In an extraordinary display of colour and movement, the mighty Dubbo Ducks on Sunday broke through the daylight savings time hoodoo to arrive poolside and ready to race in the warm and refreshing waters of the Dubbo RSL indoor pool at 9am sharp where the swimmers were presented with a four-event card.

First up was a 50-metre breaststroke against handicap that saw swimmers counted down off the blocks. Five well-contested heats were followed by a final in which “grand-master” Brian Schloeffel zoomed straight through his mark to hand Katharine O'Rourke a well-earned first, with Warren Williams taking second, Nicole Johnstone third, and Ron Everett fourth.

A 2x25-metre freestyle brace relay was next with pairings drawn from a hat in which Brian Schloeffel and Louise Poulain were the hot favourites. However, “as the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, so it was with Ron Everett and Katharine O'Rourke taking the top-spot followed closely by Marg Ross/Neil Harris in second, Mark Scullard/Judy Walsh in third, Nicole Johnstone/Warren Williams in fourth.

The third event was a 50-metre freestyle against handicap that was also counted down off the blocks, with Louise Poulain taking fifth, Judy Walsh fourth, Tom Gray third, Tim Gratton second, and Katharine O'Rourke in excellent form taking the win and collecting her first hat-trick!

A 25-metre backstroke “At Go” closest to handicap was the final event with Judy Walsh (0.15 seconds), Tom Gray (0.65 seconds), Nicole Johnstone (1.02 seconds), Katharine O'Rourke (1.03 seconds), and Ron Everett (1.21 seconds).

Thanks to Peter Hargreaves for slaving away at the desk with lucky numbers also going to Warren Williams and Margaret Ross.

Next Sunday, swimmers will line up to contest the highly-regarded DMC Meat and Seafood trophy, after which we will have our monthly club meeting followed by a well portioned lunch in the Dubbo RSL Bistro.

The Ducks invite swimmers of all ages and abilities to join us on Sundays. Our contact details can be found under Sunday in the Dubbo Photo News Community Diary.

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