Only a few days remain until the Discovery Chelmsford Challenge.
Come February 28, Chad Ho and other renowned swimmers, plus the swimming community of Northern KwaZulu-Natal will meet at the Chelmsford/ Ntshingwayo Dam.
The event is split into the categories of 500 metres, three kilometres and the main 1km race.
As a nod to the legacy of the Chelmsford Challenge, resident, Ernest Krause offered his recollections of his involvement with the competition between 1980 and 1991.
He was a long-standing member of the Newcastle Swimming Club.
“I joined the club in 1980. My children were into swimming; my eldest daughter, Kim represented Natal Schools. I had also represented the same, and for three years was the top seed in my age group in South Africa. So I knew a bit about swimming, and trained my children.”
Mr Krause’s recollections focus on the small, determined core of club leaders, who led the swimming club from relative obscurity to an international stage.
He also touched on the changing face of the country, from Apartheid to reconciliation.
Fondly recalling the support the swimming club enjoyed, Mr Krause delved into his inspiration, as one of the founders of the Chelmsford Challenge.
“There was a triathlon held at Chelmsford Dam and I participated in this. I then had the idea of staging a swim similar to Midmar, but it would be 1 000m. I put this idea to the club, suggesting we could raise funds doing this, and they agreed if I would organise it.”
Although the first race was a disaster, natural movement of the buoy resulting in some swimmers going almost halfway across the dam, the swimming club took heart from the response of the community.
“For the next swim, we used a circular course stating at the caravan park, and ending where the present day race begins. We had only had one buoy, plotted by a land surveyor so our distance was accurate.”
For more information on the Discovery Chelmsford Challenge, visit www.swimnewcastle.co.za, and remember to lend your support this weekend!
