KUCHING: The Aquatic Centre of Excellence at Green Road here will be the venue for the 3rd Samarahan-Kuching Divisions Inter-School Swimming Championship on July 6 and 7.
In announcing the change of venue, the organiser Kota Samarahan Amateur Swimming Association (Kotas) said that technical issues with the swimming pool at Kota Samarahan had necessitated the shift.
“There is water quality and pool maintenance issues which we had hoped could be resolved. However, despite the effort of the pool staff, an independent assessment last Saturday found that a broken filtration system could not be repaired or replaced in time.
“We cannot jeopardize the health of the swimmers and so the meet will take place at the Aquatic Centre of Excellence in Kuching,” said Kotas president Yii Chee Sing.
He added that they regret not able to bring this exciting level of competition to Kota Samarahan again. They were grateful to the management of the Aquatic Centre of Excellence for accommodating them at short notice.
With record entries and 32 schools set to vie for the Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah Best School trophies, the action in the pool will be fierce.
SMK Batu Lintang is tipped to retain the Best Secondary School Title as it will field a slew of experienced state and national swimmers. They will, however, be without their ex-student, KOTAS swimming star Welson Sim, who has joined the national squad at the Bukit Jalil Sports School in Kuala Lumpur.
Nevertheless, teams from SMK Kuching High, Lodge School and newcomer Tunku Putra School promise to give SMK Batu Lintang a good fight.
In the Primary Division, the competition looks wide open with defending champions SJK Chung Hua No. 5 expected to struggle to defend their best school crown.
The strongest contenders are a big team from SJK Chung Hua No.2 that includes the four Teo sisters and also a small but strong team from SJK Chung Hua No.4 ½ mile which boasts state swimmers.
The action will get underway at 8am on Saturday and continue throughout the weekend.
The meet will be officially opened at 9am by Kotas special advisor Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who is Assistant Minister of Youth Development. He has also sponsored trophies for the event.
Enquiries on the event can be directed to Kotas by contacting Alice Kwon at 013-8183949 or Lee Chiang Wee at 012-8087410.