River McCrossen
14 January 2025, 1:40 AM
Up to 140 swimmers from across the west made a splash in Coonamble for the town's annual swimming carnival on the weekend.
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Despite wild storms that swept through the region on Friday, six-year-olds to teenagers from areas including Walgett, Coonabarabran, Wee Waa and Dubbo swam in clean and sunny conditions at Coonamble Swimming Pool on Sunday.
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"For a lot of kids this is their first carnival," Coonamble Swimming Club president Ben Williams said.
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"Everything went well. It was a lot of work for the committee to put it on, but we do it so the kids can enjoy the day and for everyone to come in and have a bit of a catch up."
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Swimmers competed for money prizes up to $80 across freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and relay.
There was plenty of room in the pool for casual and competitive swimmers. IMAGE: River McCrossenÂ
The more competitive types also took the chance to bag a qualifying time to complete in the 2024-25 NSW Summer Championship.
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The hosts had 47 swimmers in the pool, by far the biggest club on the day.Â
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"A lot of, lot of kids were doing personal bests," Mr Williams said.
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"Most kids are just here for the day and want to get first, second or third, or win a bit of prize money."