National Championship itself, are tainted. To further compound matters, the BSF had applied to FINA to have the meet designated as an Olympic qualifier, although no FINA-listed Starter was involved, contrary to FINA's Olympic Qualifying Policy. Anyone hear an echo about "inconsistent application of the Rules"!

28th June to 5th July - Swimmers perform in "thin air" at CCCAN
The 11 BSF swimmers selected for the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships (CCCAN) Team performed under adverse conditions in the "thin air" of Mexico City. The team left town three days ahead of the meet to "acclimatise" in the high altitude, although three weeks is the accepted acclimatisation period. Coached by Bert Bell of Freeport Aquatics Club and Garvin Ferguson of YMCA Wave Runners, the team returned with 3 medals - a Silver and a Bronze Medal by Alicia Lightbourne of Sea Bees in the 13-14 Girls 200m Breaststroke and 100m Breaststroke; plus a Bronze Medal Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace of Piranhas  in the 11-12 Girls 100m Freestyle. Other members of the team included: Jaims Carey (FAC); Dana Stewart (DSC); Jody Curtis (YMCA); Ashton Knowles (FAC); Xhantio Panza (FSC); Denaj Seymour (BSC); Caitlin Antoni (FAC); and Jade Thompson (SBSC). Many parents and coaches questioned the inclusion on the team of 2 swimmers who had not met the BSF's CCCAN Qualifying Time Standards, were purportedly added for relay purposes but still swam in individual events, all in contravention of the BSF's International Rules. These persons felt that If the BSF is going to ignore its own Rules, then a fourth 13-14 Boy should also have been added to the team "for relay purposes", given that 3 boys had actually qualified for CCCAN in that age group. And while they were at it, the BSF could have "added" 2 more 15-17 Boys "for relay purposes" to go along with the 2 swimmers in that bracket. Note to the BSF: This is not CARIFTA. There are no provisions in the International Rules for non-qualifiers on a CCCAN team or any other team. There is no likelihood of winning the team championship at this level unless the team is comprised of at least 40 or 50 swimmers. What kind of message are you sending to the swimmers - that the time standards don't matter and are just there for some but not for all? Watch out, because bad precedents have a way of coming back to haunt you.

8th March - New BSF Executive Officers elected for 2003 to 2005
The BSF conducted its Biennial Congress Meeting at the Casuarinas Hotel on West Bay Street and a new slate of Officers were elected. By the narrow margin of 79 to 77 votes, Algernon Cargill was elected President of the BSF for the 2003-2005 period to replace Vincent Wallace Whitfield who had held the position since June 1995. Also elected as Officers were: Loretta Parris (First Vice President); Wentworth Musgrove (Second Vice President); Bruce Knowles (Treasurer); Albert Dillette (Secretary); and Stella Knowles (Assistant Secretary).

25th January - BSF Open Forum Meeting
The BSF invites all Parents, Coaches and Club Executives to attend an Open Forum Meeting in the Junkanoo Ballroom at the Holiday Inn Junkanoo Beach Hotel, Nassau & West Bay Streets from 2.30 PM to review the proposed introduction of a new Constitution for the BSF and its affiliates Island Swimming Associations. Click here to view a draft of the Constitution of the New Providence Swimming Association (in Adobe Acrobat Reader .PDF format). Refreshments will be served. Discussions will cover the need for constitutional reform; developments at the CARIFTA and Olympic level; problems at the Kenning Swim Complex; and  other matters.

13th January - No Heater Chills Kenning Complex
For the third consecutive winter, the Ministry of Sports seems incapable of keeping the heater on at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex. Purchased at a cost of some $2,000,000.00, the heater has not functioned properly when it is most required. While The Bahamas portrays itself as "the Isles of June", the temperature in December and January often falls into the low 50's or high 40's, particularly during evening and early morning workouts. Without pool blankets and a malfunctioning heater, the pool temperature often drops into the low 70's, leaving swimmers quite cold and subject to colds. The most embarrassing occasion was during the 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships, when the temperature was unseasonably cold during April of that year and swimmers from all over the Caribbean complained of the chilly water. The Ministry of Sports has never rectified the problem, which is clearly one of a lack of something - either they do not care about the welfare of local swimmers or they are unable to pay to have the work done properly. Whatever the problem, local swimmers, parents and the Federation are tired of the excuses and lack of action.

