The Jugiong Swimming Club won the 2017 Shine Shield at home on Saturday January 21, finishing atop the rankings with 1629 points and edging out Harden on 1589. Meanwhile, Yass and Binalong – the top two finishers from 2016 – finished third and fourth on 1541 and 1400 points, respectively.
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Jugiong led for most of the tournament and clean sweeped the awards, winning the march past trophy and the Terry Sheahan Trophy for the relay events.
In front of about 250 people, the 2017 Jugiong round was the first in which young swimmers sported their #playlikelui caps in memory of Lui Polimeni, a favourite son of Jugiong.
Lui had represented the Jugiong Swimming Club and was a keen athlete across many fields—his main passion being rugby league and playing for his beloved Gundagai Tigers.
The #playlikelui together with #livelikelui hashtags have been adopted by his extensive network of family and friends to keep his memory alive and pay tribute to his sportsmanship and fun-loving nature.
Yass surged towards the end to finish third after running fourth in rounds 1–3. Yass Swimming Club President and organiser Michael Wilkinson said the 2017 competition saw strong attendance and new swimming records.
“The [Binalong] carnival was well attended with well over 250 people through the gates and 110 getting in to swim for their towns. A number of records were also broken,” Mr Wilkinson said.
It’s great for kids to meet other kids from around the area.
- Michael Wilkinson
In round one, Harden made a great start for a slight lead. Wilkinson, at the time, said the winner may not be determined until the final round, which turned out to be true.
Wilkinson said the social atmosphere, however, is the important aspect.
“Being social, that’s the main aim. It’s a huge community carnival. So that’s kind of the reason why it’s started and it’s great to see it continuing. It’s great for kids to meet other kids from around the area,” he said.
