Over 400 swimmers competing in Sabah age group tournament
KOTA KINABALU: More than 400 swimmers will compete in the Sabah Age Group Swimming Championship on January 11-13, next year.
Sabah Aquatic Sports Association (SASA) secretary Cynthia Chin said the three-day championship was a platform to select representatives for the Malaysia National Age Group which would be held in Kuala Lumpur on March 7-10.
SASA are hoping to unearth new talents who will shine on the national scene as Malaysia will be vying for honours in the 43rd South East Asia Age Group in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in June.
Cynthia said prior to the Sabah Age Group championship, SASA would be organising a Level 3 Technical Official Course on January 9-10.
“The purpose of organising the course is to continuously source more qualifying officials to provide a good standard of technical assistance on swimming.
“ASUM (Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia) again rendered their expertise in providing a qualified FINA listed referee and instructor to conduct the course,” she said, while revealing that to date 50 people had registered for the course.
Meanwhile, 43 participants completed the coaching clinic organised by SASA here, recently (December 6-8).
The course, held at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex, was conducted by senior FINA instructor Richard Powers from California, USA.
The clinic which attracted participants from Brunei, Labuan, Sarawak and all over Sabah, emphasised on stroke technique, training method and season planning.
“Powers, who has more than 50 years of experience under his belt, also imparted knowledge and experience to the parents,” she said.
“A group of swimmers was also given the opportunity to work with Powers during the practical session,” Cynthia added.
Towards this end, Cynthia, on behalf of SASA, expressed appreciation to ASUM for the opportunity to host the course.
“We also thank Sabah Sports Council for providing constant assistance to the association as well as to Sabah Sports Board for providing the facilities to make the coaching clinic a success,” she said.