National Swimming Competition held on Tees
More than 100 swimmers took to the River Tees to take part in the 2009 Two Bridges Open Water Swim.
The national swimming competition organised by the Amateur Swimming Association and Tees Active, began at Castlegate Quay Watersports Centre, Stockton and took in local sights such as Victoria Bridge and the Stockton Millennium footbridge.
The event, now in its third year featured a 1,000m event for beginners, while accredited members of the Amateur Swimming Association competed in a 3,000-metre event. Held on Saturday 8th August, the weather was kind to the swimmers, with the sun shining for most of the morning.
Simon White, Manager of Castlegate Quay Watersports Centre, said: “ Both events went 
really well, everyone had a great day. The weather turned out nice and as a result we had a large crowd to encourage and cheer the swimmers on. We are hoping to build the Open Water Swim up next year and turn it into an international event attracting international swimmers.”
Local swimmer Catriona Bruce, a member of the Borough of Stockton Swimming Scheme and the Tees Active Sports Academy put in a tremendous swim taking a bronze medal.
Catriona said “The race was quite an experience and one of the main differences between swimming in the Tees and a swimming pool apart from the cold is that you can see nothing when your head is in the water, so keeping on the right course is quite a task. I have really enjoyed the experience and am glad I have improved my ranking from last year.
Safety was of great paramount at this event with all the swimmers having to take part in a safety briefing as well as 
being under the watchful eye of the Castlegate Quay instructors in their powerboats.
Sam Greetham, from the Amateur Swimming Association and Open Water Secretary for Europe, said: “This event attracted a lot of interest. The Tees is a great location for events like this and the organizers place a lot of emphasis on safety. It’s healthy and also gets people outside.”
For further information on swimming contact Swimming development Manager Carol Grainger on (01642) 528540 or visit teesactivelimited.co.uk