New Blood at Saint-Barth Natation

For the past few weeks, Saint-Barth Natation has been off to a fresh start. Two islanders, Lou Autefault, 22, and Lukas Outil, 24—both recent graduates of the BPjeps program—have taken the reins of the club with a shared goal: to revitalize swimming in Saint Barthélemy and pass on their passion for the sport and competition to the younger generation.

A New Generation at the Helm
Both grew up in Saint-Barthélemy and swam for the club. After completing their training together at the CREPS in Guadeloupe, they chose to return to the island and put their skills to work for the club. “My goal is to develop swimming as best I can in Saint Barth. I’m very proud and very happy to be able to take over the club with Lou,” explains Lukas Outil. “The goal is really to reignite enthusiasm for swimming.”
Lou Autefault shares this passion; she has always enjoyed working with children. She has led youth programs on the island, as well as in mainland France, and has also worked as a lifeguard. “It’s a pleasure to see them smile and laugh. Being able to teach them to swim the way we were taught is truly a joy,” she says.
The fact that they completed the same training program and are reviving the club together is also an added source of motivation. “We took all the classes together, and today we share the same goal: to grow together and help the children grow as well,” Lou summarizes.

Restoring the club’s former spirit
The goal is clear: to revitalize the Saint-Barth Natation club and recapture the atmosphere that existed a few years ago. “Back in our day, there was a really great atmosphere at Saint-Barth Natation. We’d love to bring that back today with today’s kids,” explains Lukas. It’s an ambition that must contend with a new reality: kids now participate in many different sports. “These days, it’s sometimes hard to get a big turnout because the kids are involved in so many different sports,” Lukas acknowledges. For Lou, however, the most important thing is to make them want to come to the pool. “The goal is really to motivate as many kids as possible and, above all, to make sure they have fun. We want them to be happy when they come, happy when they go home, to make progress, and to benefit from everything we learned when we swam competitively.”

More than fifteen children already enrolled
The club currently has more than fifteen young swimmers, aged 7 to 14. Thanks to the presence of two coaches, the children can be divided into two groups based on their skill level. The club hopes to expand its membership. “With between thirty and forty children, we should be able to operate just fine,” estimates Lukas.
Newcomers are welcome, even if they don’t yet have any competitive experience. “We’ll take as much time as it takes for them to adapt to the level,” explain the two coaches.
The club remains, however, a sports organization focused on competition. For a child who doesn’t yet know how to swim, the swim school is therefore the best place to start. Once they’ve mastered the basics, they can then join the club without any trouble.

Technique—and Soon, Challenges
A significant part of the work now involves reinforcing the technical fundamentals of competitive swimming for the young swimmers. Several children have already attended the swim school. Training sessions can therefore go a step further: improving swimming techniques, turns, glides, and more specific work geared toward competition. “We’re really trying to tailor the training toward competition, with more in-depth swimming techniques and everything that’s part of the sport, like turns and glides,” they explain.
Eventually, the two coaches would like to resume interclub competitions. Trips to Saint Martin, and even Guadeloupe, are being considered as a first step. “We’d like to be able to travel to meet other clubs, as we used to do several years ago,” explains Lukas.

The Ocean, a Natural Playground
The ocean will also play an important role in this new initiative. In Saint Barthélemy, people have a special relationship with the water. Children get used to spending time at the beach with their parents from a very young age, which often makes them very comfortable in the water. “Kids do really well in the water when they’re young because their approach to the water is different. Their mindset is different, too,” the coaches observe.
This familiarity with the sea is a real asset that the club aims to capitalize on, when conditions permit, while adapting activities to each child’s age and skill level.

As for the families, their motivations vary. For some, swimming is first and foremost about comfort and safety in the water. “When we arrived on the island, we really wanted her to feel comfortable in the water. She liked it right from the start, so we kept her in it. As long as she’s thriving in the sport, she might as well keep going,” says one mother.
For other families, the arrival of this new dynamic at the club also opens the door to competition. “For us, it was really about giving her structure, focus, and a goal. Now, it’s partly about competition—to try to push her, so she challenges herself and pushes herself further,” explains another mom.

Rediscovering the Joy of Swimming
Different goals, but the same reality: in Saint-Barthélemy, children have a wide range of activities to choose from. Swimming, judo, tennis, hip-hop, sailing, and even archery can all fit into their schedules.
For Lou and Lukas, this diversity shouldn’t be a hindrance. On the contrary, their ambition is to make swimming an activity that children will want to commit to long-term.
But even as the first training sessions get underway, a clear vision is already taking shape: to reignite a genuine passion for swimming in Saint-Barthélemy, to train a new generation of swimmers, and, above all, to instill in them a love of the water and the joy of pushing their limits.

With two local young people at the helm, Saint-Barth Natation is determined to write a new chapter in its history.