The Ardee School, Goa, crowned Overall Champions at the 4th Inter-School (Interstate) Swimming Championship

Goa: Swimming is more than just a sport; it is a vital life skill. Given the rising drowning incidents reported across Goa and India, The Ardee School- Sangolda, Goa committed to making water safety accessible to everyone. Through a structured and fun programme, the school embeds swimming right into its curriculum and keeps its campus pool open to the public during mornings, evenings and weekends.

It was in this spirit that The Ardee School, Goa, hosted the 4th Inter-School (Interstate) Swimming Championship on 31st October and 1st November 2026. The Ardee School emerged Overall Champions with 162 points, followed by Manovikas English Medium School with 110 points.

The championship drew 251 swimmers from 94 teams: 61 from Goa and 33 from outside the state, including Karnataka (30), Maharashtra (2) and Rajasthan (1), with more than 50 swimmers travelling from outside Goa to compete. 43 Budding Superstars, born in 2020 and after, took their first steps in competitive swimming, while the Parents and Open categories saw unbelievable enthusiasm and fierce competition from adult swimmers.

Swimmers competed across nine categories: Group 1A (17–18 years), Group 1B (15–16), Group 2 (13–14), Group 3 (11–12), Group 4 (9–10), Group 5 (7–8), Budding Superstars (6 and under), Parents and Seniors / Open. The programme featured 92 individual finals over 25 m, 50 m and 100 m in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley, with kickboard races for the youngest swimmers, along with 4 × 50 m freestyle, mixed freestyle and medley relays. Every race was timed using an electronic touchpad system for accuracy. The Ardee School is the only school to bring in touchpad timing, and one of the only schools in Goa to host an interstate inter-school championship on this scale.
Ardee swimmers won 34 medals: 14 gold, 14 silver and 6 bronze, including 11 relay medals. Year 9 student Weda Ganesh was crowned Group 1 Individual Champion (Girls) with four golds and a silver. Raaya B Nappoly won three golds and two silvers, Soraya Noor Gujral three silvers and a bronze, and Ruslan Alam two silvers and two bronzes. Shefali Varma, [designation], The ArdeeSingh (Belagavi) won six golds in the Boys 17–18 category, while Advait Prasanna Joshi (KLS Primary English Medium School), Lipika Dev G J (Soundarya Aquatic Center) and Yohann Homem (Shardha Mandir) won five golds each.

Speaking on the achievement, Shefali Varma, Chairperson, The Ardee Schools said, “Winning the Overall Swimming Championship is certainly a proud moment for The Ardee School, Goa, but the significance of this event goes far beyond the trophy. What makes us truly happy is seeing young swimmers discover their potential, develop discipline and confidence, and experience the spirit of healthy competition. At The Ardee School, we believe swimming should not be viewed merely as an extracurricular activity, but as an essential life skill that every child deserves the opportunity to learn. The growing participation from schools across different states, along with the enthusiastic involvement of parents and young beginners, reflects the need for a stronger swimming culture in our country.

We are grateful to the participating schools, coaches and parents for making this championship such a meaningful success. We hope this platform continues to grow, bringing more schools and young talent together while making water safety and swimming education an integral part of every child’s journey, further she added.”

Mr. Syed Abdul Majid, Vice President of the Goa Swimming Association, said, “This is my third year at this championship, and I have watched the numbers grow every year: around 160 swimmers in the first year, close to 200 in the second, and over 250 this year, with swimmers coming from different states, including Rajasthan, Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Around 50 swimmers came from Bengaluru alone. This is amazing to see happen in Goa. We should be grateful to The Ardee School, which is doing an excellent job with its facilities across different sports, and to Fit For Life for putting on a really lovely show. They also took the initiative to hold a competition for the parents of swimmers, which was amazing. If swimming is to grow, more such competitions have to come, and schools need to offer swimming to every child, because it is a life-saving skill. I hope this championship continues and goes a long way.”

Weda Ganesh (student) said, “I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the championship this year. I am very thankful to my parents, friends and coaches, who helped and encouraged me to become the swimmer I am today. Winning the individual championship in my category has motivated me to keep training and improve my timings. The event was very well organised, and I am very proud of improving my personal best.”

Ruslan Alam (student) said, “I am proud to bring the inter-school swimming trophy home after four years. I am grateful to my school for introducing me to swimming as a sport, not just a fun activity. I am now getting ready to represent The Ardee School, Goa, at the state level in the SGFI swimming competition.”
Timothy Cauberghs said, “Every second matters in swimming. The competition was intense, pushing me to my limits and testing my speed, focus and determination. The event was very well organised, with every race flowing smoothly.”

Soraya Noor Gujral (student) added, “It was a very long, tiring event, but at the end, it showed me that a little bit of patience and hard work really pays off.”

The Ardee School thanked all the swimmers, parents and coaches for making the event a huge success.