The Pursuit Swimming League keeps searching for reasons to keep fans glued to their competitions held at British School of Kampala (BSK), Muyenga.
“Why does football have so many fans?” league organizer coach Erick Kisero wondered.
“It is maybe because it remains largely competitive. No matter how good a team is, their opponents will always have a chance to win because of the various ways they can set up,” Kisero said.
“Swimming on the other end becomes predictable at some point. And if you give people the same things over time, they get bored.
“Our best chance at being competitive is through relays. In relays, you never know what to expect,” he added.
It is from that background that the eighth circuit of the league was tailored to relays.
The first leg of the circuit was held last Friday at BSK with 5x25m relays in all four strokes capped by a medley relay.
Astros drew first blood by topping the 5x25m butterfly ahead of Jets. Colts and Flames were disqualified after early take offs from Sonia Mwere and Paulette Wakabi while Talons also got disqualified after Gideon Aine Kabanda started his leg with freestyle.
“They (the disqualifications) were a wake up call because the swimmers thought we would be lenient,” Kisero added.
Astros and Jets proved they were no flukes by finishing first and second in the 5x25m backstroke respectively. Talons were third while Colts and Flames were fourth and fifth respectively.
Astros went on to win the 5x25m breaststroke too but Flames stepped up to second and relegated Jets to fifth. Colts were third while Talons were fourth.
Flames then won the 5×25 freestyle while Astros finished second. Colts remained third ahead of Talons and Jets.
In the medley relay, Astros fought back to reclaim first place with Colts showing great balance to follow them. Jets relied on their butterfly and backstroke advantage to edge Flames in the battle for third.
In the end, the first leg of the eighth circuit was topped by Astros who took home five match points. Jets were second with four points while Colts and Flames are tied on three and Talons on two.
The circuit has two more legs on June 19 and 26 as Altona Swim Club (host of the league) also prepares to find relay teams for next month’s Uganda Aquatics National Swimming Championships.