Making waves at Challenge Swimming Carnival

The annual Challenge Community Services Swimming Carnival was another success.

People travelled from Dubbo to Tenterfield and everywhere in between to Gunnedah Memorial Swimming Pool last Thursday.

A total of 145 athletes with disabilities competed in a variety of different swim events.

People walked away with not only a bunch of medals but also a lot of laughter and memories.

Gunnedah Workshop Enterprises (GWE) Sam Sims said the carnival gave people the opportunity to get out and interact with other services they might not usually cross paths with.

“It is also a great opportunity because it is in our own backyard,” he said.

He thanked Challenge Community Services for hosting the event.

“Challenge puts in a lot of effort for a great day for us, so big thank you to them and the people that are sponsoring it,” he said.

For some, a competitive spirit was backing them, including contestants from GWE, who were excited to compete against siblings or coworkers.

For others the joy was for the spirit of the day.

Shayne Williams went into the day fully prepared to have fun in a sport she enjoys a lot.

“I love swimming … everyone says I can be a fish,” she said.

“I just want to be a good sport to have fun.”

For her it is not only an opportunity to meet new people but also to see some familiar faces.

She started the day with a message for fellow swimmers and future participants; “have fun, do your best, and meet new people”.

Tamworth certainly brought their competitive side with Alex Wilkes – who entered the 2025 carnival undefeated in the senior girls event since first coming to the carnival in 2017.

The Connexions team in Tamworth was yet to have lost their trophy.

She would like to see further competitions but admitted she was “only built for speed one time a year”.

Also with Connexions was Adam Mears, who believed a regional or state competition would be beneficial.

“Our guys are very competitive and I think they could go a long way if they were given the opportunity,” he said.

Challenge Community Services CEO Stephen Doley said the service was willing to look at further events if the support was there.

Especially with the swimming carnival at capacity, he said they would be happy to look at more options for events in the future.

“We are about experience and giving people a bit of fun and access to things,” he said.

“Inclusion and sport go hand in hand.

“We cater for a lot of different needs throughout [the swim carnival] and a lot of different events are geared

toward people’s specific needs.”

He thanked the local community which has been a “fantastic” support for Challenge Community Services during the 21 years the carnival has been hosted for.

Ethan Leader prepares for his race.