Wee Waa swimmers make a splash at home carnival

The Wee Waa Swimming Club’s 2020-21 summer swimming season development carnival has been labelled a success by president Anthony Gray.

The club hosted its annual carnival at the Wee Waa Memorial Swimming Pool on Saturday which started at 8.30am and ran well into the afternoon.

There were 106 swimmers in action throughout the day from Wee Waa, Narrabri, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Kootingal-Moonbi, Moree, Gilgandra and Armidale.

Those swimmers were aged from five-years-old through to 16-years-old.

The host club had 53 swimmers in action at its annual carnival and they competed with significant success.

Wee Waa Swimming Club members combined to win 70 events including three relays and three SKINS races.

Club president Gray told The Courier that he thought the day ran well.

“I’m a bit biased I suppose, but I thought it ran really well,” Gray said.

“We had a few technical issues early on which didn’t slow us down too much. Once lunch time came and we had a bit of a break some of the ladies got in sorted it all out which made the second half of the day run like clockwork.

“The Wee Waa swimmers were fantastic, great results and effort.

“It was pleasing to see we had quite a few younger ones this year swimming at their first Wee Waa carnival.

“That’s one thing Wee Waa is good at doing at our carnivals, giving the young kids a taste of what a carnival is like as we are a development carnival.

“The only uploads to the national database from our carnival are the 100-metre times, but the 25-metre and 33-metre races are there for kids to have a practise in a carnival environment.”

The Wee Waa Swimming Club faced a new challenge at the weekend’s carnival as it was required to run it in a COVID-safe way.

“The COVID stuff was a major headache, it’s a major hurdle to jump through,” Gray said.

“Everything has to go through council and police for approval and it costs a bit more because you have to buy all the cleaning products and hand sanitiser and things like that.

“We had to separate people into separate areas and I even had to move the grandstands this year so people could sit in a flatter, safer area.

“Marshalling also had to change too so there were less people in that area.

“But we got through it and everyone was good with it all, everyone knows what the process is now.

“The committee worked hard for the past three weeks organising things and we did learn from other carnivals too I must say.”

Gray said that the carnival would not have been as successful as it was had it not been for the club’s committee and volunteers.

“I’d especially like to thank Jeremy Deasey, Shane Kable and Susanne Kable for their volunteering on the day as referee, starter and judge of stroke which are huge jobs,” Gray said.

“Also the committee members for all their effort, we had Kerry Crutcher, Penny Doubledee, Helen Smith, Lorna Gleeson, Carlie Gray, Paul Cecil, Bec Dewson, Jo Collett and Kathleen Coutts-Smith.

“Thanks as well to barbecue staff and timekeepers on the day and just anyone who helped out in any way.”

Gray also thanked all of the sponsors who helped make the event a success.

The Wee Waa Swimming Club will host its Christmas club night on Thursday, December 10. That will be its last carnival for the year before the Christmas and New Year break.