After a two year hiatus from the Balaklava Swimming Pool due to COVID in 2022 and the pool being under-construction in 2021, the 2023 Balaklava High School Swimming Carnival returned to the newly opened Balaklava Swimming Pool on Tuesday the 7^th of February. With a slightly different format this year including 25m heats and finals and House Challenge Activities in the morning for non-swimmers, the day was a great success with high participation numbers.

Congratulation to Ross House who were crowned champions on the day and to Keith House who won the House Spirit Shield, The Plains Producer 50m Freestyle Handicap Race was won by Connor Willmer. Well done to the House Captains who worked hard to ensure events were filled, encouraged their team members to participate and decorated their house areas with plenty of house pride. It was great to see students of all abilities participate in races and novelty events to win points for their House as well as parents and ex-students swimming to compete in the House Relay. It was also fantastic to see many parents, caregivers, families and community members in attendance on the day to support our students.

No records were broken on the day, however, Tahlia Zerk has set the record for the 13 & Under Girls 25m Butterfly with the addition of this age group due to Year 7s in High School.

I would like to acknowledge the help and efforts of my colleagues who supported me with the set-up, pack-up and official duties of the carnival which contributed to the day being a success.

Results:

Age Group Winners

Championship Shield:                                                                     

House Spirit Shield:

Lower North Zone Interschool Swimming Carnival

On Monday the 20^th of March, 28 of our best swimmers travelled to Burra Swimming Pool to compete in the Lower North Zone Interschool Swimming Carnival. Schools in the Lower North Zone that we competed against on the day were Burra Community School, Clare High School, St Joseph’s School Clare, Riverton and District High School, Kapunda High School and Eudunda Area School.

All swimmers did an exceptional job representing our school, congratulations to Tahlia Zerk who won Runner-Up Champion in the 13 & Under Girls and to Kasey Battle who was Age Group Champion in the 16 & Under Girls. In the overall results, the girls placed third and the boys placed fourth with our school finishing third in the overall Championship Shield.

Thank you to all the parents and family members who were in attendance supporting the team and helping out with time keeping. Thanks to Kym Spartley, Dave Cmrlec and Ash Parsons for their support and work on the day. 

Students selected in the Interschool Team have the opportunity to compete in the School Sport SA Individual Swimming Championships on Friday the 3^rd March (Week 5). If your child is interested in competing and you would like more information please get in touch with Alison Parsons. 

We now turn our attention to our annual Athletics Carnival which will be held on Friday the 10^th of March (Week 6). Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more updates.

Alison Parsons

Sports Co-ordinator