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The tall and short of it ... Bahrain's young swimmers are in training for the forthcoming St Christopher's Open Swimming Championship.
The event takes place on June 21 at the St Christopher's Junior School pool in Saar and is open to all swimmers who are residents in the kingdom aged between six and 19.
Swimmers will have the chance to compete in different events such as freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and the individual medley over distances of 25m, 50m, 100m and 200m.
This week keen swimmers of all sizes were busy putting their strokes to the test. Coach El Lilburne, 26, from Adliya, is putting them through their paces. She said: "Right now they are in their second week of practice. They are a little rusty from the winter break but are slowly getting back into shape."
The seniors are training three times a week and the juniors two to prepare for the heats. Before the championship many of the star swimmers will be competing on May 9 against teams from neighbouring Saudi Arabia
Senior swimmer Oliver Nicolhudson, 17, from Saar, has been swimming for 12 years and is looking forward to the contest. He said: "I don't know what kind of competition I will be facing here. I am hoping to do well as I have been training very hard."
Felix Hall, eight, who also lives in Saar, hopes to make a splash in the freestyle event. He said: "I feel that the practices are making me a better swimmer - I swim a lot faster now!"
Swimmers must first compete in a series of heats on June 9 and 11 before they can make it further in the contest. The six fastest swimmers will compete in the finals on June 21.
El believes that the competition is a great way for children to build up their character and it gives them something to work for. She added: "It's good for the kids to have something to drive them. They aren't just getting fit; they are also developing a set of goals to achieve along the way."
Anyone wishing to compete in the competition should contact the school and complete an application form by May 22. It costs BD1 per event and individuals are limited to four categories. For further details contact El on 17598615.
