Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
In this September 1975 photograph, Neville Alexander (right) presents Prime Minister Michael Manley with the Chinese Friendship Trophy, which Mr. Alexander received on Jamaica's behalf from the Chinese Government on a visit to that country. - File
THE HISTORY of Jamaica's swimming is a long and, more times than not, an unnoticed one. However, that history would probably be non-existent without the efforts of pioneers like Neville Alexander.
Alexander died in May without much fanfare, but the importance of the legacy that he has left behind deserves to be highlighted.
Born in 1925, Alexander quickly rose through the ranks of popular personalities and his impact, as one of those personalities, especially on the sport of swimming, is incomparable.
The Alia Atkinsons and Brad Hamiltons who the country depends on to make its mark on the world scene don't know from where their opportunities are derived.
They, of course, work hard and don't take it for granted, but had it not been for the efforts of men like Alexander, who founded the Flying Fish Swim Club, those opportunities would be a sight harder to come by.
AGE-GROUP SWIMMING
As a matter of fact, when Alexander returned to Jamaica after his stint in the British Army in 1947 to kick-start the Flying Fish, he also set the ball of age-group swimming in motion.
Before that there was no real competition for youngsters and thus, the adults that learnt the sport to the point of competition were never able to compete on any international level.
Thus, the exploits of Sion Brinn and Janelle Atkinson were forged when the first age-group championships got underway in 1959, courtesy of Alexander's efforts.
Alexander, as the British Army swimming champion, continued not just to be integral to Jamaica's growing swimming population, but to its successes overseas as the national coach to the Olympics, the Pan American Games, the Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as the Commonwealth Games.
In that capacity, Alexander continued to serve Jamaica well for 18 years (1960-78).
Today, those swimmers with talent find themselves hunted by the best colleges and universities in the United States, where they get not just the opportunity to swim against the very best in the world, but they get an affordable shot at top-class tertiary level education.
While that is the norm now, Alexander was the man that pioneered the idea of swimmers taking advantage of their particular skills. In doing so, Alexander started a swim exchange programme with the United States, Central America and other Caribbean countries.
Alexander's achievements, though, weren't just noticed here in Jamaica and didn't just benefit locals. In 1963, he co-founded the Miami Springs International Swimming meet, which allowed foreign swimmers to get a taste of high-level competition in the United States.
PIONEER OF RACIAL INTEGRATION
The man at the helm of Jamaica's swimming also became the first foreign coach to be elected to the American Swimming Coaches' Association in 1964, as one of the main pioneers of
the racial integration of Miami swimming pools the year before.
The man behind Jamaica's early progress in the pool was also appointed to the board of directors of the Hall of Fame as the representative for Central America and the Caribbean in 1970.
For his exploits, which included training four Jamaican sportsmen and women of the year (Phillip Alexander 1965, Frances Noble 1968, Belinda Phillips 1974 and Paul Nash 1969), Alexander received the Machado Sports Awards four times. He first won in 1965 then in 1966 before
taking on the third in a row in 1967. He was again to win in 1977.
His wife, Susan Alexander, a great personality of the arts herself, remembers what kind of effort it took her husband to carry Jamaica's swimming to the heights it now enjoys. The hope is that she won't be the only one.
"At the time, his contribution was very well recognised but after his retirement the attention waned, which is natural," said Mrs. Alexander.
Mrs. Alexander was heartened at the memorial service for her husband two weeks ago though, where the impact of his work was very evident.
IMPACT STILL THERE
"At the service, swimmers came from all over the world. So the impact on the hundreds and hundreds of people he taught how to swim is still there," said Mrs. Alexander.
As a matter of fact, forgetting Neville Alexander isn't something that is likely to happen anytime soon, as even within the ranks of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) his influence is still profound, with the vice-president Garth Henriques being one of those pupils who owes much to the pioneer.
"The legacy has gone on abroad with people like Andrew Phillips who has a swim team called the Flying Fish there," said Mrs. Alexander.
"There are people in the association that were a part of that era so I think the legacy will certainly be continued," she ended.
While that is true, the young swimmers, who go back and forth in the daily routine of trying to be the best and the fastest, need to know how they got here so they can then better chart a course for where they will go.
