The Phillips sisters have already tasted success in the pool, with the pair winning 16 medals between them at last year’s OECS Swimming Championships for Caribbean nations. Their father is Elsworth Phillip, the President of the BVI Swim Federation in their home country.
The story of how the girls ended up studying at a school in the Home Counties centres on their mother, Tracy Bradshaw.
Tracy, Amarah and Elinah first moved to the United Kingdom in 2005 when Tracy studied law at the University of Bristol. In 2009, the trio moved back to their Caribbean home before returning to the UK in 2012 to settle in Hatfield. While in the UK, the girls started to take swimming seriously.
Tracy said: “It is very good to represent the British Virgin Islands. I am very proud and very excited that they have been given this opportunity.
“The competition in Glasgow this weekend will be good for them – seeing the facilities, competing in the same facilities. As I understand it, the meet will be set up in the same way as it will be set up for the Games. It will be a good experience for them and take some of the edge off.”
On the prospect of her girls becoming the Islands’ first Commonwealth swimmers, she added: “I think it an incredibly proud moment for me as a mother, but for us as a country I think it is an important step in the development of the sport at home.
“Even now, there is a lot more interest in the sport at home because of their accomplishments.”
Back in Hatfield, the girls are being supported by their classmates and teachers as they get ready for Glasgow.
