On Wednesday, April 1, a confident and high-spirited Team Saint Lucia set off from their home island to compete in the 2026 CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, which will be hosted across two venues in Martinique from April 3 to 8. The regional swimming and aquatics competition will run events at both the Pierre Samot Community Aquatic Centre in Le Lamentin and the open coastal waters of Anses d’Arlet.
The roster traveling to the tournament includes 12 athletes, who made the crossing by boat following weeks of rigorous targeted preparation. The team features a mix of experienced returning medal winners hungry for more podium success and promising first-time competitors eager to make their mark on the regional stage. Ahead of their departure, all home-based swimmers wrapped up their final on-island training sessions over the weekend of March 29-30 at Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre.
Beyond physical conditioning, the squad also received tailored mental and motivational support in their final preparation block. Team manager Denise Parks shared with local outlet St Lucia Times that the athletes got an inspiring pep talk from Daren Sammy, head coach of the West Indies men’s national cricket team, and completed a dedicated mental skills workshop with sports psychologist Yasmine St Ange.
Local aquatics officials have singled out several athletes to watch as the competition gets underway. Standout competitors expected to deliver strong performances include Sapphire Parks in the 11-12 age girls’ division, University of Michigan freshman Antoine Destang in the 15-17 boys’ category, Jayden Xu and Noah Dorville, U.S.-based competitor Fayth Jeffrey, and Fayth Lubrun, who will compete alongside Jeffrey in the 15-17 girls’ division. A cohort of talented first-time team members is also ready to showcase their hard-earned skills at the Pierre Samot pool this week.
On the organizational and financial side, Saint Lucia Aquatics Federation President Paul James confirmed to St Lucia Times that the governing body made a deliberate decision not to request funding from the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee for this tournament. The federation plans to pursue external sponsorship opportunities for larger competitions scheduled later in 2026 instead.