Eleven swimmers from AIB Tigers will take the plunge at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, where over 1,500 from 300 clubs will compete in over 5,000 races over eight days.
The swimmers at the ASA Age Group Championships, which cover 11 to 14 year old boys and 11 to 13 year-old girls, are: Amira Ahmed (11), Pippa Whitehead (11), Emily Cope (12), Sam Fernandes (13), JJ Gallichan (12) and James Payne (12).
Amira is competing in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, the 100m butterfly, and the 200m and 400m individual medley.
Sam and JJ are swimming in the 1500m freestyle, James is taking part in the 400m individual medley and Emily and Pippa are in the 800m freestyle.
Swimming in the ASA Youth Championships, for 15 to 18 year-old boys and 14 to 17 year-old girls, are: Daniel Hawksworth (18), Rosie Barrett (17), Ashley Cope (15), Amy Pallot (16) and Victoria Rebours (14).
Amy is competing in the 200m butterfly, Victoria is swimming in the 400m individual medley and the 200m breaststroke, Rosie is in the 400m individual medley, the 100m backstroke and the 100m butterfly, Dan is in the 200m and 400m individual medley and 200m backstroke while Ashley is competing in the 800m freestyle.
Taking a realistic view of his team’s chances, Tigers’ coach Paul du Feu said he doubted any would win medals but a top 15 place would be a good result.
‘These are two very tough competitions and everyone has done well to qualify,’ he said.
‘A number of swimmers are at the bottom end of their age group so will be competing against older swimmers.
I would say if anyone could get a medal it would be Dan but I know everyone in the squad will give their best.’ For the first time at these championships, the top three swimmers in each final will be measured, weighed and interviewed to see if they are suitable for further training.
‘In the past everyone who won a final was automatically selected for the national squad but that took no account of their commitment,’ said Mr du Feu, who has been a contributor to this shift of emphasis, initiated by national performance director Bill Sweetenham.
‘It usually meant that the biggest and strongest were chosen but they weren’t necessarily the most intelligent workers.
Now the finalists will also be assessed for attitude as well as physical ability, which I think is an important step forward.’ But despite this ‘fast-track’ system, Sweetenham has recently criticised the UK government for not investing enough money in sports facilities.
Speaking on BBC Five Live at the weekend, he claimed that public funding amounted to ‘tiddlywinks’ in the UK and that the country lagged behind most other top sporting countries.
But Mr du Feu said that Jersey was lucky to have new pools at Haute Vallée and Langford.
‘We are very fortunate to have access to Haute Vallée for as many hours as we do and to have 15 swimmers reaching the national standard (four other qualifiers are not competing this week) from such a small island is a fantastic achievement.’