Bahamian Swimmers excel in college
Bahamian swimmers continue to excel at the college level in the USA. After a 2001-2002 college season when mononucleosis hampered his progress, Jeremy Knowles has moved from strength to strength at Auburn University. Competing on a very strong swim squad, Jeremy continues to hold his own in the 200-yard Butterfly and both Individual Medleys. With the Athens Olympics qualifying period commencing in April, Jeremy seems to be on-stream to qualify for his Games sometime later this year. Not to be outdone, Nicholas Rees is showing that while this might be his final season at Ohio State University, he intends to go out in a blaze of glory by qualifying for both the NCAA Championships and another Olympic Games. Although bothered by a shoulder injury during the summer that caused him to have to withdraw from The Bahamas' Commonwealth Games team, Nicholas is performing exceptionally well for his college and shows no ill-effects from his injury. Meanwhile, Chris Vythoulkas at Florida State University and Travano McPhee at Western Kentucky University are establishing themselves as swimmers of the future for their colleges even though they are both freshmen. Chris has established himself as one of the "go-to-guys" on the FSU Men's Swimming Team, particularly in the 100-yard Butterfly, the 50-yard Freestyle and Relay events.  Travano continues to do well in the Butterfly events and the Individual Medleys at WKU, even though this was supposed to be an "easy" year for him as he learned his way around campus and the collegiate swimming system. These four young men give The Bahamas an outside chance of gaining a relay spot in Athens (Greece, that is, not Georgia), provided The Bahamas gains one of the 12 relay spots up for grabs at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona in July or, if  not, gains one of the 4 remaining fastest spots available during  the 2003-2004 Olympic qualifying period. Not to be forgotten  is Kristoph Carey who is working hard to achieve his Pan American Games and Olympic dreams while working out under the watchful eye of Coach Allan Murray here in Nassau and Nikia Deveaux who could be the first Bahamian female Olympic qualifier as she undergoes extensive training at a Junior High Performance Centre in Havana, Cuba. Also showing interest in pursuing an Olympic quest is April Knowles, who has rekindled her zeal for swimming at Gardner-Webb University. One road to the Olympics leads through the Pan American Games and it would be a big boost for Bahamian swimming if all of these competitors could qualify in August, thereby allowing them to spend the following 12 focusing on improving their physical and mental conditioning. 

2001

10th January, 2001 - BSF meets with Minister of Sports
The BSF President, Vincent Wallace Whitfield, and the BSF Treasurer, Harold Bosfield, met with the Minister of Sports, The Hon. David Thompson, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Archie Nairn, and other officers of the Ministry, to discuss numerous swimming-related matters. Of particular interest to all parties was  the operation and maintenance of the Betty Kenning Aquatic Centre, renovations to the South Beach Pools, in-school swimming programmes and the 2001 Bahamas Games. The Minister requested a schedule of  proposed dates and times for BSF meets, club meets, National Team training sessions and club training sessions at the BKKNSC.

26th/27th January - CARIFTA Time Trial #2
The BSF will hold the second CARIFTA Time Trial at the Betty Kenning Aquatic Centre on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th January. The meet is open to all swimmers born between 1983 and1989 who wish to qualify for the 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Nassau on 20th to 22nd April. Swimmers outside of these age groups who are trying to qualify for Nationals or CCCAN can also participate for "time-only". Friday's session starts at 7.00 PM while Saturday's sessions begin at 9.30 AM and 5.30 PM. Clubs must sign-up the necessary timers and timing booth personnel for each session.

