KUCHING: Over 30 schools from across Kuching and Samarahan Divisions will compete in Kota Samarahan Amateur Swimming Association’s (Kotas) annual inter-school swimming meet at the Aquatic Centre of Excellence in Kuching next month.
The 4th Samarahan-Kuching Divisions Inter-School Swimming Championship will see both primary and secondary schools striving for honours over the weekend of September 27-28.
This competition will be officially opened by Kota Samarahan Amateur Swimming Association (Kotas) special advisor Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who also sponsored the perpetual trophies.
SMK Batu Lintang will be defending their unbeaten record as the champion secondary school while SJK Chung Hua No.2 will be trying to hold on to the champion primary school trophy after wresting it from SJK Chung Hua No. 5 last year.
Strong teams are also expected from SMK Kuching High, Tunku Putra School and Lodge School.
Kotas president Yii Chee Sing said the association was anticipating a highly competitive meet as each year participation has grown.
“We have already confirmed that several Sukma swimmers will be competing for their respective schools and also, perhaps more importantly, we will have a number of swimmers entering in their first ever competition,” he noted.
“This augurs well in fulfilling our objective to promote the sport and get more kids in swimming,” he said.
The inter-school event aims to encourage local youth to pursue an active lifestyle, to foster inter-action between school children as well as to enhance Sarawak’s strength in swimming.
“Kotas is still a relatively new swimming association but we have come a long way in a short time and we are proud that this championship is already in its fourth year,” noted Yii.
Kotas are now the premier swimming association in Sarawak with overall victories at the most recent editions of the two major state-wide swimming meets, the Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Wong Soon Kai Inter-Club Swimming Championships late last year and the Sarawak Age Group Swimming championships in February this year.
Its swimmers train six days per week at Kelab Golf Sarawak in Petra Jaya, Kuching. The association welcomes children aged between six and ten who have gained competency in at least two strokes and are keen to become competitive swimmers.
All swimmers must meet attendance and time targets to maintain their places in the squads.
“We want to help Sarawak re-build its superiority in aquatic sports and providing swimmers more opportunities to race is essential to achieving this,” said Yii.
“Organising such meets brings wide spread benefits to so many children, but it does incur considerable expenses for Kotas and as such we are appealing for corporate sponsors.
“Over the past three years it has been heartening to see local companies willing to give back to the community by funding non-profit organisations like ours, hence enabling us to run such competitions and offer talented children swimming coaching up to an elite level,” he added.
“We are also very grateful Datuk Abdul Karim’s ongoing encouragement of Kotas’ growth and well as many of the other local YBs who have supported this beneficial community event,” said Yii.
The advancement of swimming is particularly timely with Sarawak due to host Sukma 2016 and the state keen to retain its reputation as a powerhouse of aquatic sports.
“More competitions will motivate young swimmers to train harder and strive to improve.
“We may unearth some exciting new talent in the pool during this championship but even if we don’t, it is always good to see students involved in activities that build a healthy body and mind,” said Yii.
The inter-school meet will see swimmers compete in five age groups from eight years of age and below up to 18 years of age.
Events will include the four swimming stroke disciplines as well as the much-anticipated inter-school relays.
“This year, the relays will be contested in two categories: primary schools and secondary schools,” said Yii.
Apart from the champion primary and secondary schools trophies, prizes will also be awarded for the best girl and boy swimmers in their respective age categories.
Several local swimming stars are expected to spearhead their respective school teams.
All eyes will also be on National Age Group 2014 multiple gold medalist Hii Puong Wei who is likely to dominate the Boys U10 category.
The SJK Chung Hua Batu 4.5 school boy won 10 national level medals earlier in the year, including five gold medals.
Other swimmers to watch out for will be Sukma swimmers Tan Tyng from Chung Hua Middle School No.1, Angela Chieng and Anson Go from SMK Batu Lintang and Mandy Teo of SMK Kuching High who will be among the hot favourites for ‘best swimmer’ awards in their respective age groups.
Milo (Nestle) will be sponsoring the medals and all swimmers will also receive a certificate of participation.
Enquiries on the event can be directed to Kotas by contacting the organising secretaries Alice Kwon at 013-8183949 or Jessielynn Lam at 016-8782494.
Entry forms can be downloaded from the Kotas website at www.kotasswimming.com.
Entries close on August 22.
“We are eagerly anticipating some exciting swimming action,” said Yii.
“We welcome every school to enter their students and we invite parents and teachers to bring along children and inspire them to get involved in the great sport of swimming,” he added.