Welcome Bunna-barra Masters!
Once upon a time, a small group of swimmers in the far north of the country looked with envy upon other swimmers wearing matching T-shirts, caps and togs bearing the logo of their club. Feeling forlorn and deprived, these swimmers began to chant …”We want merch! We want merch!” The chant went on for so long, that eventually a new club was born and the merch flowed! This is the story of the Bunna-barra Masters Swimming Club.
The club is the latest addition to the clubs in the Cairns region, with the swimmers based at the Marlin Coast swimming pool in Smithfield (one of the northern suburbs of Cairns). The name of the club was given to the swimmers by elders of the Yirrganydji (Irukandji), the traditional owner group of the land where the pool sits, and has the very relevant meaning of “belonging to the water”. This club joins two very strong clubs in the Cairns area, the Mudcrabs and the CLAMS, who have been great supporters of masters swimming in Cairns and have been a great help in the formation of this new venture.
It all started with a group of adult squad swimmers who thrashed out laps every week and who have formed great friendships, friendly rivalries and who can’t wait to make a splash in eye-catching kit once it is available.
The Bunna-barras have already been involved in the Starlight Foundation Super Swim in 2021 – where 7 members clocked up a total of 205.35km swum in 30 days and raised $4384 in donations for this great cause.
Swimming in the Great Barrier Reef Masters Games was the first official meet for the Bunna-barras Masters. We came away with some bling, and had a lot of laughs and made new swimming connections, which is what it’s all about. Alas the merch was not ready in time for the games….but keep an eye out at future events.
Welcome to MSQ Bunna-barra Masters!
