Braving the big blue for the chance at a national title
Three swimmers from the Florida Swimming Club will be taking on the new challenge of competing in the ocean after qualifying for the South African Open Water Nationals.
Despite the coronavirus putting almost every recreational activity on hold, the hard work of three talented young swimmers has made everything worth it.
The teenage swimmers from the Florida Swimming Club (FSC) have been selected to represent Gauteng in the South African Open Water Nationals swimming competition in Jeffrey’s Bay from 18 to 20 March. This achievement is definitely one to be celebrated, especially considering the difficulties the swimmers faced when it came to their training due to the coronavirus restrictions. FSC struggled to find places to practise; schools were not allowed to let the clubs use their pools, swimming in lakes and other open water spaces was prohibited for a while, and the public pools were also closed, but the club persevered.
They made whatever plans they could come up with to keep up with their training regiment, sometimes needing to settle for practice in a 16 metre swimming pool – a staggering difference from the 50 metre pools they had become accustomed to training in. Luckily, since the restrictions have been lessened gradually, La Salle College in Discovery has allowed FSC to utilise their 25 metre pool after school hours.
For Megan Cathro, 13, Ethan Engelke, 14, and Kate Whittaker, 14, swimming is a priority and takes up the majority of their time. The swimmers train between four and six days a week, sometimes even twice a day. For the swimmers like Megan, home-schooling became the best option to support her heavy training schedule while still keeping up with her studies.
Seeing the club train, it is obvious why their swimmers qualified for this open-water race. Their technique and hours of training allow them to glide through the water at an impressive speed while making it look easy. The SA OW Nationals may present somewhat of a challenge for the swimmers as racing in the ocean presents a new set of difficulties compared to what they are used to from swimming in lakes, but the club is confident that the swimmers will make them proud.
