Cayman’s new aquatics centre will create an abundance of opportunities for the entire country as well as nurture local talent to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Crooks, swimming’s national association has said.
Cayman’s aquatics community has long called for a 50-metre pool, citing the benefits one would bestow upon both the islands’ competitive swimmers and the wider public.
Now, the ‘all-encompassing’ project, which for decades seemed like a pipe dream, may finally be realised by the end of 2025.
“Right now, we’ve got the competitive side of swimming fairly well equipped and established; we just lack lane space, which is one problem this will solve,” Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association president Steve Broadbelt said of the project, which he anticipates could complete its first phrase of construction within the year.
The centre will also serve as the “missing piece of the puzzle” with regards to increasing the accessibility of aquatic sports to more Caymanians, Broadbelt told the Cayman Compass.
“With the new Swim Free programme, we’re starting to get people in at the early primary school ages, which starts it all off at the most critical point, but there is currently a gap in the middle,” he explained.
“Our priority is to fill that gap, to increase accessibility and the numbers in those pathways, and to find more local swimmers like Jordan Crooks who are capable of achieving great things in our sport.”
The programmes aimed at bridging that “gap”, Broadbelt says, will be run by a new non-profit operator comprising CIASA, the Cayman Islands government, the Lions Club and other local associations.
They will begin taking shape upon completion of phase one of the aquatics centre – in layman’s terms, the construction of the new 50m and 25m pools, which could be achieved this year given planning approval has been granted, the parts are already on-island and the construction site fence is due to be erected imminently.
“More space at this centre means we can create larger programmes at the learn-to-swim, stroke school and developmental level, and that will help funnel young swimmers into the club system as far as they want to take the sport,” Broadbelt added.
“We want to, and know we can, identify more talent and get more Caymanians involved – we want international relays teams!”
By also better incorporating swimming into school curricula, there are hopes that participation in aquatic sports will double over the next five to eight years.
Phases of construction for aquatics centre
- Phase one: Build new 50m and 25m pools. The aquatics centre will be open for use from the completion of this phase, with existing adjacent facilities at the current Lions Pool remaining open until they are no longer needed.
- Phase two: Build new changing rooms and other centre facilities.
- Phase three: Build athletes’ village accommodation. Will need to be approved separately by the new government after the election.
- Phase four: Construct 1,000-seat grandstand and fitness centre.
- Phase five: Install dome root to shade grandstand and pool from dangerous overheating, reduce operating costs by cooling naturally and reducing evaporation.
What about the costs?
Acknowledging pushback to swimming’s status as Cayman’s national sport, Broadbelt assured that the aquatics centre would not increase per-swimmer fees.
Instead, overall revenue is forecast to rise simply by virtue of the new facilities offering more lane space and therefore opening the door to greater and more wide-ranging usage.
“While the aquatics centre plan really started out all those years ago being aimed at getting a 50m pool for competitive swimming, it’s now so much more than that alone,” he said.
“This will be all-encompassing for the entire Cayman Islands community, with things like seniors’ programmes, rehab, therapy and aqua-fit programmes – which can make a remarkable difference to mobility – as well as the learn-to-swim programmes, artistic swimming, water polo and even kids’ birthday parties.
“Even just being able to turn up, pay two dollars and go swim whenever you want – that all doesn’t exist here yet, because the existing pools are so restricted, but it will. There is a lot of the community that we’re not serving now, but we soon will be.”
‘A life skill’
The goal, Broadbelt said, is for these aquatics programmes to be “subsidised and budgeted on an annual basis”.
“We expect to be able to keep the costs down as low as possible,” he continued, because “swimming is a life skill, particularly living on an island, surrounded by water.
“I struggle to think of many, if any, other sports that could also save your life.”
As well as the planned programmes designed to make aquatic sports increasingly accessible to more Caymanians, Broadbelt said that CIASA already has a support fund which can be divvied up to help swimmers, prospective swimmers and their families overcome financial barriers associated with the sport.
“[The fund] has been in place since before my time, but we could do better at communicating its existence more widely and increasing awareness,” he admitted.
Currently budgeted at around $10,000 per year, and approved for use on a case-by-case basis, the fund has uses including covering competition entry fees for John Gray High School swimmers – 15 of whom recently travelled to Kingston, Jamaica, for the 2025 ISSA Secondary and Tertiary Institutions Swimming Championship, held at the National Aquatic Centre’s 50m pool on 24 Jan.
Separately, CIASA also provides CARIFTA team kit and subsidises travel costs for the Caribbean regional championships, Broadbelt added.
Benefits to competitive swimmers
He maintains the aquatics centre’s potential to positively affect the wider Cayman Islands community is crucial to its long-term plans and success, but the benefits to the country’s competitive swimmers cannot be understated.
“As well as being able to host and better prepare for regional competitions, when you look ahead to things like the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, we will have a 50m pool on this beautiful island,” the CIASA chief said.
“You can guarantee some world-class athletes will want to base themselves here in the build-up, and that will continue to bring it full circle because on top of helping the local economy, imagine how much being around that type of environment will benefit all our young, up-and-coming swimmers.”
Of course, Cayman already has its fair share of successful swimmers, including one world-beater whose burgeoning status in the sport is evidence of the heights that can be reached by kids who grew up swimming in these islands.
“I don’t think a lot of people truly realise the magnitude of what Jordan has done; he has broken the internet as far as swimming is concerned; it’s insane,” Broadbelt said. “If I were Rolex, Nike, anyone else, whichever brands are out there, I would be hunting him down and signing him up. I think we should name a road after him, give him his own postage stamp, and if it were up to me, there would be a logo of him swimming on the back of the $50 dollar bill given that’s his world record-breaking event.
Looking to LA
“For LA 2028, if he’s able to train in a 50m pool at home where he can go fishing while preparing for the Olympics, chances are that will attract a lot of other people, too.”
He continued: “As far as the impact he’ll have on our young Cayman community, I think government schools like John Gray and Clifton Hunter are where we’ve already been seeing the biggest difference, following all of Jordan’s successes and the success of Cayman Islands swimming in general. We’ve had the first waves come through, but there are going to be more.
“If you’re a footballer, you don’t need to switch to swimming suddenly just because it’s the national sport. But more and more people are opening up to aquatic sports being their sport, and for people who are just starting to get into swimming, or are thinking about it, role models like [Crooks] may be the difference maker. “
Even with the new aquatics centre edging ever closer, some hurdles still need overcoming.
“It doesn’t matter ultimately how many medals Jordan wins, how many records he breaks, what kind of facilities we build, what kind of programmes we put in place … if the parental support is not there, kids are not going to reach their full potential,” Broadbelt said.
“That’s one of the critical ingredients, and another – which in a way goes hand in hand with that, as kids need to be able to get to and from the pool – could be working on getting a shuttle bus.
For those young Caymanians or parents hoping to find out more about what will soon be on offer, he added, “Always contact CIASA, talk with us, we’ll see which school your kids go to and where you live, and help you find the best club or programme for you to join up with.
“It even took a bit of time before my daughter, Sierrah, found both her love for the sport and a spot on a local club team, and now she’s enjoying success overseas, too.”
Anyone wanting to get involved in swimming in Cayman can contact Alicia Proud, at [email protected]. CIASA’s new website is caymanaquatics.com.
