KUCHING : Kuching has been given the honour to become host of the Speedo Malaysia International Masters Swimming Championship 2017 which will be held for the first time at the Pandelela Rinong Aquatics Centre in Petra Jaya on December 9. This was announced by Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Sarawak, Datuk Snowdan Lawan on Monday.
According to him, there are 350 participants together with the tournament officials expected to throng to the city for the one-day event.
“The event is jointly organised by Amateur Swimming Association of Sarawak (ASAS) and Amateur Swimming Union Malaysia (ASUM) in collaboration with Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC),” he said after chairing the coordination meeting for the organising committee at Stadium Negeri Sarawak in Petra Jaya, here.
Also present during the meeting were Dr Ong Kong Swee, Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) and Anthony Kong who represented ASAS president, Datuk Wee Hong Seng. The Assistant Minister added that the championship is open to participants aged between 24 to 70 years and above and the organisers had received entries from Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
The event is divided into team and individual categories where the rules and regulations will follow the International Swimming Federation (FINA). Both the male and female participants will be divided into 11 age-groups.
“There will be a total of 11 agegroup categories for both the men and women events with the youngest age group is open to those aged 20 to 24 years old while the most senior category is for those aged 70 years old and above,” Snowdan said on the event which was last held at Darul Ehsan Aquatics Centre in Selangor on Dec 10, 2016.
For the men’s relay events, the MR1 category is open the teams with a combine age of between 120-159 years; the MR2 category is for teams with members with combined age of between 160-199 years while the MR3 category is for teams with members with combined age of between 200-239 years.
There will also be the mixed relays competition for teams comprising of two men and two women where the MX1 category is for teams with members with combined age of between 120-159 years while the MX2 is for teams with members with combined age of between 160- 199 years and the MX3 is for teams with members with combined age between 200-239 years.
The championship is expected to start at 8:00am and the races will involve the following events: 200m men freestyle, 200m women freestyle, 4x50m mixed medley relay, 50m men backstroke, 50m women backstroke, 100m men freestyle, 100m women freestyle, 50m men breaststroke, 50m men breaststroke, 4x50m men freestyle and 4x50m women freestyle.
In the afternoon, the following events will be held namely 200m IM men, 200m IM women, 50m men butterfly, 50m women butterfly, 100m men breaststroke, 100m women breaststroke, 50m men freestyle, 50m women freestyle, 4x50m men medley, men and 4x50m women medley relay.
The winning team shall be determined by the highest total number of points collected by their respective swimmers in individual and relay events.
Last year’s championship title went to New Wave Swimming Club which collected a total of 1,499 points followed by Buaya Swim Team with 959 points while Indo Master Swimmers finished third with 362.5 points. According to Snowdan, the closing and prize presentation ceremony will be officiated by Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak, Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
