Breaking waves and records : Victor of the pool of medals

By Chempaka Ariessa and Ommar Heykal

Sports rivalry in high school is not just about the competition on the field or pool, but the fire it ignites in the hearts of students, the unity it fosters within a school, and the memories it creates that last a lifetime.

It is no secret that the competitive spirit among all the houses of Kolej Yayasan Saad is like none-other. Coming from powerful cheers by energetic students, aesthetically designed sarongs to gleeful mascots; and recently, it was shown in the highly anticipated annual Swimming Championships.

The Kolej Yayasan Saad’s Annual Inter-House Swimming Championship is an annual swimming tournament in which students participate in to test their swimming prowess. This competition is carried out through a series of days with many different events for each category, ranging from individual events to relay events. Each house spends countless evenings training their athletes to be able to secure the champion’s spot.

On the 8th of January, the 3-day long pre championships began, including countless events such as individual events and relay events. Then, on the 11th of January, the dual challenge was held. Each house was required to field a total of 90 people across all three categories; competing in a 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke race within a set of time given to earn points for their houses.

With butterflies in their stomachs, everybody was on edge during those four days. Nonetheless, the unwavering support for the swimmers never stopped even during the pouring rain on the first two days.

Each and every swimmer showed tremendous effort and persistence throughout the three days, enduring the taste of chlorine water, and making every sweat, tears and cramp worth it.

Then, finally came the big day. The atmosphere was full of excitement, waiting to unveil the house that would be crowned ‘The House of Swimmers’. The support was overwhelming, from teachers to students and even parents.

The event started off with a marching show led by the school swimming team captain Hassan Hanis and was followed by the representatives from the three houses. The 24th Annual Inter-House Swimming Championships 2024 was then officiated by the VIP with a ceremonial air horn blow.  The competition was fierce, with crowds cheering and parents offering moral support from the sidelines. The atmosphere was electric, becoming even more exhilarating with each event.

Shortly after, the award ceremony began. Ultimately, Rahman house emerged victorious for the Annual Swimming Championships session 2024, breaking a total of ten records and scoring the highest number of points.

Following this, Mohamed Aryan bin Mohamed Azam of Rahman house won the boys’ category as best swimmer two years running with an incredible performance. Whereas, Razak House’s Nalisya Naqina Noor binti Marikh Azahari also showed extraordinary performance, winning the title of best swimmer in the girls’ category for 2 years running.

 It is hoped that the house spirit in Kolej never dies, and that more students will be motivated to take up swimming as a sport for its many advantages.

Now, the question remains: Which house will be crowned ‘The House of Swimmers’ for session 24-25?