Formidables Swim Club retain Masters Championship

Formidables Swim Club successfully defended its title at the second edition of the Formidables Masters Gala, emerging as overall champions in a competition that highlighted the continued growth of masters swimming in Uganda.

Held on May 2, 2026, at Waves swimming facility, the event attracted more than 300 swimmers from 14 clubs, drawing one of the largest turnouts seen in Uganda’s masters swimming calendar. The gala brought together athletes from different age groups, ranging from swimmers in their twenties to competitors aged 60 and above.

The competition saw participants from clubs including Ambrosoli Sailfish Masters, Malta Swim Club, Dolphins Masters, Otters Swim Club – Uganda, Gators Swim Club – Kampala, Makerere University Swim Team, Nile Sharks Jinja, Silverfin Academy and Team Tanzania, among others.

At the end of the competition, Formidables topped the combined team standings with 3,202 points, finishing well ahead of Ambrosoli Sailfish Masters, who placed second with 1,718 points, while Malta Swim Club finished third with 1,119 points.

Formidables’ victory was largely built on a dominant performance in the men’s category, where they accumulated 2,416 points, comfortably ahead of Ambrosoli Sailfish Masters, who managed 882 points.

In the women’s category, however, Ambrosoli Sailfish Masters emerged winners with 836 points, narrowly beating Formidables, who scored 786 points, while Malta Swim Club followed closely with 782 points.

The gala featured multiple races across various age categories and produced several notable individual performances.

In the women’s 25–29 category, Resty Kiwuka of Otters Swim Club Uganda won the 25-metre breaststroke event after clocking 20.69 seconds.

Edward Ssenkayi of Dolphins Masters won the men’s 25–29 breaststroke race in 17.28 seconds.

In the men’s 40–44 category, Kateba Alex of Formidables Swim Club secured victory in the breaststroke event with a time of 17.32 seconds.

Veteran swimmer Peter Ssebanakitta of Formidables Swim Club also impressed in the 60-and-above category, posting a strong 19.42-second finish in the breaststroke event.

Other standout swimmers included Trinity Priscilla Biywaga of Ambrosoli Sailfish Masters and Diane Bakuraira of Formidables Swim Club, who delivered strong performances in their respective races.

Speaking after the event, Donald Rukare, a member of Formidables Swim Club and president of both the Uganda Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Uganda, said the competition was designed to promote long-term participation in swimming.

He said the gala focuses on encouraging people to swim for health, maintain competitive opportunities for older athletes and create networking opportunities among participants.

Rukare noted that swimming remains one of the safest forms of exercise due to its low-impact nature and encouraged more people, particularly women, to take up the sport.

“We’re very happy that today we have had a very good event here at WAVES. We would like to thank all the teams that came through,” Rukare said.

He also acknowledged sponsors who supported the event, including WAVES proprietor, Pepsi and others.

Formidables Swim Club chairman Peter Ssebanakitta described the event as successful but acknowledged areas that need improvement ahead of future editions.

He said they intentionally reduced entertainment activities this year to focus more on competition.

According to Ssebanakitta, the event registered a larger turnout than expected and attracted a significant number of spectators, which is uncommon at local swimming competitions.

He said the large number of participants created scheduling challenges that forced organizers to cancel some races, including the 50-metre breaststroke and individual medley events, to avoid extending the event late into the evening.

Food arrangements also proved insufficient because vendors were overwhelmed by the turnout.

Despite those challenges, the event reinforced the growing popularity of masters swimming in Uganda and highlighted increasing participation across multiple clubs and age groups.

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