JOA President Christopher Samuda tells Tornadoes Swim Club to “deep dive” for success

By Sports Desk February 03, 2023

JOA President, Christopher Samuda, was in a “business unusual” mode in addressing the audience at the Tornadoes Swim Club’s recent 2022 Awards Ceremony held at its new home on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

President Samuda challenged Jamaica’s aspiring Olympic swimmers to “deep dive into history and there you will find the inspiration of Tornadoes’ Olympians. Deep dive into the present and there you will discover you, the present generations of swimmers, images of yourself, as you aspire to be on the Olympic stage. Deep dive into the future and you will envision what you must become – the standard by which swimmers will be judged, a model athlete and a legacy creator.”

The past year for the club was very successful with Sabrina Lyn, Israel Allen and Rhiana Gayle receiving athlete of the year awards in their respective disciplines at the RJR/Gleaner National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards Ceremony, a feat which underscores the club’s prowess.

In exhorting the swimmers, President Samuda charged them “to possess a spirit of commitment, an uncompromising spirit to transform the sport by dint of your own performances and the standards which define those performances and to possess the character of a champion that goes beyond and above the podium on which you will receive that gold medal and the admiration of a national, regional and global sporting fraternity.”

But, like an experienced diver who surfaces with the pearl, President Samuda reminded Jamaica’s aspiring Olympians that “when you deep dive you can’t remain under water. You must rise like a phoenix with the prize held aloft in victory, in triumph. For it is only when you rise that you will have understood and overcome the challenges of the deep and appreciate the horizon of the human spirit and be able to tell your story.”

The narrative of sport is equally a national as it is a community story and this truism was emphasised by JOA’s boss in delivering his address. In encouraging Jamaica’s future, he said: “Outside of the household of the Tornadoes swim club there is a community to which you, swimmers, belong and have a duty to be model citizens. The principles of fair play and mutuality in sport, the value of friendships made in sport and the character of humility in victory and resilience in disappointment experienced in sport are priceless qualities which must never depart from you and your experience in your community.”

In the sport’s recent Olympic history, Alia Atkinson, has been carrying the national flag with distinction and President Samuda, in expressing optimism for the future, comments that “there is a reservoir of talent that can provide an Olympic stream but we must, in a structured and almost scientific way, unlock the talent pipeline when they are young in opening the floodgates when they become mature.”

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    One of the UK’s fastest deaf swimmers has spent more than 1,000 days campaigning against “discriminatory” policies that deny him funding.

    Nathan Young, a holder of seven national records, is not entitled to any Government or National Lottery money to support his ambitions.

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    As deafness on its own is not a discipline in the Paralympics, Wirral-based Young, 24, falls outside its criteria.

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    The only central funding available for solely deaf athletes is at grassroots level, with nothing for elite competitors such as Young.

    That has left him needing to work and fundraise alongside his training to ensure he is able to meet the huge outlay needed to compete on the global stage.

    For most of the last three years, he has also spent a large amount of his time running a campaign to get the parameters for funding changed, believing the current rules to be unfair.

    “At the end of the day it’s discrimination,” said Young, whose campaign passed the 1,000-day mark in February.

    “It’s completely isolating a whole disability. If I was a Paralympic swimmer, I would have been getting paid since I was 16 or 17. It could have been a career that I could have had.

    “Right now, I train, I go to the gym but all the other things I should be getting as what you would class as an elite athlete, I don’t get any of it.

    “Others have the best treatment available to them to keep them going mentally, physically and in every aspect. I should be getting physio, doing strength and conditioning but I get none of that.

    “When I’m training right now, I’m thinking I should be working. It’s not what I should be thinking about.”

    Young’s campaigning has involved giving numerous speeches and interviews as well as writing many letters and articles. He has also contacted MPs and, as part of a wider campaign with UK Deaf Sport, has even visited Parliament.

    With UK Sport funding for recent Olympic/Paralympic cycles being around £300million, it is a source of frustration for Young that not even a relatively small amount can be found for Deaflympians.

    “What we’re asking for is so little,” said Young, who might need to find around £3,000 to fund a trip to next year’s Deaflympics in Tokyo.

    “UK Deaf Sport only asked for £4million for us (deaf athletes), which is so little when there’s £300-and-something million for Olympic and Paralympic sport.

    “We’re getting the same responses. We keep pushing it and pushing it but it’s been over 1,000 days now and it’s been an exhausting journey.”

    A UK Sport statement read: “UK Sport’s remit is specifically focused on investing in sports and athletes who are eligible to compete at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    “The Deaflympics falls outside of Olympic and Paralympic sport. We are therefore unable to fund athletes targeting this event.”

    A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “This Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including deaf people.

    “Sport England has committed £1.2million between 2022 and 2027 to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level through widening participation and supporting the development pathway for talented athletes.”

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    In fact, the £100 million offer is said to be one of "financial and strategic support" thrown out for any potential host, as the Commonwealth Games Federation is scrambling to find a host after the Australian state of Victoria abruptly pulled out in July last year, citing spiraling costs.

    Victoria's sudden move and the lack of an obvious alternative triggered debate about the future of the Games, and it is for this reason why Samuda supports the offer as significant financial investment to support the delivery and legacy planning of the 2026 edition. The Commonwealth Games were last held in Birmingham in 2022.

    “The significant investment offer to Malaysia to host the Commonwealth Games is an overture that I believe is being made after careful assessment by the Commonwealth Games Federation of Malaysia’s ability to deliver given the short timeline and, in view, understandably, of the urgency of which the federation needs to act. We know the ensuing days will no doubt witness hardnose negotiations to convince the Malaysian doubting Thomas’ that it will be a win-win situation,” Samuda told SportsMax.TV.

