Local swimmers excel at short-course championships

This week, we report on two galas; the short-course championship and age group gala. 31 Ladysmith Marlins Swimming Club (LMSC) swimmers travelled to Vryheid to participate in the Zululand districts (previously NKZN) short-course championships, which took place at Pionier High School from October 31 to November 1. The club is very proud of all its swimmers, in and out of the water.

LMSC came home with nine gold, nine silver and eight bronze medals for individual events. During the relays, our supporters were on their feet and shouted as hard as they could, resulting in three gold, six silver and two bronze medals. A total of seven teams from Northern KwaZulu-Natal and Zululand participated in this championship and LMSC came second.

We can now add the following swimmers to our list who qualified for various levels. Dian Yssel moves to level 2; Leandi Campher, Kian Fourie, Hannah Varyawa and Layla Varyawa qualified for level 1; and Michael Robberts qualified for level 2. The best male at the championship was JJ van der Hoogen with seven gold, one bronze, two fifth places and one eighth place.

The age group gala took place on Saturday at the municipal pool in Ladysmith. At age group galas, swimmers must try and better their times and qualify for levels. Tristian Byrne can be added to the group that qualified for level 1. The majority of our swimmers swam personal best times at this gala. No gala can take place without swimmers, whether it be the winner or the swimmer who comes last; a coach to train and to guide; parents to encourage and support you; officials and helpers.

To all our swimmers, we are proud of you. Coach Ivan Ball sends out his thanks for all your time, dedication and love towards the swimmers; to Denise for your support and love; to Tanya and Denise for making sure the swimmers got to their events in time at the short-course champs; and to all our parents for the time you give to support your child and get him / her to training. Our next gala will be the Uthukela District Long-Course Championships on December 6 and 7 at the Ladysmith Municipal Pool.

We invite the Ladysmith community to come and support swimmers from Northern KwaZulu-Natal. Some of our swimmers will also take part in the Capital-K open water swim at Midmar on November 22 and 23, and the Westville sprints at Kings Park from November 28 to 30.