Bermuda’s talented young swimmers are heading to the Carifta Games this week with plenty to live up to.

Last year’s Carifta contigent picked up eight medals at the event in the Bahamas and while Ben Smith, the national swimming coach, is not placing too much pressure on young shoulders, he is confident that the podium will be in reach for many.

“Most definitely the ability is there across the board,” Smith said.

“We set a standard that means everybody we are taking with us is going to be competitive at the competition. They have been doing it locally in multiple competitions and last weekend we were seeing several personal bests from this particular team, so when we get down there if everybody puts in the effort then they are capable of being on the podium.

“However, I never want to go in with the podium being the end goal for us. For the Bermuda team, it’s the experience of being able to compete within the region, being able to compete with your peers and for us it’s about personal best times.

“It’s about putting in your best effort and how you are able to perform under pressure. At the end of that if it means we are getting to the podium, we are all very excited about that, but I never want to count the chickens before they hatch.”

The age range in this Carifta squad is larger than normal with Dominic Wright, Rory Shepherd and Scarlett Spurling competing in the 11-12 division and Madelyn Moore, 24, racing in the 18 and over division, a category which has been introduced for the first time at this year’s games, and Smith is hopeful the elite swimmers can inspire the younger generation.

“Having the older swimmers for the first time is going to give us the opportunity for the rest of the team to see swimmers who have been at Division I schools and competed at that elite level being part of the team,” Smith said.

It will show them some of the prep it takes to get to that next level and setting some standard for the 11-12 year olds who are coming in for the first time. It’s going to be exciting to see a team pull together at all those different levels and it bodes well for the future.

Thomas Cechini and Brandon Adkins will be heading into the event high on confidence after breaking national age-group records at the Short Course Championships this month and for Adkins, in particular, it lends hope that he could reach the podium in his third Carifta Games.

“It was really nice to see the hard work pay off and coming home to break some records,” Adkins said.

“I don’t really have a preference over long course and short course as they are both enjoyable for different reasons. Long course you can get into a rhythm a bit better but short course feels more fun and a bit easier.

“The 200 and 400 metres freestyle are definitely my best chances of a medal. I’ve yet to win a medal so that would be a big achievement at my last Carifta.”

Coach Smith has vast experience of travelling with young athletes to Carifta and will use his knowledge to make the event go as smoothly as possible.

“We know what we are getting into when we get to the meet and we are able to talk to them about what happens as you are going through a four-day competition, taking care of your body and hydrating,” Smith said.

“We have been preparing them for the last few days at the National Sports Centre, but we have been to Bahamas and competed at this pool before.

“I’m sure there will be a few wrinkles as they have spent about $1 million upgrading the facility and I’m excited to see what that looks like.

With two clubs on the island, Harbour and Sharks, there is a fierce local rivalry in the pool but Smith’s fellow national coach, Shona Palmer, is always pleased with how a national team pulls together

“When they all get together, it’s one team and we can already see that just in training,” Palmer said.

There is definitely, domestically, a friendly rivalry and that’s always been there, and I think you need that between clubs, but once they are part of a Bermuda team, they are one team.