Background
Swimming is unique in that it is more than just a great sport; it is a vital life skill that every person in New Zealand should learn.
The development of a 25 metre heated pool and 5m learn to swim pool at Hamilton Boys' High School has enabled a greater number of the community's young people to have access to a swimming pool all year around. This means increased opportunities for learn to swim programmes, water survival lessons, the development of swim skills, and competitive swim training. The "two" pools is now available for use for local primary schools during school hours for the delivery of curriculum based swimming and outside of school hours by a swim club delivering learn to swim and competitive swimmer training.
As a sport, swimming in the Waikato is rapidly gaining strength with an increasing number of swimmers from the region competing and succeeding at regional, national and international events. Waikato swimmers were in the New Zealand teams at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, and the region is again represented in the team for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July and August 2014.
Hamilton Boys' High School currently has a stable of these top regional swimmers competing at the national level. At the recent 2014 National Age Group Championships in Wellington seven HBHS students swum for their various Waikato club squads – Carter Edgecombe, Joshua Ion, Nathan Edwards, Leyton Bradford, Lochlainn McGall, James Litchfield, and Michael Woods.
The upgraded pool facility at HBHS provides the opportunity for children to learn to swim, to make them safe in the water, and help develop the swim champions of tomorrow.
