The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

LOWE’S Wholesale Drug Agency Limited, celebrating its 60th anniversary, has come on board to assist the Bahamas Swimming Federation in the staging of their 42nd Royal Bank of Canada National Swimming Championships at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swimming Complex next weekend.

At a press conference on Thursday at the complex, Lowe’s Wholesale’s marketing manager Garnell Cooper presented BSF second vice president Nicholas Rees with a cheque to signify their commitment to the championships June 20-23.

“We are launching our sponsorship packages and Lowe’s Wholesale has come on board to take up the aqua package and they have made a donation to the federation of $3,000 that we are extremely proud of,” said Rees, who has spearheaded the sponsorship drive for the federation. “They are also going to be out here doing product demonstrations as well. They are going to be profiling the Coppertone products and introducing that to the swimming population.”

As a part of their anniversary celebrations, Cooper said they are delighted to be able to join forces with the federation in the hosting of their nationals.

“This is just a way of us giving back to the community and saying thank you for supporting us throughout the years,” Cooper said. “This is definitely a positive thing for us and for young people, so Lowe’s want to encourage the young people as they compete in the nationals.”

Lowe’s Wholesale will be displaying its product - Coppertone. The brand manager Gloria Brown said they are eager to sponsor the event as they help to advance the participants through the sport of swimming.

“We will be here to support our kids,” she said. “Coopertone will be all over the swimming site. So look forward to us and we hope that you will use the brand.”

Rees, a former Olympian, said they are expecting more than 200 swimmers to participate in the nationals, which will serve as the final trials for the CCCAN in Costa Rica June 29-July 5, the Summer University Games in Kazan, Russia, July 6-17, the 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, July 19 to August 4 and the 4th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai in August.

“We can expect some fast times. I’m hoping that we will see at least 15 records broken this year,” he said. “We are coming off a disappointing performance at CARIFTA. I think that should be motivation for all of the swimmers to step up their game. I’m sure that they went back to the drawing board and made the adjustments to showcase their talent.

“Anytime you have the World Championships or the Olympic Games, the nationals that year is normally a very fast one.”

Rees said Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, who made history when she became the first Bahamian to make it to the final of an event at the Olympic Games in London, England, last year, will be the female competitor to watch as she prepares for the World Championships.

Among the others to watch are McKayla Lightbourn, Ariel Weech, Alicia Lightbourne and Jenna Chaplin.

On the men’s side, look for swimmers like Olympian Vereance Elvis Burrows, Evante Gibson, Gershwin Greene and Matthew Lowe.

Except for Thursday, the morning sessions will be held starting at 9am. The evening sessions will start at 6pm.

Thursday, which will only have an evening session, will be designated for relays. The official opening ceremony is scheduled for 5:45pm Friday.