Thousands to hit Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre for Swimming WA's 2018 Country Pennants meet

One of the largest events on the organisation’s calendar, the 59^th running of the carnival will see approximately 750 junior and senior swimmers swarm to the city along with almost 2000 expected spectators.

It will be the first time in the Pennants’ history that the event has been held in Mandurah, thanks largely to the MARC’s new state-of-the-art upgrades.

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Swimmers will take to the pool for two full days of competition, succeeding a march and opening ceremony to welcome the 30 clubs attending the meet.

Competitors will range from Hedland in the north to as far south as Albany, Esperance and Kalgoorlie.

Swims will be broken down into five grades, with clubs either relegated or promoted depending on their finals placings.

The Mandurah Swimming Club and Peel Aquatic Club have been hard at work after pooling together to host the event, with more than two years of planning set to culminate in the water this weekend.

Respective club presidents Graham Shackles and Darren Michael said they were thrilled to bring the Country Pennants meet to Mandurah.

“It’s fantastic to have the meet in Mandurah for the first time – it’s going to draw so many people to the city and it’s also going to promote these brand new facilities at MARC,” Shackles said.

“It’s exciting for us two local clubs, and especially our swimmers, to be able to have an event this large in their home pool.”

Michael commended both clubs for the work they had put in to making the event possible over the past two years.

“I think getting both clubs working together has been key for it all,” he said.

“Graham and I have been on the phone just about every day sorting out the finer parts and it’s been a huge help having the two clubs joining forces.”

The Country Pennants will kick off at the MARC with the opening ceremony early on Saturday morning before competition gets underway.

The weekend will be a swimming extravaganza for Mandurah, with Swimming WA also holding the penultimate round of its Open Water Swim series at Town Beach on Monday.

For more information on either event, call Swimming WA on 9328 4599.