Sint Maarten — The excitement filled the air as the fans and supporters came out to support the swimmers who represented their respective schools for the annual Caribbean Gems Interscholastic Elementary and High school Swim Meets. This event was held on Sunday, March 2nd and was organized by Caribbean Gems, SMAF (St. Maarten Aquatic Federation), and CST (Carib Swim Team). SMAF and CST would like to thank our sponsor, Caribbean Gems for assisting us in organizing another lively and eventful elementary and high school inter school swim meet.
The spectators displayed school spirit and camaraderie during each of the swim meets. The Caribbean Gems Elementary swim meet began in the morning hours and 6 schools participated in this meet. The overall placement was as follows: Caribbean International Academy (CIA) received the 1st place trophy, Learning Unlimited received the 2nd place trophy, St. Dominic Primary received the 3rd place trophy. In addition, Methodist Agogic Center (MAC) placed 4th, Sr. Regina Primary placed 5th and Sr. Borgia Elementary School placed 6th in the swim meet. The school who received the trophy for showing the most school spirit during the swim meet was the Sr. Regina School.
The Caribbean Gems Interscholastic high school swim meet was held in the afternoon and 6 schools also took part in this meet. The overall placement was as follows: Caribbean International Academy (CIA) received the 1st place trophy, Milton Peters College received the 2nd place trophy, St. Maarten Academy (SMA) received the 3rd place trophy. In addition, Sundial School placed 4th, and St. Maarten Vocational Training school (SMVTS) placed 5th. The school who received the trophy for showing the most school spirit during the swim meet was St. Dominic High school.
The St. Maarten Aquatic Federation would like to thank our sponsor Caribbean Gems for their unwavering support over the years, by providing sponsorship for the medals, trophies, certificates, and the sponsorship for the use of the pool. SMAF would also like to thank CST for providing the technical support needed to run the swim meets, National Sports Institute (NSI) for sponsoring the first aid training, Cayley Mackay our first aid respondent from Oxygen Matters, the volunteers, our photographers, the board members of SMAF and the SMAF’s president Mr. Dwight Vermeer for providing a live stream of both swim meets.
This live stream can be found on our FACEBOOK page (St. Maarten Aquatic Federation). The board also wishes to thank the Minister of ECYS, Honorable Minister Melissa Gumbs, Head of Sports Department, Ms. Jonelle Richardson, the president of St. Maarten Sports Federation (SMSF), Ms. Naomi Korstanje and NSI representative Jackie Brown for coming to support our event.
Last but not least, we wish to thank all the schools that participated in the 2025 Caribbean Gems Interscholastic Swim Meet. Their participation made this event a success and we wish to see full participation again in 2026.
