Although it was House Saxons who ended the day as victorious, the real congratulations should go to each and every NAIS Manila pupil who entered the water and gave it their very best.
When I sat down with the PE department to start planning the Swim Gala at the start of the term, I laid out my main goal for the event as being 'to get every single child who attends NAIS Manila into the pool and swimming'.
I was delighted to see the above come true, but only as a direct result of the extremely hard working NAIS Manila staff members and the 'Be Ambitious' attitude of the pupils.
The event began with the EYFS 'Stroke Development and Confidence Display'. This enabled children from FS1 and FS2 the opportunity to show off what they have been learning in swimming throughout the year.
The event gave parents an opportunity to see how their child had progressed since they first got into the NAIS Manila pool back in August of last year. Many of which at the time were petrified of the water, so to see so many happy faces swimming around pool was great to see.
Once the EYFS pupils had taken a bow and waved goodbye, it was the turn of the Y1-10 pupils to enter the pool and take part in three hours of fun, friendly but competitive swimming races.
The Gala consisted of a variety of races that enabled swimmers of all abilities to take part. The Gala began with mixed 50m Butterfly races. With the majority of competitors regularly attending 4 hours of weekly Swim Team training per week, as expected, this was a highly competitive event that demonstrated what hard work can achieve with four excellent races, participated in by strong swimmers battling it out for the first set of gold medals.
The Swim Gala soon changed it's focus as events such as the freestyle kick-board, arm & legs races, lillo / boat races and noodle relay took centre stage and allowed pupils of all swimming abilities to enter the water and compete for their house.
It was the Lillo / Boat race where one of the iconic moments from the whole day took place, with Sophia (Year 1) and her two Roman teammates out in front at the halfway point, Sophia decided it was time to indulge in a bit of surfing as a way to enjoy the final 15m of the race in style.
Despite the roaring Manila heat, every pupil cheered on their team-mates home in every race as each of the respective houses competed for the Swimming House Trophy.
As the event drew to a close and as is the case with all closing swim events, it was left to the seniors (Y8-10) to fight it out in the 4 x 25m freestyle.
Despite the Saxons dominating the Swim Gala to that point, Team Romans, Vikings and Normans refused to lay down and let the Saxons finish on a high, and with 25m to go the gold medal was up for grabs and within reach of all four teams, but it was the Romans who finished the strongest and took victory in the final race of the day.
Congratulations again to the Saxons who ended the day as clear winners.
Well done to all involved and see you again next year.
Mr. Sherratt
Head of Secondary
Head of P.E.
