Some 300 swimmers from 10 territories will participate in the 28th edition of the Goodwill Swimming Championship, August 16-18 at the Rodney Heights Aquatics Centre (RHAC) in Gros Islet. This will be the biggest meet ever hosted by the Saint Lucia Aquatics Federation (SLAF).
Visiting teams include 2023 hosts Jamaica; defending champions the Bahamas; 2022 winners Trinidad & Tobago; Antigua & Barbuda; Barbados; Curaçao; Grenada; Suriname; and the Turks & Caicos Islands. Guyana, a Goodwill founding member, will miss a third straight meet.
The Goodwill Swimming Championships is an annual, age-group swimming tournament for select countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The competition was created as a development meet, providing exposure to younger and less-experienced swimmers.
Saint Lucia last hosted Goodwill in 2017, but this year’s meet promises to be more than twice as large as it was seven years ago. The influx of visitors – swimmers, coaches, team officials, family, and supporters – is expected to number in excess of 600.
Teams will arrive on island on Thursday, August 15, with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, August 16 from 4:30 pm. Then will come the three days of intense but friendly competition, with hundreds of swimmers representing their territories to the fullest.
Competitors must either be citizens or residents of the country they are representing. Swimmers who participated in the CARIFTA, CCCAN, CONSANAT Swimming Championships, or higher competitions during 2024 are not eligible to compete.
Each federation may enter a maximum of four (4) swimmers per gender, per age group, up to a maximum total of forty (40) athletes.
Saint Lucians are urged to come out and support the hosts, as well as all of the visiting teams. The Government of Saint Lucia, the National Lotteries Authority, and the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee have supported hosting the 2024 Goodwill Swimming Championships.
