Story by Grace Sibanda
THE City of Bulawayo was set alight as six clubs battled for honours in a swimming short course gala held at the weekend.
It was a specular show of speed, technique, and endurance in underwater stunts during a battle that brought together the best of junior and senior swimmers.
“I have been practicing, I hope I can reach record time. I am racing against good swimmers and I hope I can also hit my targeted mark,” said one of the participants.
Another added, “Today is about showcasing speed and skill with hopes to reach a good record, a lot of preparations have gone towards being here.”
“This is the first short course this year so this opportunity has afforded me the chance to showcase what I can do. I would love to pursue a career in swimming and it all begins here,” said another participant.
Bulawayo Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) chairperson, Mr Phawulani Ngwenya said the attention was on skill and technique.
“Focus is on skills and technique, under water stunt and the short course provides swimmers an opportunity to utilise the underwater stunts to get a competitive advantage to reach record time,” he said.
The short course gala, the first for the current swimming season, brought together six clubs, including Penguins, Falcons, Zambezi Tigers, Crusaders, Stingrays and School of Swimming.
It was also part of preparations for the BASA championships set for the 20th of November, which will see Botswana fielding 30 swimmers.
