Montrose leaves no room for excuses
Head of the Montrose Primary School swimming department, Joshua van der Linde is happy with the hard work and results of his learners after the annual swimming league gala.
![Participants of the swimming gala held at Montrose Primary School](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/03/IMG_1676_65641-e1677743892346-780x470.jpg)
Although the prestigious Montrose Night Challenge was put on hold and despite most of the private schools in the area being on a mid-term break, Montrose Primary School still hosted a swimming league gala challenge where learners competed against two rival schools, King David Victory Park and Bryndale Primary School.
The gala happened on February 24 with more than 30 participants fighting for their school’s honour. The head of the swimming department of Montrose Primary School, Joshua van der Linde, explained each challenge.
“We had the individual medley, then we moved on to butterfly, backstroke, mid-stroke and then we ended it off with the latter relay freestyle race with all the divisions taking part in the challenge,” said Linde.
![Image of a child attending the gala](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/03/IMG_1616_40201-e1677743570888-520x346.jpg)
The age groups started from U8 to U13 for both girls and boys. Though Montrose had a home advantage, the final results for the league were not what they hoped for. They finished in second place based on the points that were accumulated.
“It was the last gala of the season. From the Montrose side, we worked really hard this season through the challenges that we faced. We had to cancel numerous practice sessions due to the weather conditions not being in our favour. The kids stuck through it with smiles, I am really happy with this group of learners that represented Montrose, they were phenomenal. In the future, we’ll be taking first place,” said Linde.
![Learner participating in the relay race.](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/03/IMG_1603_74715-e1677743688128-520x348.jpg)
The final results ended with Bryndale taking the third-place position with 476 points, Montrose in second place with 511 points, and King David Victory Park in first place with 671 points.
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