17th February, 2001 - McPhee is new BSF First Vice President
The BSF held its Biennial General Congress Meeting for the election of Officers for the period 2001 to 2003. The following persons were elected unopposed: President, Mr. Vincent Wallace Whitfield; Second Vice President, Mr. Harold Bosfield; Treasurer, Mrs. Marguerite Knowles; Secretary, Mrs. Meltoria Minus-Rolle; Assistant Secretary, Mrs. Renia Moncur. Mrs. Stella McPhee defeated Mrs. Loretta Parris for the post of First Vice President by a total of 41 votes to 18. At the same time, several amendments to the BSF Rules were approved. Principal among them was the implementation of a National Team Training Squad and National Team Selection Trials system for the selection of National Swim Teams; the deletion of the Bonus Points system for records at the Nationals; the introduction of the Competitor Family Participation Points System, whereby the families of all registered swimmers must contribute to club and BSF activities; and the requirement for several BSF Committees to compile annual operating budgets.

12th March - BSF meets with new Minister for Sports
The BSF President, Vincent Wallace Whitfield, and the BSF First Vice President, Stella McPhee, were invited to meet with the new Minister responsible for Sports, The Hon. Dion Foulkes; the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports, Mr. Creswell Sturrup, and other officers of the Ministry with responsibilities for Sports, to discuss numerous swimming-related matters. Of particular interest to all parties was  the operation and maintenance of the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex, renovations to the South Beach Pools, in-school swimming programmes, National Team travel grants, the 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships, access to the BKKNSC for BSF meets, club meets, National Team training sessions and club training sessions, and the 2001 Bahamas Games. The Minister indicated that the BSF could expect full cooperation from the Ministry in matters of mutual interest.

March 18th, 2001 - BSF Announces 2001 CARIFTA Swim Team
Following the first-ever CARIFTA Team Selection Trials on 17th and 18th March, BSF announced the names of the 30-member squad competing in the 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Nassau on 20th-22nd April.
11-12 Girls
Melissa Ferguson (DSC) - 200 Free; 100/200 Breast; 200 Fly
Franshon Francis (DSC) - 200/400 Free; 100/200 Fly; 200 Back; 200 IM
Camilla Miller (DSC) - 50/100 Free; 100 Back
Chanteia Musgrove (SBSC) - 100 Free; 100/200 Back; 100/200 Breast; 100 Fly; 200 IM
Brittany Smith (DSC) - 50/400 Free; 200 Back
Alternates: Terez Albury (BSC); Teisha Lightbourne (SBSC)
11-12 Boys
Ashton Knowles (FAC) - 50/100/200 Free; 100/200 Breast; 200 IM
Xhantio Panza (FSC) - 50/100/400 Free; 100/200 Fly
Denaj Seymour (BSC) - 100 Breast; 100/200 Fly
Javari Southard (FSC) - 100/200 Back
Brito Stuart (SBSC) - 200/400 Free; 100/200 Back; 200 Breast; 200 IM
Alternates: Je'Vaughn Saunders (BSC); Christopher Taylor (DSC)
13-14 Girls
Carla Cargill (SBSC) - 400 Free; 200 Back
Jodi Curtis (YMCA) - 50/100/200 Free; 100 Back
Alana Dillette (FAC) - 50/100/200/400 Free; 100/200 Back; 200 Breast; 200/400 IM
Amanda McPhee (DSC) - 800 Free; 100 Breast; 100/200 Fly; 400 IM
Victoria Millar (BSC) - 100/200 Breast; 200 IM
Ecarscha Smith (DSC) - 800 Free; 100/200 Fly
13-14 Boys
Jaims Carey (FAC) - 100/200 Breast; 200/400 IM
Jonathan Cole (SBSC) - 100/200/400 Free; 100/200 Fly
Robert Dillette (FAC) - 50/100/400/1500 Free; 100/200 Back; 100/200 Fly
Karl McCartney (BSC) - 50/200 Free; 100/200 Breast; 200/400 IM
Nevar Smith (FAC) - 1500 Free; 100/200 Back
Alternate: Inoa Charlton (BSC)
15-17 Girls
Nikia Deveaux (BSC) - 50/100/200 Free; 100 Back; 100 Fly
April Knowles (Unattached) - 50 Free; 100/200 Back; 100/200 Breast; 200/400 IM
Jacinda Mireault (SBSC) - 100/200/400/800 Free; 100/200 Breast; 200 Fly
Katie Roach (Unattached) - 400/800 Free; 200 Back; 100/200 Fly; 200/400 IM
Alternate: Aymara Albury (BSC)
15-17 Boys
David Knowles (BSC) - 50/100/1500 Free; 100/200 Back
Christian LaRoda (BSC) - 50/100/200 Free; 400 IM
Corin McCartney (BSC) - 100/200 Back; 100/200 Breast; 100 Fly; 200 IM
Travano McPhee (DSC) - 400 Free; 100/200 Breast; 100/200 Fly; 200/400 IM
Todd Wilson (FAC) - 200/400/1500 Free; 200 Fly
Alternate: Dana Stewart (DSC).

