It was all hands on deck on Saturday as the Cooktown Amateur Swimming Club dug deep with the buckets and sponges to help Maiika Hegamaea get to the 2025 School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in Ballarat next month. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
It was an all-hands-on-deck community effort to help a Cooktown swimmer shine on the national stage on 13 September.
The Cooktown Amateur Swimming Club (CASA) held a car wash and sausage sizzle at Cooktown Hardware to help fundraise to get 10-year-old Maiika Hegamaea to Ballarat for the 2025 School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in October, with her teammates and the community turning out in force to show support.
CASA members traded swimming for soapy vehicles for the morning, and club president Melissa Gunton praised their commitment to their teammate.
“These kids here today, they just do it for their teammates,” she said.
“We’ve had a lot of support, especially the RSL’s been a big support, the council, Lions Club, and the schools have chipped in as well.”
Ms Gunton said getting Hegamaea to the national titles would be an incredible achievement for the small Cape York club.
“Swimming from a 25-metre, six-lane pool down to a 10-lane, 50m pool is a big thing when you’re competing,” she said.
“These kids are only training two to three days a week, where other kids are swimming from seven to 10 times, on average, so it’s amazing to get to states and nationals.”
