Jacqueline Beckford-Henriques has been named the head coach of the Warriors Swim Program at the University of Waterloo. The Department of Athletics and Recreation selected her to take over for Jeff Slater, who led the team for the previous ten seasons. Beckford-Henriques previously served as the associate coach for the McMaster Marauders for three years and was involved with all team scheduling and planning.

Beckford-Henriques was the Jamaican National Coach for 19 years and designed and implemented the swimming team program for Jamaica. She coached at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, working with Alia Atkinson, the current World Record Holder in the 100-meter breast stroke. She also served as Team Leader/Coach for Jamaica’s team at the World Short Course Championships in December 2016.

The Warriors are excited to have Beckford-Henriques as their next head coach in swimming, noting that she brings a combination of U SPORTS and international experience to the team. Beckford-Henriques also expressed her excitement at having the chance to lead the University of Waterloo’s U SPORTS program. She said it was a great honor to be selected as head coach and is looking forward to working with each student-athlete. She will begin her duties right away and work toward preparing her athletes for the pending QUA and U SPORTS Championships.

Source: University of Waterloo