Gambia to compete in the 12th African Swimming Championship

The Gambia National Swimming Team will join other African countries to compete in the 12^th African Swimming Championship to be staged in Dakar, Senegal next month.

The event will take place from September 22 to the 27 and it will mark only the second time that the Gambian team participated in a major international African championship after Zone 2 in Dakar in 2011.

The championship will also serve as a qualifier for the 16^th World Swimming Championship in Kazan, Russia, in July 2015, which in turn serves as qualifier for the Rio 2016 summer Olympic Games.

In preparing for this championship, the swimming association yesterday announced they intend to leave in advance to acquaint themselves with the new swimming rules at the Piscine Olympique Nationale.

The 2000-seater facility, containing some 50 metre long swimming pools and 8 lanes will host the championship.

Automatic officiating equipment with a scoreboard will be used together with semi-automatic back-up timing throughout the championship.

Ben Ekumbo, the secretary general and treasurer of the African Swimming Federation (CANA), said this year’s championship will for the first time introduce African Masters Swimming Championship and an Open 5km water swimming from Dakar to Goree for swimmers aged 35 years old and above.

Gambian swimming officials therefore called on The Gambia government, and all citizens and companies to rally around the team by providing financial support to facilitate the national team’s participation in this very important championship.

By Abdoulie Nget