19th April - Vythoulkas, Albury and Thompson to miss CARIFTA
Three members of previous National Teams who did not participate in the CARIFTA Team Selection Trials will miss the 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Nassau.

Patricia Thompson (SBSC) chose not to participate in the Trials due to commitments at the University of Tampa where she is a first-year student. This would have been Thompson's final CARIFTA meet as she will be too old next year.

Aymara Albury (BSC) suffered a torn quadriceps while running for St. Augustine's College in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools Track & Field Championships on 15th March and was unable to participate in the Trials. The timing of the injury could not have come at a worse time for Albury. She had previously qualified for selection to the Swim Team in the 50m and 100m Freestyles and looked to be in good form. "Based on the information available to him, Barracuda coach Allan Murray was unable to satisfy the National Team Selectors that Albury would be recovered in time and fit enough for the CARIFTA Swim Meet" said BSF President, Vincent Wallace Whitfield. Despite her injury, Albury qualified for selection to the CARIFTA Track & Field Team in the Shot-put and Discus events.

Chris Vythoulkas chose not to participate in the Trials in preference to competing in a swim meet in Orlando, Florida, instead. The rationale for this decision is unclear, although not surprising.  "Prior to the 2000 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Barbados, Vythoulkas's parents had stated their opposition to The Bahamas hosting the 2001 Championships in Nassau" said BSF President, Vincent Wallace Whitfield. "Their preference was to bring the meet to Nassau in 2002 when their son would be at the top of the 15-17 Boys age group and would not have to compete against Damian Alleyne of Barbados or George Bovell of Trinidad & Tobago in front of the home-town crowd." Vythoulkas, who has not swum locally since the 2000 National Championships last June, was in Nassau for each of the CARIFTA Time Trials in December, February and March but chose not to participate in any of those meets either.

18th April - Kenning Swim Complex officially opened
With much pomp and ceremony, the Bahamas Government officially opened the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex. Present were a beaming Mr. and Mrs. John Kenning, the donors of $5,000,000.00 of the $7,500,000.00 that went into building the complex, members of their family, Government dignitaries, and the CARIFTA National Swim Team. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Hubert A. Ingraham, detailed how Mrs. Betty Kenning originally donated $2,000,000.00 to the project and increased it by another $3,000,000.00 when costs skyrocketed as a result of the need to comply with FINA's water temperature regulations. He also stated that the Government will invest another $1,000,000.00 in the complex to install seats, covered areas for timers and swimmers and additional improvements. The Prime Minister also stated that the Government will implement a learn-to-swim programme in the public school system whereby the students will have mastered the rudiments of the four strokes before graduating.

20th April - CARIFTA Swimming Championships begin
The 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships kicked off to a late start at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex on Friday morning due to initial problems with the Colorado Timing system.  This is only the second time that the BSF is hosting this meet and the first time in a 50-metre facility. Twelve countries are participating in the meet, the largest number ever. The Netherlands Antilles are represented at this meet for the first time. The Hon. Dion Foulkes, Minister of Education, Youth & Sports, officially declared the meet open during the evening session. Patrons of the complex, Mr. and Mrs. John Kenning were in attendance, as was Sir Arlington Butler, President of the Bahamas Olympic Association and other dignitaries. Numerous parents and supporters traveled from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Grenada to support their teams. Mr. Errol Clarke of Barbados, a Vice President of CCCAN, was the Session Referee.