    Malaysia last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998, and given the huge success of that staging, the Southeast Asian country is seriously considering bringing the games back to its capital of Kuala Lumpur, as a final decision is to be made by the government.

    “At the end of the day, Kuala Lumpur will receive value and it won’t be mired in debt. The economic and cost benefit value and commercialization are increasingly becoming determinants for cities considering hosting international games. This, as over and above the feel good and historic significance, government and business interest are becoming acutely aware that failure may place offices, careers livelihoods and reputations at risk,” Samuda noted.

    Still, even if Malaysia accepts the offer to host, the possibility exists that it could be a scaled-down version, given the timeline. However, the London-based CGF suggested that another Southeast Asian nation, Singapore, are also assessing the feasibility of its invitation to host the games.

    Singapore, which is aiming to host more large-scale sports events, hosts the Formula One night race annually, and will be hosting the World Aquatic Championships in 2025. It also hosted the 2010 edition of the Youth Olympic Games.

    It has been reported that having both Malaysia and Singapore co-host the 2026 edition could be another possible outcome.

    Samuda pointed out that the current situation highlights the difficulty the CGF, and others face where planning and organizing large-scale sporting events are concerned. But in the same breath, he also expressed confidence in CGF president Chris Jenkins and his team to get the job done.

    “The delivery of the Commonwealth Games and others is a huge financial administrative and logistic undertaking which calls for, now more than ever, innovative and dynamic media broadcast arrangements, long-term partnership agreements, creative merchandising, robust fan engagement and bullish, but sensible ticket promotion and concession strategies,” Samuda shared.

    “These are the critical bucket items of revenue and must be cemented cornerstones in business models for games going forward. No doubt the Commonwealth Games Federation is attuned, and the Chris Jenkins-led executive has the credentials to reach the finish line,” he noted.

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    Aside from occasional assistance from the ministry of sport and the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica’s (ASAJ), which covers a percentage of funding to some regional meets, or even when reimbursements are to come from World Aquatics, formerly FINA, for participation at some international meets, the task of covering travel expenses often leaves parents on edge to the point where they have to choose and refuse invitations to certain events.

    The idea of not competing at certain events also takes a toll on the athletes, who at different levels of their respective careers, would be eager to rub shoulders with others from across the region or elsewhere around the world as part of their development.

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    Denny, who will serve as Jamaica’s team manager to the Carifta Aquatics Championships, made the appeal as parents stare down a $400,000 budget to have their child participate at this year’s 37th edition of the event in The Bahamas from March 28 to April 7.

    “We know swimming is not track and field as yet. We don't have that breakout star. Alia Atkinson has now retired and so I understand that corporate Jamaica may feel where is your Olympic medal or where is your world championship medal. I do understand that, but we would really welcome the opportunity to partner with you,” Denny said in a heartfelt plea.

    “Some of these kids really have the potential to not just go to the Olympics or World Championship, but to actually do really well at the (age-group) level. But it's going to take a corporation to partner with us to make that happen. What you find is because they start competing at this young age group level, what happens is by the time the swimmers are physically matured and are ready to take it to that next level, the parents are kind of all tapped out because we bear the bulk of the cost,” she told SportsMax.TV.

    While declaring that parents are happy to make the financial sacrifices in certain regards, it is during the build up to, and for participation at regional and international competitions that they require assistance to offset expenses.

    Denny explained that partnering with the ASAJ also presents the opportunity for exposure to the company’s brand.

    “Obviously, there's a lot of nutrition to think about, there's healthcare as well as your coaching fees. A technical suit which they have to race in, it can run up to US$500 or US$600, including the goggles, equipment, all of those things. So we bear those costs on a daily and ongoing basis. It is when it comes down to competitions where you're representing your country, you're looking for that partnership because these are age group swimmers,” Denny noted.

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    That said, Denny pointed out that the parent body under the guidance of the ASAJ’s sponsorship committee used initiatives, such as a bake sale to raise funds, which is a mere drop in the bucket when the overall figure of the team is taken into account.

    Still, she remains cautiously optimistic that all members of the 28-strong team, will make the trip to assist the country in surpassing its fourth-place finish from last year’s event.

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    “It is a strong team and so we're looking forward to some very strong performances from them. So, if there's anybody in corporate Jamaica who would like to get on board with this team and give them a hand, please don't hesitate to contact us,” Denny declared.

    “We earned some money from the bake sale, and we’ve asked all of our swimmers on the Carifta team to go out and beg their school friends, auntie and uncle or teacher to just give a donation pledge for the number of laps they're going to swim at the event. This is to again help us collectively reduce the cost and we're still waiting to hear back from the Sports Development Foundation, so hopefully we'll get a decent amount from them as well,” she ended.

    Teams: Girls -Kai Lawson, Kia Alert, Alexandria Cogle, Jessica Denniston, Skyelar Richards, Alyssa Jefferson, Imani-Leigh Hall, Leah Chin, Christanya Shirley, Carolyn Levy-Powell, Giani Francis, Leanna Wainwright, Sabrina Lyn, Aliyah Heaven, Lia Forrester

    Boys -Noah Parker, Arush Rochlani, Matthew Heaven, Matthew Kennedy, Kai Radcliffe, Noah Barrett, Noland Barrett, Adlai Nixon, Nelson Denny, Brady Lewison, Zack-Andre Johnson, Benjamin Davis, Malcolm McKenzie

    Officials: Annelies Denny (Manager), Kafia Rapley (Coach), Adolfo Morales Claro (Coach), Lemone Lowe (Assistant coach), Carleene Grant-Davis (Doctor), Anthony Miller (Physiotherapist), Michelle Parker (Chaperone)

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