An exhilarating day at the pool as the school's top swimmers vie for contention at the upcoming Canterbury Secondary Schools Championships, writes Year 13 Ethan Hamilton.

Despite not being 'an absolute scorcher of a day', on Friday the 17th of February, a wide variety of speedos and budgie smugglers were displayed as boys of CBHS competed in the school's 2023 swimming sports. The boys raced against the clock and their friends, with the Year 13 boys from sports study as official event timers. There was intense competition throughout the age group, especially between a couple of the Year 13's. With Old Boy and New Zealand swimmer Zach Knowles no longer at CBHS, Eli Teokatai, Ben Bone, Ben Smith, and Lachy Anderson competed for the Senior Age Group Title.

U14 Champion: : 1st Monty Stracey, 2nd Kingston Laifa, 3rd Charlie Norgate, 4th Jonah Teokotai,

U15 Champion: 1st Lucas Stevens, 2nd Josh Parmenter, 3rd Austin Bull, 4th Hugo Parnham

U16 Champion: 1st Jackson Close, 2nd Louie Coburn, 3rd Lachie Caseley, 4th Will Allott

Senior Champion 1st Eli Teokotai, 2nd Lachie Anderson, 3rd Ben Bone, 4th Robbie Carrell

The red, green, blue, and yellow flags were brought out as it was time for the house relay. Every house team needed four Seniors and four junior swimmers to make up a team of mainly club swimmers and water polo boys. The crowd cheered on their fellow house from the first dive into the water until the final hand touched the wall. The atmosphere was charged.

After an intense, four-way battle, Deans house placed first, Sutton came second, Pōmare came third, and Hadlee placed last.

The last race of the day was the most eagerly anticipated. The Senior Staff versus Monitors Relay. Previously there have been as few as only two lanes required. However, this year, all 6 lanes of the pool were occupied. Staff, Senior Staff, Monitors, Waterpolo players, senior swimmer Ben Smith, and the sports study timers. The monitor team were determined to take back the trophy from the senior staff, who have been the reigning champions for over ten years.

The monitor's team consisted of Patrick Currie, Malakai Tahaafe, Matt Horn, Lachy Anderson, and Ben Bone.

The senior staff team consisted of Mr Hill, Mr Vernon, Mr Brouwer (filling in for Mr Fraser), and Mr Bone, who swam twice.

The five-length race was a tense, back-and-forth battle. Crowds cheered as each new swimmer dived into the water. Following their one-length sprint, each swimmer hoped their effort was enough to get their team closer to victory. In the final length of the race, it was a head-to-head sprint between Mr Bone and Ben Bone. With Mr Bone leading in the first half, the crowd held its breath, and it seemed the staff would protect their title. But all was not lost! In the last ten meters, Ben Bone used every last bit of energy to get half an arm's length ahead of his father and win back the title. The boys erupted with excitement as the senior staff humbly accepted their loss.

Whether boys were competing for the age group title, racing their friends, or wanting to push themselves outside their comfort zone, the day was a great turnout. It could not have been possible without the help of the timers, the staff who managed the racers and their times, and the other students who helped in the background to keep the swimming sports a fun, exciting day of racing.