22nd April - Bahamas finishes second in CARIFTA Swimming
Trinidad & Tobago once again proved that they are the team to beat by amassing 1,032.5 points in the 2001 CARIFTA Swimming Championships. The Bahamas finished second with 494 points, while the Antilles Guyane Francaise team finished third with 483 points, Jamaica was fourth with 440 points and Barbados fifth with 424 points. Cayman Islands came in sixth with 300 points, Suriname seventh with 259.5 points, U.S. Virgin Islands eighth with 247 points, Netherlands Antilles ninth with 98 points and Grenada tenth with 21 points. St. Lucia and St. Vincent & The Grenadines did not score. Fifteen new CARIFTA Swimming Records were set during the meet at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex, principally by George Bovell of Trinidad & Tobago. "I am very pleased and extremely proud of this team" said BSF President, Vincent Wallace Whitfield. "Considering that there are 12 first-timers on the team and 14 members of the team were selected out of the Team Selection Trials, this can only be described as a total team effort. Trinidad & Tobago came in with a very good team and dominated the meet. That is reflected by their 500-plus points margin of victory. Trinidad & Tobago have won something like 12 out of 16 CARIFTA Championships. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Robbie Dillette swam exceptionally well, particularly in his 200 Fly. Alana [Dillette] swam well and should do even better next year. Victoria [Millar] came through big time in her 200 Breaststroke and did well in the 100. Brito Stuart did not win anything but he dropped time in almost all of his swims. I liked what I saw out there over the past three days and things should be even better for us next year, as we have swimmers like Arianna Vanderpool-Walllace, Jonathan Bain and others moving up." The 2002 Championships will be in Barbados.

4th May - No Swimmers for CCCAN or World Championships
The BSF Competition Committee met today without selecting any swimmers for the CCCAN Swimming Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1st to 9th July or for the FINA World Championships (LCM) in Fukuoka, Japan, from 22nd to 30th July. This arose due to only one swimmer (Victioria Millar, BSC) having qualified for the CCCAN meet during the CARIFTA Swimming Championships. Millar declined the selection. While two other swimmers (Nicholas Rees, Chris Vythoulkas) were proposed, the Committee was not provided with any official meet results to prove that they had, in fact, satisfied the BSF's CCCAN Qualifying Times Standards. Regarding the FINA World Championships, Jeremy Knowles, Chris Murray and Nicholas Rees were all nominated to represent The Bahamas but the Committee was informed that none of these swimmers would be available at the time of the competition for varying reasons. The BSF was unable to send a team to the 1999 CCCAN Championships in Medellin, Colombia, after all of the team members (except Jodi Curtis) and all of the team officials (except one) withdrew from selection weeks before the competition. The BSF was last represented at the 1991 World Championships in Perth, Australia, by Allan Murray. BSF President Vincent Wallace Whitfield has been approved for selection as a Judging Official for both the CCCAN Championships and the World Championships and will represent the BSF at the CCCAN Congress on 2nd July and the FINA Technical Congresses on 20th July. Wallace Whitfield is the first BSF Judging Official to qualify for the FINA Swimming Officials List and will be the first Bahamian to officiate at a Swimming World Championship.

1st July - Barracudas win National Championships . . . Again!
The Barracuda Swim Club, headed by first-year coach Allan Murray, won the 30th Royal Bank of Canada National Swimming Championships for the fifth time in six years. Murray got excellent swims out of mainstays of the team like Nikia Deveaux (15 & Over Girls), Kristoph Carey (15 & Over Boys) and others to amass ???? points. Sea Bees Swim Club, on the strength of their 8 & Under Girls swimmers and Chantiea Musgrove (11-12 Girls) placed second with ??? points. Freeport Aquatics Club got strong swims from Robbie Dillette (13-14 Boys), Alana Dillette (13-14 Girls) and Ashton Knowles (11-12 Boys) to come through in third place with ??? points. The Dolphin Swim Club, led by Travano McPhee (15 & Over Boys), Malaika Chase (15 & Over Girls) and Amanda McPhee (13-14 Girls) dropped to fourth place with ??? points. Flamingo Swim Club, with only 8 swimmers, finished in fifth place with ??? points, based largely on the performances of Xhantio Panza and Javari Southard (11-12 Boys). YMCA Wave Runners finished sixth, with all of their points garnered by their sole entrant, Jodi Curtis (13-14 Girls). Stellar performances were handed in by unattached swimmers Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace (9-10 Girls), Jonathan Bain (9-10 Boys) and Jeremy Knowles (15 & Over Boys) who collectively set numerous records between them. The second Long Course National Swimming Championships was held at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex from 28th June to 1st July.

