Sat | Oct 4, 2025

Swim for the Sanctuary enjoys further growth

Published:Sunday | November 12, 2023 | 12:13 AMAinsley Walters - Gleaner Writer
From left, Sharon Williams, cruise liaison officer, Jamaica Tourist Board; Kyle Mais, director, Jamaica Inn Foundation; Alexandra Ghisays, group PR manager, Couples Resorts; Rojah Thomas, director, retail sales, Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ); Debra Lo
Courtesy of Cevan Coore
From left, Sharon Williams, cruise liaison officer, Jamaica Tourist Board; Kyle Mais, director, Jamaica Inn Foundation; Alexandra Ghisays, group PR manager, Couples Resorts; Rojah Thomas, director, retail sales, Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ); Debra Lopez-Spence, president, Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance; Elon Parkinson, head of communications and corporate affairs, Digicel; Sherita Riley (CPJ); Chris-Anthony Saulter, marketing manager (CPJ); Dr Carey Wallace, executive director, Tourism Enhancement Fund; Kneeling are Belinda Collier-Morrow and ‘Cookie’ co-chairs, White River Fish Sanctuary.

BEAMING SPONSORS and organisers told the tale of yesterday’s third Swim for the Sanctuary, a record turnout at Shaw Park Beach, Ocho Rios, Jamaica’s swimming fraternity once again supporting the White River Fish Sanctuary environmental cause.

Race director Alan Beckford reported close to 200 entries for the event, which closed with an exciting open 4x100m relay.

Swim for the Sanctuary has grown bigger each year, its beneficiary being the White River Fish Sanctuary, which, after five years, has seen a 55 per cent increase in fish size, 47 per cent jump in fish numbers and 28 per cent more coral-cover in the three-and-a-half mile no-fishing zone.

Having added paddle-boarding last year to its inaugural 500-metre, 1k, 3K, 5K and relay events, Swim for the Sanctuary staged a water-polo demonstration as part of this year’s meet, introducing another aquatic sporting discipline to its mainly youthful participants.

“It was encouraging to see new events such as water polo,” said Beckford. “What Swim for the Sanctuary has actually done is help to expose another aquatic sport. Last year, it was paddle-boarding. This year, water polo made its debut,” he pointed out.

Noting that Swim for the Sanctuary was the only open-water event staging 3K and 5K races in Jamaica, Beckford said he was hoping organisers of other events would be encouraged to follow suit.

Kyle Mais, chairman, Jamaica Inn Foundation, which stages the annual event, agreed with Beckford.

“Open-water swimming is now an Olympic event,” Mais pointed out. “We do have a number of international swimmers and this is a great way of further exposing the event,” he added.

Debra Lopez-Spence of gold sponsor Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance said the event continues to be a success.

“In keeping with our slogan, ‘For Every Future’, our focus is that Jamaica’s future must be protected. We want to play our part in causes such as the White River Fish Sanctuary. We know that without these special conservation areas, our country’s future is at risk,” Lopez-Spence pointed out.

Dr Carey Wallace, executive director, Tourism Enhancement Fund, suggested that the organisers add features such as drones following the swimmers, which would enhance the competitiveness among supporters on the beach, as well as enable international livestreaming.

“That’s a feature that can be considered for next year,” he suggested. “The event could be streamed live, internationally, showing the world, especially people in colder climates at this time of the year, that Jamaica has an annual open-water swim event.

“When we expose the event internationally, it will give people more reasons to choose Jamaica as a destination. The more this is promoted, they can plan trips around the event,” Wallace added.

Results from Swim for the Sanctuary 2023 can be viewed online at https://my.raceresult.com/256113/.