Virtual Swim Galas: How We Compete When We Can’t Travel
COVID-19 restrictions have meant that the vast majority of inter-school sports fixtures have been cancelled this year. While this is naturally disappointing for our students, who relish the opportunity to put their skills to the test in friendly competition, they have not been idle. Throughout the year our Mustang football, netball and basketball teams have met on an ongoing basis to continue their development, and our robust PE curriculum and range of Co-Curricular Activities provide ample opportunity for training and competition.
However, one sport that has allowed students to compete across schools throughout the year is swimming. Taking advantage of our state-of-the-art Olympic-sized swimming pool, the Mustang Swim Squad have not only continued their training, but are also able to compete with other schools through Virtual Swim Galas. Mr Stanton explains more;
“The Senior School Mustang Swim Squad have recently competed in both the Dulwich College InternationaI and Shanghai Swim League Swimming Galas. These Galas were held virtually, allowing our students to compete across China and the rest of the global Dulwich family of schools without leaving campus. In a Virtual Swim Gala, the swimmers follow a pre-determined structure of races and compete in our pool to post the best times they are capable of. These times are then sent off to the event organiser to collate and compare against the other competing schools.
Our swimmers have improved greatly throughout the year with all team members posting personal bests, and many school records being set. Notable improvements were made by Jerold, Louis, Max, Lucas, Lulu, Chris, Tina, Hanne, Christine and Jasleen, who have each improved their PB by at least three seconds over 50 meters. We look forward to future competitions and the successes our swimmers will achieve.
Upcoming galas are the Dulwich College International Round 2 Gala, which will be held between 12 April and 4 June, and the Shanghai Swim League Championships, which will be held during normal squad training times on 20 and 22 April. Good luck to all our swimmers!”
