The mighty Ducks streamed into Dubbo from all corners of the region to find themselves, would you believe, lined up to contest the highly coveted Champion of Champions Trophy this past Sunday, July 19, in the tropical oasis of the Dubbo RSL heated indoor pool. Imagine that!

The competitors contested a two-event card.

The first event was a 50m freestyle, just the right length first up on a Sunday morning to make sure everyone was well and truly warmed up! There were five well fought out heats culminating in a final which saw Jack Allen take fifth, Marg Ross fourth, Neil Harris third, Katharine O'Rourke second, and Tom Gray take first place. Well done, Tom!

The swimmers then lined up and gave their all in sudden demise heats of two against the handicapper to whittle down the field in the battle for who would become this year’s Champion of Champions.

Katharine O'Rourke and Warren Williams powered through to be the last two standing and then contested the final under the strictest supervision of the Time Lords. The result, a mystery wrapped in an enigma, held in the Vault until the Dubbo Ducks Night of Nights held in May next year.

Lucky numbers went to Louise Taylor and Katharine O'Rourke. Many thanks and welcome back to David Sparkes, who, with Rob Rich, coordinated the Champion of Champions event. A big job! Thanks to Brian Schloeffel for taking point on the judges bench, and Ken for his one-legged timekeeping.

Wonderful to see life member Peter Davis again, who dropped in on his way home to the coast. Congrats are also in order for Peter Hargreaves, who clocked his 200th swim on the day.

All Ducks are put on notice: the highly esteemed Austinmeer Otters are due to arrive on Bank Holiday weekend (first weekend in August) to contest the Bush to Beach trophy. It will be a lot of fun and there will be without any doubt fierce competition but underneath rivalry friendships will be rekindled and new ones commenced.

Sportspower Dubbo do a lot for us and we are fortunate to have them as our sponsors for the August Trophy Race.

Macquarie Sports and Bowling Club help the Dubbo Ducks support Legacy. They are tops. They are reaching out with support to youngsters swimming in the region to provide assistance in getting to Melbourne and back for the Age National Championships in November. They have stepped in to provide support to Matilda Barling, one of our own, heading in that direction later in the year. If you have a youngster selected to compete in the Age Championships, the club wants to help!

The Ducks swim each week and everyone is very welcome. Contact details are listed in the Dubbo Photo News Community Diary under SUNDAY

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