Voon Yong Hui
KUCHING (Aug 10): Sarawak’s biggest swimming event, the 2nd Sarawak Short Course Sprint, is set to take place here on Aug 13 and 14 at the Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre.
The meet has attracted 529 swimmers representing 20 teams from Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand. There are 16 teams coming from outside Sarawak.
Organised by Power Aquatics Swimming Club (PASC) in collaboration with Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC), each daily session will start at 7.30am.
The Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah will officiate the closing ceremony at 4.30pm on Aug 14.
Officials from all teams will attend a welcoming dinner on Aug 13.
Organising chairman Voon Yong Hui, who was overwhelmed with the response, said the entries had hit their expected target of 500 participants.
There were 376 swimmers from Malaysia and Indonesia at the first edition.
“This time around, we have more foreign teams coming into our Land of Hornbill, which is a good opportunity to show them that we have world class facilities. We hope to popularise swimming in Sarawak.
“Besides that, we hope to show them what Sarawak has to offer in terms of tourism. It is clear that sports have a way of bringing people together to celebrate their shared interests in different games and as such the connection between sports and tourism is formed,” said Voon who also thanked all sponsors for their contributions.