Tsunami Saipan hosts HK swimmers

Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan will be hosting the 2011 Hong Kong-Saipan Goodwill Meet on Aug. 20 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

The 20-meter short course competition will feature 15 visiting swimmers from Hong Kong and the host’s bets. Tsunami Saipan has also invited Saipan Swim Club to join the goodwill event.

The visiting swimmers are from the Hong Kong Sword Fish Swim Club and are coached by Bronser Hung. The club members seeing action in next week’s goodwill meet include Ho Man Chan, Ka Fat Yim, Billy Chan, Gary Chan, Yiu Lam Szeto, Wai Long Cheng, Ricky Ching, Dickson Hung, Felix Ching, Chiu Yin Chiu, Owen Hok Kan Leung, Sin Ying So, Wing Tung Yip, Wai Ling Wong, and Yee Ching Wong. The Hong Kong swimmers are in the U18 age group with the youngest member at 10.

Tsunami Saipan’s Yuko Kimura said they decided to hold a short course meet for the Hong Kong swimmers to get them at ease first in their debut on Saipan. Kimura added the visitors hope to have the event annually and bring more swimmers from the Hong Kong Sword Fish Swim Club.

Next week’s events include the 20m backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and butterfly races (heats only), 40m backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and butterfly, 80m individual medley (prelims and finals) and the 20mX4 freestyle and 40mX4 medley relays (heats only).

The finals will be divided into two categories. For the B Finals, only the sixth to 10th finishers in the prelims will qualify, while the A Finals is for the Top 5 finishers.

For the relay, the 20mX4 freestyle is open to mixed teams, while a separate race for male and female swimmers will be held for the 40mX4 medley relay.

At the end of the competition, trophies will be given to three outstanding swimmers, while medals await the Top 3 finishers in the A Finals. The Top 3 placers in B Finals will receive ribbons.

Preliminary races will be held from 9am to 11:30am, while the finals will run from 4pm to 6pm.

Meanwhile, Tsunami Saipan resumed its training sessions yesterday after a month-long break.

“Tsunami swimmers started to warm up with a dry land training at Mariana Resort. Then from Thursday to Saturday, we will repaint the wall around the 50-meter pool,” Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said.