Last week saw Galway Swimming Club hosting the Blue Water Swimming Club, all the way from Brandon, Florida, for part of their week-long cultural and sporting visit to Ireland.

The visitors, 31 swimmers and 29 parents, plus coaches, have spent four days in Dublin and were hosted by families of Galway Swimming Club members for three days in Galway, including a welcome event held at the Warwick Hotel last Friday.

The club's head coach Peter Banks is an Irishman who coached with Trojan Swimming Club in Dublin and moved to Florida 19 years ago. Banks has earned a reputation as one of the top swimming coaches in the world, having coached Brooke Bennett to gold in the 1996 Olympics and double gold in the 2000 Olympics among numerous other coaching achievements.

The visitors swam at Leisureland last Wednesday and Thursday and also spent some time visiting the Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher.

Galway Swimming Club's swimmers hold many Connacht and have held national titles. Under the guidance of head coach Pearse McGuigan, the club has just won (on Sunday 6 April) the Leisureland Cup for the seventh year in a row, beating off a strong challenge from other Connacht clubs.

Current Chairman is Des Moore and the current Secretary is Dr. Geraldine Comer.

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