Doha hosted the FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup recently and Qatar Academy’s swim team had a chance to check out some of the best swimmers in the world. Approximately 40 swimmers and coaches from QA attended the event at the Hamad Aquatics Centre in the Aspire Zone recently to watch preliminary heats and see first-hand how some of the world’s best swimmers perform under pressure.
The QA swim club has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, thanks to the dedication of Head Coach Jemma Lawrence, who offers swim practice four days a week throughout the academic year in the school’s 50 meter pool. Coach Lawrence made sure that after the FINA competition, students had the chance to meet some famous swimmers and get their autographs. “It was an inspiring and motivating trip for our students. I know they were excited to meet some of the swimmers after the event,” Lawrence comments recently. “When they meet swimmers of that caliber, it really inspires them to come to practice.”
Always on the lookout to tap new talents, Coach Lawrence created the Girls Swim Club to enable girls who cannot normally swim in a public pool the opportunity to participate in a comfortable setting, allotting a whole practice session for them each week. “We only have female swimmers, coaches and lifeguards in the pool area and we offer beginner lessons in a shallow pool for girls who have never learned to swim,” says coach Lawrence. “Just as with our regular swim team, the girls’ club has grown exponentially in the past two years. Our older, more experienced swimmers are always very welcoming of the new girls. We have a very relaxed setting so everyone feels comfortable.”
Coach Lawrence and the QA swim team will head to Cairo, Egypt on 7 November to take on some of the Middle East’s best high school swimmers at the ISAC League Competition. “This is one of our biggest competitions of the year and the students are excited to participate. “ She adds: “30 students attended time trials recently, hoping to get a spot on the team. For the first time, QA may be able to send a full squad of 24 swimmers to the Gulf Region competition.”The Peninsula
