AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIX clubs have confirmed to compete in the National Swimming Championship whose showdown will be staged at Dar Gymkhana Club this weekend. The clubs are Dar es Salaam Swimming Club (DSC), Taliss, Bluefins, Mwanza Swimming Club, FK Blue Marlins and Morogoro International School (Mis Piranhas).
Speaking on Wednesday, the chairperson of the competition’s organising committee, Hadija Shebe said they expect to see a glittering contest as all prominent swimmers will compete in the event slated to start from 8:00 am. According to her, swimmers will compete in five categories which she named as freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and Individual Medley.
The event will also see swimmers competing in a total of 103 different events which have been lined up to provide a good showpiece. She said they have decided to put such a number of the events with the aim of gauging swimmers’ talents as well as their strength before selecting some of them to form the national team ahead of various international competitions.
Hadija said the events’ programme show that 60 events will be held during the first day while the remaining ones will be displayed on the second day of the competition.
“This is a very important competition for swimmers because it will be used to select successful ones to form the national team. As such, they (swimmers) must be thoroughly prepared to shine,” said Hadija.
She said the competition is a qualifying event that will also be used to select swimmers for the African Swimming Federation (Cana) Zone III, as well as for the World Swimming Federation (Fina) events planned this year.
Again, Hadija encouraged more Tanzanian swimmers to participate in this feat in order to be considered for the teams that will represent the country in the upcoming championships. The event is also to be used to nurture swimmers’ skills as well as promote the sport in the country and beyond its borders.
“The events will be open to all current (2020/2021) TSA-registered swimmers,” she said.
She explained that foreign swimmers would be allowed to compete only if they meet qualifying time standards and have been cleared by their federations to compete.
“Foreign swimmers have to submit a clearance letter from their national federations and proper travel documents. Qualifying times must have been recorded between January 2020 and March 31, 2021. “If these times are not available, swimmers will have to show their past times, supported by proof showing where and when the times were recorded,” she said
