HK-Saipan meet draws 56 swimmers

Fifty-six swimmers will be plunging into the pool tomorrow when Tsunami Saipan Swimming Center hosts the 2011 Hong Kong-Saipan Goodwill Meet at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

The visiting Hong Kong Sword Fish Swim Club will field 16 swimmers for the one-day competition. The list includes Ho Man, Billy, and Gary Chan, Ka Fat Yim, Yiu Lam Szeto, Wai Long Cheng, Dickson Hung, Yuen Wong Chun, Yin Ho Chung, Yin Chiu, Sin Ying and Cheuk Ying So, Wing Tung Yip, and Noi Lam, Wai Ning, and Yee Ching Wong.

Host Tsunami Saipan has the most entries with 28. Competing for coach Hiro Kimura’s squad are Shigeki Tenorio, Kensuke Kimura, Patrick Reyes, Kaisei, Kosei, and Ryosei Toda, Sugie Takumi, David Yang, Min Seok and Heung Joo Yoo, Kaito, Ryuto, and Hiroto Yanai, Yuuki Nishida, Mark Maestro, Lukas Kang, Toa Pangelinan, Juhn Tenorio, Towa and Karen Irinaka, Angel Tan, Angel De Jesus, Julie Conner, Quina Flores, Miku Tammy, Cindy Yang, Jenisha Dubrall, and Riyana Camacho.

Completing the three-club meet is the Saipan Swim Club, which have 12 swimmers for the weekend event. Kento Akimaru leads the list, which also includes Michael and Michail Villagomez, Ichiro and Taka Borja, Noaki Kasai, Lennosuke and Jinnosuke Suzuki, Jebez Sebastian, Louis Henly and Taiyo Akimaru.

Tomorrow’s meet will be a 20-meter short course event with swimmers racing sideways in the 50-meter Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

“20m is very short for Tsunami swimmers. However, it becomes a good training for them because the accuracy of a detailed technique is needed. Every race will be close so a small mistake leads to defeat. Swimmers from Hong Kong like this short course meet,” Hiro Kimura said.

The meet will start at 9am with swimmers allowed to warm up, beginning at 8am. The morning session of the tournament is for heats in the 20m breaststroke, 20m backstroke, 20m butterfly, and 200m freestyle, 20mX4 free style relay, and 40mX4 medley relay races. There will also be preliminary races in the 40m freestyle, 40m breaststroke, 45m backstroke, 40m butterfly, and 80m individual medley.

The 20m races are co-ed, while a separate competition for male and female swimmers will be held in the 40m swims. Then in the afternoon session, the Top 5 finishers in the qualifying races for the 40m swims will compete in A Finals, while the sixth to 10th placers will join the B Finals. Separate 40m challenge swims will also take place in the afternoon for participants who will miss the Top 10.

For the relays, each club is allowed to field a mixed team in the 20mX4 freestyle relay, while the 40mX40m medley relay for male swimmers has two divisions, A and B and only one for the female category.

Tsunami Saipan will award trophies to the three outstanding swimmers in the competition, while medals and ribbons will be given to the Top finishers in and A and B Finals, respectively.

Meanwhile, the host would like to thank the following for supporting the goodwill meet: Kan Pacific Co. Ltd., Century Tours, American Red Cross, DFS, PIC, Aqua Resort Club, Tasi Tours, AZUMA, MOC, and Saipan Advertising.