Annually, primary school aged swimmers are given the opportunity to compete at the SAPSASA Country and Metro State Finals, which are hosted at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre (SAALC) in Marion. Swimmers from the Lower Eyre Peninsula (LEP) undergo a selection process following the LEP Primary Schools Interschool Swimming Championships in November each year. Opportunities to record a personal best time at Point Score events hosted at the Port Lincoln Pool by the West Coast Swimming Club are also provided. This year 27 swimmers from 5 different LEP schools were invited onto the team. Cummins Area School, Port Lincoln Primary School (PLPS), St Josephs School, Tumby Bay Area School and Navigator College all had representative swimmers, who together with parents, caregivers and supporters made their way to Adelaide for the event. This is the second year running that the team recorded the highest overall point score to be awarded the SAPSASA Pennant for the Country Champion District. LEP recorded a final point score of 211 points, winning by the narrowest of margins from the Lower South East team (204 points). Accepting the pennant from SAPSASA representatives were team captains Tasmin Durdin (St Josephs School) and Max Rogalski (PLPS). 2016 SAPSASA Lower Eyre Peninsula Swim Team: Front Row (left to right) - Sebastian Henderson, Alanah Bascombe, Zara Scott, Ryder Rogalski, Amali White, Isaac Evans, Evie Durdin, Aaron Kerr. Middle Row - Rachel Jolly (team manager), Harrison Blight, Ellie Akehurst, Max Rogalski, Dylan Evans, Kylie Hurrell, Angus Waller, Sonia Ford (coach). Next Row - Bridie Mickan, Hugh Redden, Liam Gerber, Kyle McInerney, Arjay Isle, Jack Crettenden, Levi Chandler. Back Row - William Bawden, Tasmin Durdin, Megan Carr, Joel Edmonds, Sydney Claughton, Sophie Traeger. This year’s event was particularly exciting with the involvement of swimming legend Ian Thorpe. He took the time to meet with swimmers as part of his promotion of the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships (Rio Olympic Qualifying) which will be held at the SAALC in April. PLPS student Joel Edmonds who swum exceptionally well on the day was invited to meet with Thorpey. Joel’s photograph has since appeared in the Adelaide Advertiser. Also taking the time to wish swimmers the best on the day was rising star Kyle Chalmers who will contest the 50m and 100m freestyle at the championships and Sally Hunter who will be looking for a place on the Australian Dolphins Swim Team in the 100m and 200m breastroke. It wasn’t long into the program before reports of personal best times and the awarding of medals for individual and team performances came flooding in. Joel Edmonds set the tone for the meet with a very quick 1.07.83 to qualify fastest for the 100m freestyle in the first race of the day. The top 8 swimmers following preliminary heats are invited into their respective age group final. 50m freestyle medallists from LEP were; Amali White - Bronze 10yr girls (39.86), Arjay Isle - Bronze 11yr boys (35.69), Angus Waller - Silver Multi-class (MC) boys 100m Freestyle, Bronze MC boys 50m Freestyle and Joel Edmonds - Gold 13yr boys (30.77). Also making finals (top 8 swimmers) were Harrison Blight -5th 10yr boys (41.01), Ryder Rogalski - 6th 11yr boys (37.83), Liam Gerber - 6th 12yr boys (36.36) and Tasmin Durdin 5th 12yr girls (34.72). The team would also like to acknowledge the willingness of Sydney Claughton (Cummins Area School) to put her hand up to compete as a 13yr old. Sydney swam a 38.07 to narrowly miss the final in the freestyle. She also raced breastroke (58.06) and backstroke (49.84). Next on the program was the Open Medley Relay teams racing. The boys team comprising of Dylan Evans (backstroke), Max Rogalski (breastroke), Joel Edmonds (butterfly) and Liam Gerber (freestyle) were clearly a cut above their competitors finishing 9 seconds ahead of their nearest rival team to take out the gold medal in 2:37.82. The girls team had a great race, but unfortunately were disqualified for a stroke rule infraction. Represented the LEP in this event were Ellie Akehurst (backstroke), Kylie Hurrell (breastroke), Tasmin Durdin (butterfly) and Megan Carr (freestyle). The LEP have certainly developed some strength in breastroke racing. Awarded age group champion for their individual performances were; Harrison Blight - Gold 10yr boys (54.54) who touched out second and third place by less than .3 of a second and Bridie Mickan - Gold 11yr girls (44.45) who was a clear winner in her field. Also awarded medals in the 50m breastroke were Sebastian Henderson - Bronze 11yr boys (51.49) and Max Rogalksi - Silver 13yr boys (40.56). It was also fantastic to see many other swimmers have the chance to race as a finalist and recorded some awesome results. Congratulations to; William Bawden - 4th 11yr boys (52.42), Kyle McInerney - 4th 12yr boys (48.50), Kylie Hurrell - 5th 12yr girls (47.88) and Sophie Traeger - 7th 12yr girls (49.26). Swimmers performing in backstroke also made significant contributions to the team point score. Age group champion was awarded to Bridie Mickan - Gold 11yr girls (41.69). Tasmin Durdin took out the Bronze medal in the 12yr girls (40.09) as did Max Rogalski for the 12yr boys age group (40.64). Backstroke finalists were Harrison Blight - 4th 10yr boys (49.04), Aaron Kerr - 5th 10yr boys (50.56), Amali White - 5th 10yr girls (49.59), Zara Scott - 7th 10yr girls (50.30), Arjay Isle - 4th 11yr boys (44.22) and Dylan Evans - 6th 12yr boys (45.58). The final opportunity for individual performances was the 50m butterfly heats and finals. LEP again shone with all entered competitors being ranked amongst the top 8 country competitors. Age group champion went to Joel Edmonds - Gold 13yr boys (33.87) - his third individual medal for the meet. Also proud of their additional swimming bling was Aaron Kerr - Silver 10yr boys (50.78), Sebastian Henderson - Bronze 11yr boys (42.59) and Bridie Mickan - Silver 11yr girls (39.71). Performing well in the finals were Dylan Evans - 4th 12yr boys (44.45), Zara Scott - 8th 10yr Girls (1:00.89) and Tasmin Durdin - 8th 12yr girls (43.74). Age group 4 x 50m freestyle teams racing was fast paced, exciting and allowed the LEP to demonstrate its depth of talent. Supported by a number of swimmers who travelled to Adelaide specifically to support relay racing, their contribution to team success was appreciated. First to line up for medals was the 10yr boys team who received the silver medal (2:55.89) - Aaron Kerr, Issac Evans, Hugh Redden and Harrison Blight. Next up was the 11yr boys who smashed the rest of the field by six seconds to take out the gold medal in (2:40.78) - Sebastian Henderson, Levi Chandler, Ryder Rogalski and Arjay Isle. The 12yr boys also followed up well to take out the bronze medal position (2:37.78) - Kyle McInerney, Ryder Rogalski, Liam Gerber and Arjay Isle. The last boys relay for the day was for 13yrs and the LEP swam hard to achieve the silver medal (2:32.69) - Ryder Rogalski, Liam Gerber, Jack Crettenden and Max Rogalski. The consistent strong performance of our teams is critical to the overall accumulation of championship points. All first placings are awarded equally with 8 points, regardless of being individual or teams - through to 1 point for 8th position. It was great to see the both the 11yr girls and 12yr girls finish in 4th place. 11yr girls were Amali White, Zara Scott, Evie Durdin and Bridie Mickan (2:44.25) and the 12yr girls were Sophie Traeger, Megan Carr, Kylie Hurrell and Ellie Akehurst (2:36.98). The final race of the day saw the 13yr girls finish in 5th position (2:36.57) which was comprised of the same members as the 12yr old team. The West Coast Swimming Club will offer those swimmers who have commenced training with the team to now join Swimming SA and retain their involvement in squad swimming. The club offers four levels of squad training from Nippers who train 3 times on a weekly basis through to senior level squad swimmers who train daily during the week. For more information contact westcoastswimming@gmail.com.
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Swimmers from 11 Eyre Peninsula Secondary Schools (both government and private sector) combined to form the Far West swim team to contest the SASSSA (South Australian Secondary Schools Sports Association) A Grade swimming meet held at the SA Aquatic Centre on Wednesday March 9th. The team performed exceptionally well to finish in overall 4th position. Secondary schools are graded into A through to F grade, with 10 schools represented in each grade. Grading decisions are made based upon the level of competitiveness that is available within each school or region. The Far West SASSSA swim team was racing against teams submitted by Rostrevor College, St Peter Boys and Girls, Immanuel College, Trinity College, Prince Alfred College, St Aloysius, Pembroke, Sacred Heart, Mercedes, Wilderness and Seymour College. 2016 SASSSA Team: Front row (left to right) Jamie Ford, Brooke Traeger, Kellie Dennis, Kieran Stephens, Harrison Adams. Rear (left to right) Matthew Hancock, Hannah Murray, Alana Hancock, Jamie Matsen, Sarah Stirling, Taylah Stirling, Dana Hurrell, India Copland, Christopher Bawden, Jarrod Stolz, Patrick Newman, Gaeton Gerber, Ned Fuss, Brooklyn George, Callum Hancock, Sam Custance, Alleigh Hamnett, Cameron Akehurst, Maddie McShane, Thomas Klingberg and William Newberry. St Josephs school had 8 representatives on the team. In her final year as a SASSSA representative, Brooke Traeger (Year 12) recorded some excellent results across both the individual open competition and open teams racing. She finished in 4th position in both the 50m butterfly (open) Division 1 (30.86) and 50m freestyle (open) Division 1 (29.44). She swam an excellent 100m freestyle in a long course personal best time of 1.03.19. and represented the Far West in both the Open Medley and Open Freestyle women’s teams racing. Kellie Dennis joined the team for her second consecutive year, this time racing in the U15 age division. Kellie competed in both freestyle and backstroke individual events recording a new long course personal best in the 50m U15 Division 2 backstroke (39.98) as well some very competitive times in two individual 50m freestyle races. She recorded a 33.07 in the U15 Division 1 freestyle and went on to swim over .5 of a second quicker in the U16 Division 2 freestyle (32.41). Also racing in the U15 age division, Madeline McShane was thrilled with her performances throughout the night. Madeline smashed her personal best to swim a 31.73 in the U15 Division 2 freestyle. This was a fraction of a second quicker than her performance in the U16 Division 3 freestyle (31.84). She also smashed her previous best by nearly three seconds to record a 38.78 in