A FRESH RIVALRY – A GREAT EVENT

Held at the superbly upgraded Te Rapa Pool over the past 4 days.

What a great event. Entries increased to over 750 swimmers. The swimmers had fun, they raced hard, even the parents looked happy – whoop, whoop and I never heard one single whinge about the event and believe me if there is anyone having a whinge, Aunt Agatha at the Teamline shop usually hears about it!

I can see this event growing even more next year. Schools have finally realised swimming is a sport that demands respect and credibility. These athletes train harder than any other sports code and it shows.

There is always something special about inter school rivalry and with more emphasis on the relay races the rivalry was intense – and that in my opinion is healthy!

This sport is based around winning, winning is a reward for training hard and competing. Not all of these kids won but they all competed with the goal of winning. In my mind that is a Win-Win scenario.

So from me and the Crew at Teamline a big congratulations to all those athletes that competed.

Another CONGRATULATIONS must go to the event crew from Swimming New Zealand who now run very slick and well organised events. They have taken their events to a new level.

I have seen the work done behind the glass window in the control room to make it go smoothly and believe me it is a huge and complicated job.

Also the unsung heroes of these events – the wonderful officials who are all volunteers who travel the land to work free of charge to ensure the pool deck runs smoothly. This sport needs volunteers more than any other sport, I say to all parents – when you get a chance thank them!!

See you at Short Course

Lindsay Campbell