Te Awamutu Swimming Club celebrates growth and success

A swimming club has been in existence in some form in the Waipa District since around 1908 and has seen many changes over the years with it coming to be what we know it as today, Te Awamutu Swimming Club, some 50 odd years ago.

Numbers have swelled and dropped over the years, as they do with many small town clubs. In the last 11 years, the club has had five different coaches plus some fill ins and committees have come and gone.

Over the years the club has had a strong learn to swim programme, but a recent change with the centre where the club trains has meant that their younger learn to swim children are now learning with the Centre.

A collaborative effort between the club and the aquatic centre now provides a pathway right through from babies to adults and beyond. Once swimmers are proficient in three strokes in the 25m pool they are able to move in to swim with the club swimmers. Swimmers can train for their own fitness or aim for the top echelons of racing if they wish.

Through all the changes the club has seen plenty of growth and success. Eleven years ago the club had one swimmer at the National Division two level, since then they have taken up to 10 swimmers to National Age Group Championships where they have produced five age group champions with others picking up silvers and bronzes.

They also had seven swimmers attend the 2014 New Zealand Open Championships where they had one bronze medallist in the female 200m butterfly and three other swimmers made A and B finals.

This year the clubs Division two team was ranked 2^nd and they had a number of swimmers compete in the New Zealand Open Water Championships in Taupo picking up a number of medals and top 10 finishes. 

They have also had three of their swimmers selected to the Central Swimming Aquaknights teams to compete in Melbourne and/or Brisbane on several occasions.

To top it all off this year they have just had their first swimmer named to a New Zealand team, Vanessa Ouwehand for the Australian State Teams Short Course Champsand were ecstatic to celebrate club member Nikita Howarth’s gold and bronze medal performances at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

It only seems to be up for the club with their annual championships being held last week seeing some great racing and a supportive and exciting atmosphere to encourage the growth and great results of the club.

“We’re a great club in the heart of the Waikato with a lot of talented swimmers coming through. Moving forward we’re expecting great things,” Ruth Ouwehand.