Week Two of Dubbo Ducks' Age Championships was held on Sunday with 20 swimmers presenting to the waters of Dubbo RSL Indoor Pool to compete.

Events included the 50-metre open freestyle, 50-metre open breaststroke, and the 25-metre age category sprints in the same styles. These are trophy races and the results and times are held in secret by the “Time Lords” until the presentation night concluding the year.

The youngest swimmer on the day was seven and the oldest over 80, and this highlights the brilliance and wonder of Dubbo Ducks as a social sports club. That is, we welcome swimmers of ALL ages and abilities.

A typical Sunday meet involves four events, often with heats, followed by finals and mostly under a handicap starting system resulting in competition where speed does not guarantee the win and slow-and-steady can win the race. The goals are improvement in form and consistency.

The local and regional swimming carnivals draw the summer season to a close and it’s Dubbo Ducks who carry the torch through the cold, utilising the heated indoor pool to help swimmers throughout the region maintain their fitness, stroke-rate, and confidence whilst providing decent social interaction on Sunday mornings.

On the day, one handicap event followed the championships, a 50-metre individual medley consisting of backstroke and freestyle. Margaret Ross continued her breaking ways – surely must be a contender for ‘most break” this year – handing Peter Allen the win, Katharine O'Rourke second, Matilda Barling third, and Judy Walsh fourth. Lucky number winners were Peter Allen and David Sparkes.

The call has also gone out and final numbers need to be formalised for the annual trip to Harbord Diggers. This is a long-standing social event on the Ducks’ calendar with lifelong friendships being forged in and out of the pool. This year, the Ducks will travel to Sydney in late October and you need to let Henry know your intentions now for accommodation to be finalised.

Dubbo Ducks 2025/2026 presentation night will be held at the Dubbo RSL Club on Saturday, May 30, with winners of trophy races throughout the year to be unveiled, with surprises aplenty. A full list of winners will be published in Dubbo Photo News, so stay tuned.

New members are always welcome, contact Henry whose details can be found under “Sunday” in the Community Diary section of this paper.

That's this week’s tidings from the Duckpond.