What a weekend of racing in Alexandra! From 4-5 February, Alexandra Swimming Club hosted their annual Waitangi Challenge Cup - welcoming more than 130 athletes from across Otago, Southland, and Canterbury to Central Otago. It was a wonderful (but very hot) two days of racing, with two Otago records broken, a ton of personal best times, and lots of smiles!
Alexandra Swimming Club. Source: Alexandra Swimming Club via Facebook
Well done to everyone that took part in the championships - it was fantastic to get our first racing opportunity ticked off here in Otago as athletes building toward upcoming pinnacle events. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the timekeepers, officials, and other volunteers that made this weekend possible.
Two Otago records were broken over the weekend, congratulations to Wanaka Swim Club's Hana Carnie on her new records!
🟡 Female 11 Years SC 50m Backstroke
34.63 (previous record held by Hana Carnie at 34.99, set in November 2022)
🔵 Female 11 Years SC 200m Backstroke
2:37.44 (previous record held by Deegan Croucher at 2:40.65, set in 2019)
Hana Carnie of Wanaka Swim Club. Archive Photo
We would also like to acknowledge our two newly accredited technical officials. Congratulations to Chris Spence (Queenstown Swimming Club) and Bronwyn Rees (Alexandra Swimming Club) who both passed their Inspector of Turns assessment to become qualified IOTs. Fantastic effort from you both, and thank you for all you do on pool deck!
Bronwyn Rees & Chris Spence, newly accredited IOTs. Source: Swimming Otago
We also had the pleasure of co-hosting a seminar with Sport Otago on the Saturday evening. The seminar highlighted the Good Sports initiative and elaborated on how to best set our kids up for success, in and out of sport. Over 30 people attended this seminar, from a variety of different sports. It was great to see parents, caregivers, and children getting involved in the seminar, and we hope it was beneficial for all that attended. Thank you to Sport Otago their assistance in making this possible.
Setting our kids up for success Seminar, co-hosted with Sport Otago. Source: Swimming Otago
Click here for the full results from the Alexandra Waitangi Challenge Cup
The next competition on in Otago is the South Island Junior Championships, being held from 18-19 February in Dunedin. Entries close Thursday 9 February at 11:59PM. For more information, and to enter, click here.
