Swimmers wait for OK on 5km swim
FIJI Swimming president Ben Rova says they are still awaiting the green light from Triathlon Fiji to carry out the Open Water 5km Swim at the Vuda Marina in Nadi this Saturday.
With current adverse weather and flooding in the Western Division, Rova said they would have to wait until Thursday or Friday to see if waters in Vuda were safe to carry on with the competition.
“Yes, this is a very important competition, but safety of the swimmers is paramount. We will have to wait for a few more days before we can say whether we will be having the competition,” Rova said.
A series of swim meets and events are already in place for the next few months as Fiji Swimming will be out to select swimmers to represent the country at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in August, and the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands in November.
“For the Open Water 5km Swim, we will need to choose four swimmers — two girls and two boys.” Rova said male swimmers would need to clock a time of 1 hour and 10 minutes while female swimmers would need to clock 1 hour and 15 minutes.
He said he was pleased and impressed with the times clocked during the LC Grand Pix 1 event at the Olympic Pool in Suva last weekend.
“This is because many of the swimmers haven’t been training throughout the pandemic period but were able to perform.”
He said he was happy to see a decent turnout from supporters of different swim clubs around the country.
He said a deadline regarding the selection for those wishing to represent the country at the Commonwealth Youth Games and Pacific Games would be released soon.
“We will be releasing the dates for when we will have completed our selections. So I advise all swimmers to prepare well, as there are many swim meets and events in place for you to prove yourself and clock good times.”