The Bermuda National Swimming team has literally doubled for the CCCAN Championships to be held in Barbados from July 9 to 13 thanks to some outstanding performances during the Bermuda National Swimming Championships held at the National Sports Centre over the weekend.

Booking their tickets on the departing plane during some close and exciting racing, were Harbour Club swimmers Ava Pedro and Nathan Burrill. While not being outshone the Sharks Club added Elana Fulton and Adriana Argent.

Since the Carifta Championships in April, Harbour Club swimmers Thomas Cechini and Connor Hupman had already reserved their spots during the Schroders Long Course Championship and again they were joined by Sharks swimmers Tayla Horan and Seth Samuels.

Add senior swimmers Jessie Washington, Caleb Ingham and Brian Desmond into the mix and the departing team’s numbers swell to 23 leading to broad smiles from members of Bermuda’s swimming fraternity when the final race was completed.

National coaches Ben Smith and Shona Palmer had the largest grins of all as months of early mornings and late-night training sessions reflected in the athletes breaking numerous personal bests along the way.

After the pool had settled coach Smith expressed his excitement at what lay ahead for the qualified competitors.

“From this nationals meet until CCCAN we have about six weeks to do some specific training and tighten up on some technical aspects of strokes, starts and finishes and arrive in Barbados in peek form ready to show our best.”

“We will now get to bring the swimmers together several times to do joint practices and this will allow some familiarity with each other to be obtained,” Smith added.

The added bonus for Team Bermuda now, is that more relay teams at the various age groups will see action during CCCAN, included mixed relay teams and sessions to concentrate on that aspect in particular will be added to the training schedule.

With all the excitement of the Bermuda squad’s increase in size one would believe that the Championships itself had been pushed to the back burner but that was never the case as large numbers of competitors and fans remain on the pool deck to see the crowning of Bermuda’s latest national champions.

In the Boys Under 12 Division, Sharks swimmer Logan Jones was crowned champion by just two points. Jones’s total of 1768 just pipping runner-up Nayland Harris of Harbour Club by the slimmest of margins.

The Girls Over 13 Division was another close battle with Sharks’ Marliegh Howes edging clubmate Taylor White by four points, 3988 to 3984.

In the Girls Under 12 Division Arabella Newport Derbyshire continued to show her overall dominance securing victory while amassing some 3245-points beating her Carifta and Harbour Club team-mate Violet Smith (2761 points) to claim top spot on the podium.

In the Boys Over 13 Division Harbour Club’s Thomas Cechini took top honours after gathering 3445 points from his seven events, which included the gruelling 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle. Runner-up to Cechini was Seth Samuels from Sharks whose 2856 points show the best is yet to come from the relatively new swimmer.