IT WAS a full house at Leongatha Splash over the weekend as the club held the first of their short course events for the winter season. One hundred and thirty-six swimmers came to compete, with many local swimmers enjoying the opportunity to race in a familiar pool.
They were joined by swimmers from Essendon, Ringwood, Sale, Moe, Traralgon, Warragul and East Gippsland as they competed in a range of events from 25-metre to 800-metre. For many young swimmers, it was their first go at racing, competing in 25s, and there was so much excitement from the competitors as they strode to the blocks at the end of the pool.
The swimmers from Melbourne enjoyed racing against different people, and the families enjoyed a mini break away, many staying overnight after racing on Saturday and then competing on Sunday, having enjoyed local hospitality venues.
The meet was a great chance for swimmers to achieve their Country and State qualifying times, which are needed to compete later in the year.
“We had a large number of swimmers excited to see their times come through and know that they have qualified. It’s just fantastic to see our juniors racing here for the first time in a serious competition,” said Head Coach Dylan Muir.
“They are so excited to finally have a chance to race, as for many of these kids have seen their siblings do it, and were excited it was finally their turn.
“Our senior swimmers did well, as swimming on PB at this point of the Short Course season is wonderful. We had a few already achieving qualifying times, and many also got the times they were working towards, which is thrilling to see. It’s a lot of work for our parents to organise it, but it pays off in the long run when you see the enjoyment for the swimmers. Plus, it’s an opportunity for their families and grandparents to come along.”
The Saturday evening event finished with a hotly contested Skins competition, with barely a millisecond between some of the finishes. There was great cheering from the supporting friends and families on the sidelines as the swimmers competed for prizes donated by Kimmer Civil Group.
Sunday concluded with a number of SGB swimmers competing in the 800 metres to see if they could gain a state-qualifying time. There was a lot of cheering from the junior swimmers as they watched them battle it out.
