The Saint Lucia Aquatic Federation is hosting the 30th OECS Swimming Championships this weekend – November 11-13, 2022, with CIBC FirstCaribbean on board as championship sponsor. This partnership comes with a commitment of $7,000, the total cash prize awarded to the overall winner of the championship.
Besides host country Saint Lucia, the OECS Member States fielding competitors are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Saint -Martin. Participating countries are allowed to form teams of up to 34 swimmers. This year, some 306 swimmers, as well as officials and supporters will travel to Saint Lucia, bringing the total overseas presence here to around 500 or more.
Presenting the check to representatives of the Aquatic Federation of Saint Lucia, CIBC National Director Nigel Ollivierre said, “In addition to the fact that CIBC FirstCaribbean is committed to the development of young people in all areas of activity, we are a Caribbean bank with operations in the OECS. For us, it’s a family affair. On top of that, let me say that we are a sporting people who aim for major international sports platforms. It is therefore an investment in this boost of competitiveness as a region,” concluded Mr. Ollivierre.
The OECS Championships were first organized by Joseph “Reds” Pereira and David Peterkin to establish a regional level championship to provide our swimmers from OECS Member States with opportunities to perform on the plat -regional form. After the first meet, Saint Lucia arranged for a Peace Corps volunteer to visit Grenada and Dominica to start their swimming programs and help them become members of FINA – the sports governing body. nautical.
The OECS Aquatic Championships are being staged at the Rodney Heights Aquatics Center in Rodney Bay, Gros Islet after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
