Emma Franklin and Ashley Yearwood will lead an inexperienced swimming team to the 26th Carifta Swimming Championships this week at the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Barbados.The championships, which are held from the 23 to 26th of this month, are scheduled to take place next year on local shores, with the current Games team looking to gain valuable experience from their trip.Franklin, 15, had a meet to remember last time out at the Games when she claimed a silver and bronze medals while also breaking numerous Bermuda records in the process.Yearwood, 16, is also a past medallist, and both ahtletes will be looking to make a splash in the competition again this time around.“We can expect to see our past medal winners Emma Franklin and Ashley Yearwood performing at a high level and we are looking forward to see how all the new faces will react to such a fast competition,” said national coach Ben Smith.“The atmosphere at past Carifta’s has been electric and it is always exciting to see how athletes react to the pressure of the big stage.“Success with this team will be based on personal best times and what they can learn by competing against the best swimmers in our region.”Smith, along with Richard Goodwin will accompany this year’s team that will be managed by Pam Froud and Teresa Gariepy.In total there are 17 –swimmers making the trek to the Carribean to compete in the Games.While the squad is young in age, Smith believes the opportunity to swim against the best youngsters in the Carribean will help in the young athletes competitve learning curve.“A large number of our senior swimmers have “aged out” of this competition, and with only three swimmers remaining from the 2010 team, we are very encourage by the number of new swimmers who are joining the team for the first time.“This is a good indication that the development of the sport is strong, and we hope to continue our good results of the past.“This will be the first long course (50 metre pool) meet for the season for these athletes and we hope that all the hard work that they have been doing will pay off at Carifta.“Many of these swimmers have recently participated in an overseas training camp in –Florida.“They were exposed to 50 –metre training in the morning and 25 yard training in the evening.“The team is focused and well prepared to perform their best at this meet.”Bermuda Carifta Swimming team: Somer Frouda (16), Nicholas Patterson (16), Erica Hawley (12), Sophie Froud (14), Michelle Caza (14), Rachael Petty (17), Shannon Hassell (12), Vanessa Esposito (12), Molly Pilgrim (14), Shannon Botelho (12), Jesse Washington (11), Charlie Pilgrim (12), Tyler Smith (12), Mitch Gariepy (11), Connor Mullen (17)