Narrabri Stingrays swimmers excel at home carnival

Narrabri Stingrays Swimming Club hosted its 2022 long course qualifying carnival at Narrabri Aquatic Centre on Saturday, which club officials have labelled as a major success.

There were 105 swimmers in action on the day, surpassing the local club’s target of 100.

There was a relaxed atmosphere out of the pool as the youngsters and the spectators enjoyed the final carnival of the calendar year in the  New England and North West region, while the competition in the pool was as fierce as ever but with great sportsmanship on show.

Joining the Narrabri team members were swimmers from Wee Waa, Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Armidale, Inverell, Kootingal, Coolah, Tamworth and Moree. Three swimmers also travelled from Muswellbrook and Scone to take part.

There were 31 Stingrays swimmers in action who all did their local club proud throughout the event.

They combined for 69 personal best times and also 64 placings, which included 19 first-place finishes, 16 second-place finishes and 29 third-place finishes.

Narrabri Stingrays Swimming Club secretary and coach Jocelyn Smith was pleased with the way the carnival ran and was full of praise for the local swimmers who competed on the day.

“It was a really good day, and we’ve had such great comments about the carnival,” she said.

“People have said they love coming to our carnival because it’s a relaxed atmosphere and it’s well-organised, so that was really good feedback for us because we were doing it with a really small committee this year.

“We had people saying they’d be back next year, and they’d be bringing more families with them because they enjoyed the day so much.”

“The Stingrays had some really great results, and there were some really great PBs,” Smith said.

“We (Smith and Narrabri Stingrays development coach Simone Kerr) are over the moon.”

The club coach and secretary said that the best part of the carnival was the fact that every child had a smile on their face throughout the day.

She thanked the club’s committee and the many parent helpers who all combined to make the event a great success, as well as the other clubs, which provided timekeepers to assist the carnival in running smoothly.