Funkita F-Teamers ready for ISL
Funkita athlete Holly Barratt is set to race for the Centurions in ISL Season 3
The International Swimming League (ISL) is set to kick off for 2021 with a series of intense and frenetic duels, with each of the 10 franchises competing in 4 matches in the regular season. The first match is on August 26 in Naples, Italy.
A handful of F-Teamers have been successful in this year's draft and having been named across the 10 rosters. Some of these athletes are fresh off the plane from the Tokyo Olympic Games with others looking to get much needed international race experience before World Short Course Championships in December. All of them have a point to prove with pride on the line for their respective franchises.
The Rome-based Aqua Centurions and Toronto Titans are set to feature in match one, with F-Teamers Holly Barratt (Centurions) and Candice Hall and Laura Stephens (Titans) eager to battle for the match one victory. Sprint-specialist Barratt and the Centurions will be looking to lift their franchise after finishing a disappointing last place in 2020. The Titans weren't too far ahead in season two. Candice Hall will be suiting up for the Titans for the first time in 2021, despite featuring on their roster last season. Butterfly specialist and Tokyo Olympian Stephens will also be vital in the team's success.
Match two is primed to feature the champions from 2020, the Cali Condors, featuring American F-Teamer Emily Escobedo. The LA Current, with the health of UK F-Teamner Imogen Clark, will also be in action. Escobedo is no stranger to the ISL, previously claiming the victory in the Women's 200m Breaststroke. Clark, a member of Energy Standard both last season and the season prior, is also an experienced campaigner cut out for such fierce competition. Katie Shanahan and the London Roar will make their season debut in match three from September 2nd.
With points up for grabs, these F-Teamers are all too aware that it is more than just personal and international pride on the line.