Shouting “butts up!” Saturday morning, members of the St. Thomas Stingrays swim team echoed St. Thomas Swimming Association (STSA) Head Coach John Vasbinder’s call. Anxious to compete, they hurried to the starting blocks for the first swim meet of the 2017 season at the Aquatic Center in Estate Nazareth.
By meet’s end, the Stingrays had added two more swimmers to the Virgin Islands National Team.
Erin Hughes (14 years old) and Fairley Maltby (11 years old) surpassed the qualifying times to make the V.I. National Team, which will compete in the 2017 CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association) Swimming Championships in the Bahamas April 15-19.
So far, Vasbinder said, 15 swimmers from St. Thomas and St. Croix have qualified for CARIFTA. The deadline for qualifying is March 13.
“The Virgin Islands Swimming Federation has several swimmers who are very close to qualifying over the next six weeks,” he said.
STSA is a non-profit 501©3 organization committed to providing and promoting competitive and recreational swimming and water safety programs to its members and all members of the community.
For a schedule of swimming classes, rates and team membership, call STSA at 779-7872.
