The country’s best and brightest young swimmers take centerstage as the 2022 FINIS Short Course Swim Championship National Finals unwrap Saturday at the Olympic-sized New Clark City Aquatic Center in Tarlac.
Over 300 delegates from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao started to check in at the home of the national swimming team Friday morning and took a short dip before their scheduled training sessions in the afternoon, arranged by the organizing committee, headed by FINIS Philippines Managing Director Vince Garcia.
“This is it. We’re now on the exciting part of the competition. After the culmination of the Mindanao leg last August 6 and 7 in Digos City, the question now is who are really the best young swimmers of the country?” asked Garcia.
The best 16 young swimmers from each event after the qualifying stages in the Luzon and Visayas legs, will vie for glory in the finals of this international competition-inspired tournament, with the winners receiving elegant medals. A training package also awaits those who break a national mark.
“We’re coming out with this package to really inspire our young swimmers. We’re doing this kind of training program to our swimming ambassadors like Kyla Soquillon and Jasmine Mojdeh. We’re planning to send them to the FINIS training center in the US in the future,” added Garcia.
Although FINIS has been a part of swimming and aquatics competition as sponsors and partner for years, Garcia said the FINIS Swim Championship has a special place in his heart as this was a fulfilment of his dreams.
“I want to inspire our young swimmers, that’s my long-time dream. Gusto kong makita silang nagko-compete sa isang torneo na parang lumalaban ka na sa international event not just sa environment, sa medalya but sa uri ng mga technical personnel,” added Garcia, referring to the professional swimming technical group, headed by swimming coach and UAAP commissioner Richard Luna.
The Mindanao delegates are mostly made up of members of Mt. Apo Swim Team, which garnered the most points and were crowned overall team champion during the Mindanao leg two weekends ago at the Davao del Sur Olympic pool inside the newly constructed Governor Douglas RA Cagas Sports, Cultural and Business Complex in Matti.
National junior standout and record holder Jasmine Mojdeh and noted junior swimmers from the Swimming League Philippines, who include siblings Heather and Rueben White, Yuan Part, Marcus de Cam and Niel Paderes lead the Luzon tankers, while another national mainstay Kyla Soquillon of Kalibo, Aklan topbills the Visayas squad.