15th July - New Providence repeats as Bahamas Games Swim Champs
The New Providence swim team captured the team title with ??? points in the Bahamas Games Swimming Competition held at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex on 14th and 15th July. As this was the first Bahamas Games Swimming Competition held in a Long Course Pool, every first-place finisher set a new Bahamas Games swimming record. Grand Bahama finished second with ??? points, Exuma & Ragged Island third with ??? points, Andros fourth with ??? points and Long Island fifth with ??? points. Most Valuable Swimmer Trophies were awarded to Robbie Dillette of Grand Bahama (Boys) and jointly to Alana Dillette of Grand Bahama and Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace of New Providence. The swimming competition was originally scheduled to start on 13th July but that portion of the competition had to be cancelled due to the BSF not receiving all of the entries in time. At 6.00 PM on 12th July, only the entries from Grand Bahama had been received. The New Providence entries were submitted one hour earlier. The remaining entries from Exuma/Ragged Island, Long Island, Andros, Abaco and MICA were received the following day.

20th July - BSF Swimming Rules amendments rejected by FINA Congress
For the first time in its history, the BSF submitted three amendments to the FINA Swimming Rules. The first proposal concerned a minor amendment to the underwater arm pull back to the hips/legs in the Breaststroke. The second proposal concerned the utilization of the breaststroke kick during the Butterfly event. The third proposal concerned the introduction of a Junior World Swimming Championship by FINA for swimmers between the ages of 11 and 17. None of the proposed amendments were approved at FINA's Technical Swimming Congress in Fukuoka, Japan, which preceded the World Championships. However, ASUA President Jerry Olson indicated to the BSF that he supported the idea of a Junior Pan American Swimming Championship for junior swimmers in this hemisphere. ASUA is the only continental body within FINA that does not hold annual or biennial championships for its junior or senior swimmers. ASUA is responsible for supervising the swimming competition at the Pan American Games but those Games are held quadrennially and are principally for senior swimmers.

2000

September 16th to 23rd, 2000 - Joy and Disappointment for Olympic Swimmers
The experiences of the Bahamian swimming quartet of Jeremy Knowles, Allan Murray, Chris Murray and Nicholas Rees at the Sydney Olympic Games ran the gamut, from good to poor and all shades in between. Jeremy Knowles had the good experiences as he improved his Bahamas Record times in all three of his events: 200m IM; 400m IM and 200m Breast. Chris Murray and Alan Murray had disappointing experiences in the 100m Free and 50m Free respectively. Neither swimmer was able to explode off the blocks at the start to their satisfaction and missed out on bettering their entry times. Nicholas Rees had the unexpectedly poor experience, finishing over a second slower than his entry time. The trio of Jeremy, Chris and Nicholas have all vowed to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where they expect to improve on their 2000 performances. Allan Murray announced his retirement from competitive swimming.

9th October - Barracudas hire Murray
The Barracuda Swim Club announced the hiring of Allan Murray as their new Head Coach. Murray, a 28 year-old Bahamian, replaces American Christopher Zarka who coached Barracudas to their fifth National Championship in the last six years. Murray has just returned from his third straight Olympic Games, where he represented The Bahamas in the 50m Freestyle.

16th December - Thompson, Deveaux and Albury make CARIFTA cut times
Patricia Thompson (SBSC) was the first swimmer  to make a CARIFTA cut time at the first BSF CARIFTA Time Trial. She swam 5:40.69 in the 15-17 Girls 400m I.M. Nikia Deveaux (BSC) swam the 100m Free in a time of 1:04.23 and Aymara Albury (BSC) swam the 50m Free in a time of 28.86 to also make the 15-17 Girls cut times.