Mayor Davis wants big splash for MoBay’s swimmers

Montego Bay’s mayor, Homer Davis, said talks between stakeholders in the swimming and diving fraternity in St James and the parish’s municipal authorities with regard to the construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool in the parish are progressing well.

Davis said he had discussions with the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica about the proposed swimming pool last Thursday.

“We had a very good discussion, and they will be making a presentation to the council of the St James Municipal Corporation in a few weeks,” Davis said.

Rosemarie Logan, who has been the driving force behind the Montego Bay-based Blue Marlins Swim Club, has been pushing to have an Olympic-size swimming pool in the west.

“It is badly needed because we need to be running some western school competitions, just like how they do it in Kingston,” said Logan. “Swimming is also a sport that promotes personal health and fitness and gives the everyday children something to do.”

Whereas his predecessor, former mayor Glendon Harris, who was pushing for the pool to be located in proximity to Jarrett Park, Davis said he is willing to push to have the land space adjacent the Montego Bay Sports Complex, in Catherine Hall, made available for the swimming pool.

“I told them that we should also consider looking at putting in a multi-purpose court equipped with netball, basketball and volleyball,” he said.

“The proposals they put forward sounded quite good, so it’s just for us to discuss the way forward with the sports ministry, local government and the Office of the Prime Minister,” Davis added.

REKINDLE INTEREST

Logan, who founded the Blue Marlins Swim Club some 10 years ago, is hoping that the plans will come to fruition quickly as her current pool of 25 swimmers is forced to train at the Doctors Cave Beach. Blue Marlins Swim Club has been without a pool since vandals destroyed the portable pool they were using.

Logan is of the belief that the absence of a multi-purpose sporting facility in Montego Bay has given rise to students losing interest in physical education.

She said the building of the swimming pool and the multi-purpose sporting facility could hopefully rekindle that interest.