Event Wrap of the 2023 Apollo Projects Junior Festivals
The 2023 Apollo Projects Junior Festivals have been held over the first couple of weekends of November across 4 zones – Makos (Timaru), Harlequins (Auckland), Aquaknights (Cambridge) and All Stars (Wellington). There were 1,186 swimmers aged 12 years or under who entered and made every stroke count as they got involved in the activities occurring in and out of the pool.
There was a great atmosphere at the festivals. The clubs got dressed up as Disney characters for the final session with some outstanding outfits on display. The music got everyone dancing throughout the weekend, and we had some crowd engagement as the Mexican wave made its way around the pool.
The food trucks at the Aquaknights festival and the BBQ sausage sizzle wafting across the pool were a great addition this year, as we held the festival at the outdoor pool in Cambridge for the first time.
It was great to have some of our Aquablacks along to support the kids, with Summer Osborne and Carter Swift jumping behind the microphone in Auckland, whilst posing for photos and signing some autographs.
Once again, the festivals provided a fun racing environment at the start of the summer and had a strong focus on celebrating personal best swims. There were strong swims across the board, with nearly 2 out of 3 swims (60.68%) being personal bests. The kids received PB ribbons for the second year in a row, after their popularity from the 2022 festivals.
The results of the PB calculations for each club have been completed, comparing the number of entries who started the race with the number of PB’s achieved, and we are excited to announce the winners for each zonal category. These results are calculated on all individual swims, excluding the freestyle kick event and scratchings prior to racing commencing.
All Stars
1 to 50 entries = Pirates Swim Team
51 to 100 entries = Whanganui Swimming Club
101 to 200 entries = Capital Swim Club
201+ entries = Porirua City Aquatics
Aquaknights
1 to 50 entries = Mercury Bay Swim Club
51 to 100 entries = Swim Rotorua
101 to 200 entries = St Peter’s Swimming Club
201+ entries = Liz van Welie Aquatics
Harlequins
1 to 50 entries = Whangarei Swim Club
51 to 100 entries = Bay of Islands Swimming Club
101 to 200 entries = Howick Pakuranga
201+ entries = United Swimming Club
Makos
1 to 50 entries = Greymouth Amateur Swimming Club
51 to 100 entries = Nelson South Swim Club
101 to 200 entries = Swim Timaru
These zonal winners for each category will receive their trophies over the coming weeks.
For the national categories, the winners are:
National
1 to 50 entries = Greymouth Amateur Swimming Club
51 to 100 entries = Nelson South Swim Club
101 to 200 entries = Capital Swim Club
201+ entries = United Swimming Club
These winners will receive a skill development session over the coming months. We will be in touch in new year to organise a date and time.
Congratulations to all the kids who took part in the 2023 Apollo Projects Junior Festivals, and thanks to those who helped deliver the festivals.
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