Geophrey Sifani Sports Reporter
ONLY three schools have confirmed participation in the annual Southern Region Girls’ Relay Swimming gala set for Dominican Convent in the city tomorrow.
Host school Dominican Convent and Girls’ College will be joined by Midlands Christian College from Gweru at the Matabeleland Swimming Board-organised event.
Dominican Convent sports director Titus Chikonye said his team was ready for the gala.
“We’ve done all the necessary preparations and want to stage a good performance as we’re facing stiff competition. The other schools that dropped out of the event have somehow reduced the level of competition, but we’re hopeful that it will still be an interesting gala,” said Chikonye.
He said some schools from the region had sent their apologies saying they hadn’t had enough time to prepare for the gala as schools only opened about two weeks ago.
Girls’ College, who have dominated the gala for the past seven years, will be fielding two teams while Midlands Christian College and Dominican Convent will have one team each.
“We’ve got very talented young swimmers that are capable of matching Girls’ College and we are hoping for better results at this gala,” said Chikonye.
He said the host school would bank on the experience of Nora Tagwireyi, Brittany Rhode, Andile Nyoni as well as the Sayi sisters Stacey and Linda to break Girls’ College’s dominance.
The three schools will compete in the Under-14, Under-15, Under-16 and seniors categories in the 25M X 4 relay, 25M X 6and in the 50M X 4 events.