‘ALOY-MAC’- the 1st Swimming Competition held in St Aloysius Swimming Pool
Mangaluru: The new state-of-the-art swimming pool of international standards -“St Aloysius College’s New Pool”, of Olympic standards, which is a boon to Mangaluru City, and which is FIRST of its kind in the region, having met all the standards required to hold national and international events, hosted its FIRST District Level Swimming Competition, in association with Mangalore Aquatic Club (R) (MAC) on Sunday, 21st January 2018 from 8 am onwards. The eight-lane swimming pool is 50 meters long and 25 meters wide, which is sufficient for international events. According to experts, the width of the pool is sufficient for 10 lanes too. The pool has a water ozonation plant, gallery, changing room, parking area and other necessary infrastructure required, apart from a baby pool.
ALOY -MAC district level swimming competition was the first ever swimming competition organized in St Aloysius swimming pool. The chief guest for the event was A.P. Gagan Ullalmath Oly, the only swimmer to represent India at the 2012 London Olympics and also the Mentor of Mangalore Athletic Club, and the guest of honour was Vaishnav Hegde , international swimmer, and Fr. Melwyn Pinto Sj- Vice Principal of St Aloysius Degree college presided over the function.
The competition attracted more than 210 participants including international swimmers Vaishnav Hegde and Manohar Prabhu, and participants from various age groups, from the age of 3 yrs in the toddlers category and most of them were first time competitors, to 45 yrs in the open category. With a lot of swimming parents participating as well. The highlight was participation of 6 differently-abled children and all of them were honoured for their participation.
Even though the competitions of various categories had begun as early as 7.30 am, the formal inauguration of the event was held at 9 am, which began with a flute recital by Master Sushameendra invoking God’s blessings, followed by welcome address by Dr Ashutosh Boloor-President of Mangalore Aquatic Club. Keya and Diya, members of MAC introduced chief guest Gagan, and guest of honor Vaishnav Hegde respectively. The event was inaugurated by lighting of the lamp by the chief guest along with other dignitaries on the dais.
Addressing the gathering, Gagan Ullalmath oly said, ” As well as being fun, swimming is a great way to keep fit and well and make friends. Swimming is a healthy activity that you can continue for a lifetime, and is a low-impact activity that has many physical and mental health benefits. But make sure you know how to swim and do so in a safe environment. We are surrounded by water and swimming can be one of our great passions. Swimming is a great recreational activity for people of all ages. Recreational swimming can provide you with a low-impact workout and it’s also a good way to relax and feel good. Common swimming styles in recreational swimming are breaststroke, backstroke, side stroke and freestyle.”
“Some people who enjoy swimming want to take it to a competitive level. This can provide the health benefits of a vigorous workout as well as the fun and thrill of competition. The main strokes used in competitive swimming are breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. But my advice to the parents is that don’t focus on your child to win. winning is not so important, but participation is. So don’t focus on winning, instead focus on learning.” added Gagan.
Fr Melwyn Pinto Sj aslo speaking on the occasion said, ” St Aloysius College had always encouraged its students to take part in various sports activities, from cricket, football, hockey, basketball and so on, but for decades we didn’t had a swimming pool for those students who were keen in swimming activities/competitions. And finally with the generous help from the Alumnus of this institution and other donors/benefactors, finally our long awaited dream came true, with the launch of this state-of-the-art Swimming Pool of International standards and other facilities, thereby making a history in this 138 years old institution . I am sure that the participants are happy with this new pool, because I am very positive many of them might have not experienced swimming in a pool like this. I wish all the participants success and best of luck”.
Fr Praveen Martis Sj, the Principal of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), who couldn’t make it to the inaugural ceremony, graced the event later in the evening and presented prizes to the winners. Speaking on the occasion, Fr Praveen Martis Sj said, ” I feel proud to say that this state-of-the-art swimming pool, will help swimmers who were so far dependant on swimming pool of the Mangaluru City Corporation’s swimming pool, and this pool has all the facilities according to international standards. The pool has all the facilities to host national and international swimming events. A baby pool has also been provided for kids, with the kind funds from alumnus of this college. I am happy to note that this First competition has been organized since the pool was launched in December 2016. Best of luck to all the participants”.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Javeen, and the compere for the event was Manohar Prabhu, both of Mangalore Aquatic Club.
