The Virgin Islands National Swim Team traveled on March 28^th to April 3^rd to compete in the XXVIII CARIFTA Swimming Championships held at the National Stadium Pool in Kingston, Jamaica.  The CARIFTA Swimming Championships (Caribbean Free Trade Association) is a high level regional swim meet offered to English Speaking Caribbean Countries.  Representing the National Team were 9 swimmers, 2 Coaches, Team Manager, and a Meet Official.  Over 300 swimmers from 22 different nations competed in this meet.

The nine swimmers representing the Virgin Islands Swimming Federation (VISF) were: Hannah Clements, Sasha Klein and Portia Norkaitis from St. Thomas and Matthew Mays, Kenny Wilson, Jonathan Thomas, Webster Bozzo, Victor Torres, and Nicholas Dascher from St. Croix.  They were led by National Coach John Vasbinder and assisted by Coach Brian Brady, Team Manager Cinthia Sanes, and VISF President and Meet Official Brent Mays.

Overall, the meet was very successful for all VI Swimmers; Matthew Mays placed 2^nd in the 200m Butterfly, 4^th in the 400m IM, 5th in the 200m Back, 6^th in the 200m IM, and 8^th in the 100m Back for the 13-14 male category. He also earned his spot to represent the Virgin Islands in the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships (CCCAN) by qualifying in the 400m IM and 200m Butterfly.  Victor Torres placed 4^th in the 100m back, 5^th in the 200m back, and 6^th in the 50m back for the 15-17 male category. He broke a VISF Long Course record in the 50m back with a 28.30. He added to the list of events for CCCAN by achieving a qualifying time in the 200m Back.  Nicholas Dascher placed 6^th in the 1500m Free for the 13-14 male category.  Sasha Klein placed 8^th in the 50m Fly and Hannah Clements placed 7^th in the 50m Breaststroke female 13-14 category. Portia Norkaitis placed 8^th in the 50m Breaststroke female 15-17 category.  The relay team overall consisted of Matthew, Kenny, Jonathan, Webster and Nicholas. Matthew, Kenny, Jonathan and Webster took 7^th in the 400m Free and 400m Medley. Kenny, Jonathan, Nicholas and Matthew took 6^th   in then 800m Free and 8^th in the 200m Free.

The next high level regional swim meet is the CCCAN Swimming Championships and it will occur in Costa Rica June 29^th to July 5^th. The VISF has eight swimmers who have qualified for this meet and expect to have a few more qualify in the next few months.

For additional information about the swim meet, you can contact National Head Coach John Vasbinder at 340-244-7657 and/or Cinthia Sanes at 340-719-7946/ email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

If you would like to be a part of this rewarding sport, please contact the Dolphins Swim Team on St. Croix at 340-719-7946 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . On St. Thomas, contact the Stingrays Swim Team at 340-779-7872 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The St. Croix Dolphins have 108 competitive swimmers, 145 in the Learn to Swim program and 25 in the Masters Program.

The Dolphins have had various local meets and three off island meets at Princeton University, St. Martin and Puerto Rico.

There will be a winter training camp attended by Duke University, Montclair State, Assumption College and Fordham University.

The Sea Swim will be held on January 8^th 2012. The St Thomas Sting Rays have a new Head Coach, Mary Malone and are going through a rebuilding process. They have 18 swimmers who will be coming to St. Croix for our Short Course Championships.

The federation has 13 qualified swimmers for Carifta which will be held in Bahamas in April.

Brent Mays was chosen to officiate at the Olympic Games in London 2012.

The Federation attended two world competitions, the FINA World Long Course Championships and the FINA JR World Championships. 

Bryson Mays swam his way to one gold medal and two silvers to lead a U.S. Virgin Islands contingent of 14 swimmers that competed at the XXVI CARIFTA Swimming Championships last week in Barbados.

As a team, the USVI finished 11th out of the 17 countries that took to the pool for four days of fierce competition. Before the team left last week, USVI coach John Vasbinder described the event as one of the top age group swim meets in the Central American and Caribbean region.

Mays entered the meet as the top seed for the 200- and 400-meter Individual Medley races. He took first in the 400 IM in 4 minutes and 42.81 seconds, and barely missed another gold in the 200 IM when Suriname's Diguan Pigot touched a fraction of a second faster.

Read more: Mays, V.I. swimmers win medals