National swimming C’ships return amid long-standing timing system problem

The Max Group 35th National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Championships get under way in Dhaka today (Wednesday), with more than 800 swimmers, officials and meet personnel expected at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur.
 
The four-day meet will run until 31 October.

A total of 49 events will be contested, including 42 swimming events, six diving events and water polo. The swimming programme has been expanded in line with World Aquatics changes, featuring the men's 800m freestyle, women's 1,500m freestyle, 4x100m mixed freestyle relay and 4x100m mixed medley relay. There will also be an exhibition race for swimmers with intellectual and physical disabilities.

The championships, however, return with an old problem still casting a shadow over the pool deck: the electronic scoreboard and automatic timing system remain out of action.

Federation general secretary Syed Aminul Haque Dewan Sojol said the scoreboard, installed several years ago, was currently unusable and that the relevant sports authorities had been informed. Local reports have previously highlighted that the system, installed in 2019 at a reported cost of around Tk 5 crore, has remained dysfunctional for years, forcing domestic competitions to rely on hand timing.

The issue is more than a cosmetic blemish. Under World Aquatics regulations, automatic officiating equipment normally determines finishing positions and times, while manual timing is used when the automatic system fails. Electronic displays are also expected to show times to 1/100th of a second.

That makes the Mirpur facility's malfunctioning system a significant concern for a venue billed as an international-standard complex, particularly as Bangladesh seeks to raise the bar ahead of future international competition.

The federation has announced a Tk 5,000 reward for every swimmer who sets a new national record.

Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque will inaugurate the championships at 3pm on the day while Navy Chief Admiral Khondkar Misbah-ul-Azim, also federation president, is scheduled to attend as special guest.