Rovers Swimming Club, 31st Chocolate Carnival

Rovers Swimming Club, 31^st Chocolate Carnival (hosted by and ACE Swimming Club) and the“Merv Campbell Memorial Meet” the 23^rd invitational Dive meet ran concurrently at Waterworld on Saturday 26^th of September. 

Merv Campbell MNZM was a foundation member of the Rovers Swimming Club (and therefore the Waikato Diving Club) in 1945. This year both Clubs are 70 years old. Merv was the New Zealand Diving Coach for 50 years, coached an Olympian and a World Junior Champion. He was a diving judge at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and officiated at 10 Commonwealth Games, more than any other New Zealander.

Merv was also a Life member of Swimming Waikato, Life member of Waikato Diving, Life member NZ Diving and Life member of the New Zealand Swimming Association.  In 1999 he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to Swimming and Diving.

The Rovers Chocolate carnival is always a very popular event with 15 clubs from around the Waikato entered and a total of 178 swimmers competing.  In conjunction the Dive meet had 40 divers from 5 Regions: North Harbour, Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Otago competing

The Swim meet is a short course Swimming Waikato  2/3 level that is loved by the swimmers as they are rewarded for coming 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd in each heat with chocolate bars and all other swimmers in each heat get lollies.  That’s if the volunteers handing them out don’t eat too many first.

During the course of the Swim meet the swimmers are invited to enter some fun relays, picture of the 13 and over mixed, 3 legged race.  This is a hilarious race as the teams can go from 1^st to last in a matter of seconds when they have a leg strap mishap.

For the last few years these two wonderful events been run concurrently with each other and create a lovely spectacle and awesome atmosphere for participants and spectators alike.