Bermuda will send a team of five swimmers to the Carifta Aquatics Championships in Trinidad & Tobago next month.

Marleigh Howes, Sylvia Lim, Katherine Wheddon, Thomas Cechini, and Connor Hupman will be competing from April 19 to 24, with the five swimmers travelling alongside coach Shona Palmer and team manager Bruce Lim.

Howes, Wheddon, Cechini, and Hupman were part of Bermuda’s squad of 15 swimmers that returned with 24 medals from the event in Bahamas last year. Hupman was the star of the show, making the podium in all seven of his individual events.

Wheddon’s exploits at Carifta and the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships last year earned her the accolade of 2024 Junior Female Athlete of the Year at the 43rd Annual Government Sports Awards on Sunday.

National coach Ben Smith has explained the reduction in squad numbers from last year.

“Each swimmer that was selected had to reach two AAA standards in the age group they will compete in over the last 12 months,” Smith said.

“The standards we use are set by USA Swimming, and those standards for 2025 to 2028 got harder.

“Several swimmers were close but missed the times and we are in a rebuilding phase as several swimmers have aged out.

“We are also seeing some of the impact that Covid had on the younger swimmers in terms of access to training and overseas competition.

“We have not lowered our standards, but instead we are challenging our athletes to make the standards. This way we can develop athletes that will be able to qualify for events like the Junior Pan American Games, Youth Commonwealth and Youth Olympics.

“That will give us candidates to be qualified and selected for the senior games. That process has seen us have sustained success. We just have to double focus on development to elevate the next generation to meet the challenge.”