The first Swimming Gala after COVID-19 - so what’s new?

By Abigail Yip

After a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the annual RCHK Secondary Swimming Gala took place on 25th of October at the Ma On Shan Swimming pool. In the end, even though Tang had held a huge lead, Ming caught up and stole the crown from Tang, with Song placing second, Qing third and, to their utter dismay, Tang last. What a dramatic result!

The gala is a major house event, house points earned from the Swimming Gala could help in the overall Inter-House Competition. Students could sign up for twenty-five or fifty meters for all four strokes, or even a four person relay for two hundred meters; there were countless events you could participate in. The athletes of each house: Qing, Ming, Song and Tang were equally skilled, which made for a thrilling and enjoyable competition to watch.

The stadium had an exuberant, energetic atmosphere, which was mirrored by the teacher’s selection of upbeat music.

The stands were packed with house spirit, singing and dancing. During the gala, a brass band even played the songs Under The Sea and Megalovania, which were great accompaniments to the event.

“I didn’t want Tang to win because they were already ahead by a lot of points so I’m going to root for Ming who might have a chance at beating them.” said Cheryl Chan, one of the competitors. However at the end of the day, all four houses must be commended for their dedication and hardwork, great sportsmanship and camaraderie.

The school spent weeks working hard managing COVID-19 rules in order to host the joyous event. One of the organizers, Mr Burns shed insight on the process: “We had lots of different administration that we had to read upon to make sure everything we did was in the line of the government recommendations, but despite the limitations we made sure to still deliver a fun and exciting Swimming Gala event.” Burns also shared his thoughts on the gala’s success: “Mr. Sherriff-Smith and I were mostly in charge of everything that happened on the poolside, while the crowd and spectator side was very well managed by Mr. Copley, the house staff and house leaders ensuring that a lot of house spirit went on. It was a really good combined teacher and student effort this year: everybody contributed to make it a success.”

One of the challenges the organizers faced this year was having to squeeze a day’s worth of itinerary into half a day in order to avoid lunching at the swimming pool. Furthermore, the students who were not vaccinated or had an amber code, were arranged to stay at the library.

This year’s gala was a huge success, but the PE department has bigger dreams for the event. Mr Smith’s aspirations involve “trying to get more people involved with less competitive races but more on the novelty, working more with the PE department during lessons to make sure people are more comfortable with swimming. In general, trying to make it a nice, large event that people want to partake in.”

Although everyone loved the student races, the teacher’s relay stole all the cheers and laughter. They all were excited to win more points for their house and to give it their best! What a great way to end the 2022 Swimming Gala!