Event forces fireman to face fear
He is used to fighting fires and saving lives but Ross Carter said he is overcoming his biggest fear by competing in SuperSports this weekend.
The Tokoroa man has entered the event with fellow firefighter John Smith.
Between the two of them, they will complete all the tasks during the three days, including four lengths of the South Waikato Indoor Pool.
‘‘ Before this I couldn’t even swim a length of the bath,’’ Carter said.
‘‘I would drown in a puddle and I’ve got to do four lengths of the pool because the guy I’m entering with can’t swim either.’’
Competing in SuperSports meant he could kill two birds with one stone.
‘‘It [SuperSports] is something I’ve always said I’ll do but I’ve never done it.’’
The swimming event always held him back.
‘‘[ Learning to swim] is just something I never bothered doing as a kid and so I thought why bother as an adult?
‘‘I can go water-skiing and jump off a boat but when I get in a pool I just freak, it’s all over rover.’’
He said it has been surprising to learn he is not alone in that boat.
‘‘Since I’ve started doing this it’s amazing how many people living in this town who have told me they can’t swim.’’
As of Monday Carter said he could complete two lengths of the pool non-stop.
‘‘On the day it’ll happen, even if I’ve got to stop.’’
He said the SuperSports concept, where close to 50 teams compete over the three-day weekend to help raise funds for the district’s elite sportspeople, is phenomenal.
‘‘It’s just amazing and I didn’t know what it was all about until I entered.’’
A spontaneous entry is not a new thing for the firefighter of 13 years, who said he did the same thing with the 12-hour mountainbike ride.
‘‘I’ve just always been like that all my life,’’ Carter said.
He said his chances of winning are ‘‘minute’’.
‘‘There are 50 other competitors who will have to break down before we even have a chance of winning.’’
But it was never about the win for Carter.
Larry Sullivan
said
while numbers were down on last year, volunteer support has been huge.
‘‘The community has got right behind it again which is great,’’he said.