Last weekend, the Aruba Aquatics Federation hosted the Open Artistic Swimming Championship at the Roly Bisslik Olympic Pool in Savaneta. This annual competition is the largest national artistic swimming event on the island, bringing together athletes from all age categories to showcase their skills.
Head coach Kimberly Vinck highlighted the importance of the championship for every participant, no matter their age. It offers swimmers a chance to present everything they have worked on over the past year, show their progress, and welcome new athletes to the sport. It is also a valuable opportunity to promote artistic swimming to the wider community in Aruba.
The event featured athletes ranging from beginners to competitors in the 10-and-under, 12-and-under, youth, junior, senior, and masters divisions. All participants competed in different routines and categories.
For the first time, the championship included a masters category, giving former athletes a chance to return to the sport. Two of these masters swimmers are preparing to compete in a major championship in Singapore later this month.
This year’s Open Championship was even more special thanks to the presence of a guest team from Curaçao, including the Swordfish National Team and Banda Bou. Their participation strengthened regional friendship and cooperation within the aquatic sports community.
One of the standouts is Devin de Veer, who serves as both a coach and an athlete. She is currently training to compete in Singapore as a masters athlete and hopes to make history there. Besides preparing herself, she is also actively coaching the younger swimmers in Aruba.
Devin and the team train every day to be fully ready for their international competition on July 24. Returning to competition after 19 years away from artistic swimming has brought up mixed feelings for Devin, since she stopped practicing the sport at a very young age. However, she is training hard every day to deliver his best performance in the water. During the day she focuses on her own training, and in the evenings she coaches the younger swimmers. She is confident that she can perform well and make Aruba proud on the international stage.
Overall, the championship served not only as a celebration of local accomplishments but also as an important stepping stone for Aruba’s top artistic swimmers as they prepare to compete internationally.
