Eight schools for local swimming gala

PIC: USF president Donald Rukare (left) receives some of the trophies to be competed for from Rainbow International School's Tim Belfield (2nd right), flanked by Lewis Jason (right) as Midland Group Director Shyam Kotecha (2nd left) looks on at Rainbow. (Credit: Michael Nsubuga)

Over 200 pupils will be in action as the third edition of the USF National Midland Primary Schools Swimming Gala takes off at Rainbow International School on Saturday.

Midland Group of Companies has injected over sh10m in the annual championship organised by the Uganda Swimming Federation (USF), aimed at exposing and tapping talent as well as helping individuals gauge themselves for a chance to represent Uganda in different competitions.

By Tuesday eight schools including defending champions Daffodils had confirmed their participation in the annual, a one-day event for kids between 6-12 years.

The others are Kampala Junior, Taibah Schools, King Fahad, Kampala Parents, Lohana, Greenhill and Mother Manjis.

"We are here to give opportunities to different children no matter what schools they are in and we hope they will enjoy together with their families. It is a fantastic opportunity for Rainbow to nurture Ugandan talent in this partnership with USF," said Tim Belfield, the head of the primary section.

He was flanked by Lewis Jason, who heads the secondary section.

Shyam Kotecha, the director of Midland, said Rainbow is always ready to partner with different schools in different sports.

"Swimming has always been close to Rainbow and has grown over the years; this is the age at which we can tap upcoming talent to prepare them for international tournaments, so it is a good opportunity for us to be part of.

"I call upon all schools to embrace this championship so that the kids can benefit from the opportunity," said Kotecha.

USF president Don Rukare thanked the Midland Group for their generous support to the federation activities through their different products.

"We look forward to a very thrilling day and we would like to thank the sponsors for this relationship and we hope from the pool of swimmers we can identify those who can represent Uganda in national, regional and international events," said USF president Don Rukare.