St Peter’s College swimmers give their all

SUNNINGHILL – The high school's annual invitational gala had interesting moments, with the hosts sneaking to victory at the end.

March 5, 2020

Khomotso Makgabutlane 1 minute read

A St Peter's B team swimmer during her butterfly race in the St Peter's Invitational Gala. Photo: Khomotso Makgabutlane

On 14 February, St Peter’s College hosted their 10th annual invitational gala.

Under the theme of the Olympics, the well-known five rings hung all around the swimming pool of the Wahoo Aquatics Centre.

Schools who took part included Hyde Park High School, Helpmekaar Kollege, Penryn College, Trinity College, Uplands College and the combined team of St Dominic’s and St John’s College. Both St Peter’s College A and B teams also took part.

A Helpmekaar Kollege swimmer during the breaststroke heat at the St Peter’s College Invitational Gala. Photo: Khomotso Makgabutlane

With over 40 events taking place, swimmers from the schools gathered under their team tents before the start of their races

Throughout the event, the overall point placings were announced by St Peter’s College announcer Izak Botha. Helpmekaar Kollege, St Peter’s A-team and Redhill School were neck and neck the whole event, with Helpmekaar occupying first position most of the afternoon after winning a number of their races.

The highlight of the gala was the final three mixed freestyle relay races. The U14, U15, U16, U17 and open teams brought eight swimmers to swim the last races to add to their school’s final points.

A swimmer following the fluidity of the water during a breaststroke heat.

The U15 and U16 races were extremely close for the home team but they managed to secure a win. The U15 St Peter’s swimmers won their race after almost being overtaken by the combined team of St John’s and St Dominic’s.

The U16 home side won their race by 0.41 seconds after racing the final stretch with Helpmekaar, who came in second. The U14 and U17 and open teams came in second and third in their races respectively.

The invitational gala hosted at St Peter’s College showed the immense talent of high school swimmers. *Photo: Khomotso Makgabutlane*

The final score tally saw St Peter’s A win the overall gala with 1 277 points. Helpmekaar and Redhill totalled 1 250 and

1 208 points respectively.

Rui Morais, the headmaster of St Peter’s College who is also in charge of swimming, applauded both St Peter’s teams for their efforts throughout the afternoon.

“It was really great to watch every race today, and everyone did a sterling job for their teams. It’s always nice to win the gala as we have for almost every year we’ve hosted it,” said Morais.

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