The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Betty Kelly Kenning Aquatic Center is officially back in business after it hosted its first swim meet in nearly four months last week, and the schedule of events continues this week to jump-start the 2012 season. The Bahamas Swimming Federation is expected to return to the venue this weekend - Saturday, January 21 - to host the Swift swimming meet, sponsored by Gunite Pools. The meet is open to all 2012 BSF registered swimmers and foreign swimmers with proper credentials, with a limit of seven individual events per swimmer. According to Swift swimming executives, the continued sponsorship by the Whitehead family and Gunite Pools is indicative of their investment in youth sporting programmes. "Once again Gunite pools is sponsoring our Swift swim meet. This marks our 21st year as Swift Swimming and Gunite Pools has been there as a great corporate sponsor from the beginning. The meet will offer heats, timed finals, and finals in all age groups," said meet director Nancy Knowles in a press release. "Peter and Analia Whitehead are big supporters of young people and sports and especially swimming where all of their four kids swam with Swift and where Analia now swims in our masters programme." With the hosting of the 2012 Carifta Games on the horizon, the BSF returned to the Betty Kelly Kenning Aquatic Center last weekend for the staging of the Barracudas' annual Family Guardian Invitational swim meet. "Swift Swimming offers year-round swimming classes at any of our three sites that were all built by Gunite Pools - St Andrew's School, St Anne's School, and the Lyford Cay School. Swift offers learn to swim classes, fitness classes, competitive classes, and masters swimming classes, and is also into its fourth year of teaching kids to swim in the government schools, she said. "Come out and support the many swimmers competing this weekend as swimmers strive to make the needed qualifying times for Nationals in June and Carifta in April." While only four clubs participated last week, a large group of swimmers took advantage of the first meet that was held for the year as well as the first since the BSF's Royal Bank of Canada National Swim Championships in June. The swimming complex was closed in early September due to the renovations by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.