Windsor hosts OFSAA swimming championship for the second time

By Sonia Koshy

Almost 2,000 high school students flocked to the Windsor International and Aquatic Training Centre for the annual OFSAA swimming championship.

The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations organizes various sporting championships in Ontario.

This year, the swim meet was hosted by École E. J. Lajeunesse.

The 200m open girl’s heats marked the start of the two-day meet that began on Tuesday morning.

According to convener Danielle Parent, more than 324 teams from across 18 regions of Ontario gathered to display their swimming talent.

“This is the highest volume swim meet in Canada,” said Parent. “It’s very busy but it’s worth it. It’s fun to see everybody enjoying themselves and coming out to Windsor and enjoying the city,”

She also said it gets extremely hectic during the first day because the most popular events are on the first day. Despite how hectic the first day can be, volunteer Celeste Vigneus said the event is well coordinated.

“We’ve actually been very organized this year because this is our second-year hosting,” said Vigneus, who is volunteering for the second time.  “We have more information to give to the athletes and it’s a lot more relaxed.”

Woojae Kim who is a swimmer, is still working on his jitters.

“I feel very excited and honoured to be here because it’s a privilege to race against so many other fast swimmers,” said Kim.

The 2017 swimming championship wrapped up on Wednesday.

In the overall team standings, George District High School from Georgetown bagged the first position, followed by Windsor’s Riverside Secondary School.