“I am doing it again.” These are the words of two twelve-year-olds sitting down in The Gazebo at Crocus Bay on a Tuesday afternoon and having a candid conversation with Ivor Hodge of the Graphic Edge, prior to going for their afternoon swimming class with the All Nations United Swim Club (ANUSC) instructors.
Ms. Ojaelia Gumbs and Master Jonathon Irizarry told the Graphic Edge that they are passionate, motivated and energized having completed a two-and-a-half-hour Open Water swim from Nevis to St Kitts, on Sunday 26th March, 2023.
The Nevis to St. Kitts Cross Channel Swim is an annual 4.1kilomete/2.5-mile Open Water Swim between the two islands in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
It started off from Oualie Beach on the north coast of Nevis, with swimmers travelling across the Narrows to a finish at Cockleshell Beach on St. Kitts’ south coast.
The annual event began in 2002, when members of a local club organized a swim across The Narrows — the 2.5-mile-wide strait between the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis — in honor of Bente Weber, a member of their group who lost his battle with cancer.
Ojaelia actually completed the race when she was eleven years old and Jonathon when he was twelve.
They both intend to participate in the 2024 Nevis to St. Kitts Cross Channel Swim.
“I’m not afraid of the sea,” a confident but shy Jonathon said. “I only started swimming last year at the Summer Splash held by the All Nations Swimming Club. Before that I couldn’t swim. I was the only one among my friends who couldn’t swim.”
“I like to challenge others and beat them,” Jonathan said with a smile lighting up his face. He is very competitive and keeps up easily with the senior swimmers at ANUSC.
He intends to swim in the Race Category of the Cross Channel Swim in 2024.
While Jonathon likes Gaming, he also wants to learn to Fish, Scuba Dive and also Free Dive.
Ojaelia is a very outgoing and effervescent just-turned-twelve female athlete/swimmer who enjoys swimming and believes it is good for her.
Besides Track and Field Ojaelia likes Hiking and she also wants to learn to Scuba Dive and Free Dive.
Ojaelia credits her parents and her aunt Chris for getting her involved in the ANUSC swim programme.
The swim challenge was split into two categories, the race category and the assisted category.
The ANUSC Team all competed in the Assisted Category where fins and mask and snorkels were allowed.
They all completed the Cross Channel Swim and received Medals.
The other swimmers were Richard Stephens, Naga Raju Valvai, Deepika Tuniki, Marilyn Bartlett-Richardson, and Demi Proctor.
In preparation for the Cross Channel Swim the ANUSC took the team on snorkeling expeditions from the beach at Mangoes to the beach at Four Seasons, and from the Gazebo in Crocus Bay to the end of Katouche Bay.