the U16 Division 2 backstroke and was a real asset in the U15 freestyle relay which was placed 6th in their event. Newcomers to the team this year were year 8 students Jamie Ford and Dana Hurrell. Jamie commenced her program with the U14 Division 2 backstroke. She swam this event in a close to personal best time of 37.06 to be placed 3rd. With a tight turn around to the U16 Division 1 backstroke she couldn’t quite maintain the same pace and recorded a 38.66. Jamie also raced the U14 Division 3 freestyle (33.60) and the U14 Division 3 breastroke (46.47 – 3rd). Dana won the U14 Division 2 breastroke in a time of 41.20 seconds and followed this shortly after with an almost copycat performance in the U15 Division 1 race to finish 4th (41.15). Both Jamie and Dana were members of a number of the age group freestyle relay teams as well. It was awesome to have Jarrod Stolz (year 8) return to the pool in preparation for the event. Jarrod competed in a full program of both individual and teams racing. Jarrod was placed third in the U14 Division 3 breastroke (45.99) and held pace nicely for the U16 Division 1 event shortly after (46.57). He recorded a new personal best time of 37.61 in the U15 Division 3 freestyle event and represented the region in both the U14 and U15 freestyle relay events. Team mate Harrison Adams who is also in year 8 this year continued to hold form well after a length summer competition schedule. Similarly to Jarrod, Harrison had three individual events. Up first was the U14 Division 2 backstroke which Harrison completed in a 37.41 to finish in 3rd place. His time was a new personal best for this distance and a clear 2 seconds quicker than his performance at the State Championships in January. Harrison also raced the U14 Division 2 freestyle which he completed in a 30.76 to finish 4th closely followed by a 30.91 in the U15 Division 1 freestyle event. Both of these times also represented clear improvements from his performance at the Country Championships where he recorded a 31.12 over the same distance. Patrick Newman was a new addition to the team after putting his hand up to fill one of the positions left after the departure of a number of team representatives through to boarding school in Adelaide. Patrick is new to competition pool racing and after a crash course over a couple of training sessions in Port Lincoln he did the team proud to record a 55.66 for the U15 Division 2 breastroke. Unfortunately, he was disqualified in his subsequent race. Port Lincoln High School also encouraged its students to nominate for the event. Cameron Akehurst performed particularly well, winning the 50m Division 1 U14 freestyle in a new personal best time of 28.96 seconds; this was an amazing achievement. He also finished 4th in the Division 1 U14 backstroke (35.95 seconds), and was also 4th in the 50m Division 1 breaststroke (42.64 seconds). Brooklyn George supported the team by swimming the U15 Division 2 breaststroke (50.91 seconds) and through her freestyle relay contribution for the U16 girls, who finished 8th (2 minutes and 18 seconds). Alleigh Hamnett has been dedicated to maintaining regular swimming training despite the rigours of senior school study and part-time work commitments. She finished 4th in the U16 Division 2 breaststroke (43.92 seconds) and was also part of the U16 freestyle relay team alongside Brooklyn. Navigator College and Tumby Bay Area School (TBAS) both fielded one swimmer for the team. India Copland is a Year 9 student at the College who has previously represented South Australia at the Pacific School Games in 2015. India performed well to record a 34.15 (3rd) in the U14 Division 1 backstroke and a 29.62 (3rd) in the U14 Division 1 freestyle. Her backstroke race was a personal best time. India also stepped up as part of the open girls’ medley relay and freestyle relay as well as anchoring her U14 age group freestyle team. Christopher Bawden also in Year 9 but at TBAS has been committed to his training throughout the summer season. He raced three individual events the open butterfly, open breastroke and U15 Division 1 breastroke. In his first race he recorded a 30.19 (personal best for butterfly) and went on to finish 2nd in his age group breastroke race (35.48) and 7th in the open division (36.13). Christopher also swam breastroke in the open medley relay and was a key member of the 4 x 50m open freestyle team which recorded a time of 1.59.44 to finish in 9th position. Cummins Area School have encouraged a number of new members to the team which has been appreciated considering the departure of some key individuals through to Adelaide boarding schools, as a result of successful scholarship applications. Ned Fuss and Gaeton Gerber both put their hand up to race and offered some excellent results. Ned tore down the pool in the Open Division 3 50m freestyle to clock a 31.13, whilst Gaeton competed in the U16 Division 3 competition and finished in 36.05 seconds. Both boys were on the U16 4 x 50m freestyle relay team who finished 8th (2.15.39). Keiran Stephens has been training with West Coast Swimming Club for a number of years and made himself available for his second SASSSA representative team. Kieran is an excellent sprinter who is highly suited to this style of meet. He recorded two personal best times on the night. Firstly, a 30.25 to be placed 8th in the Open Division 1 butterfly and secondly, a 27.59 to finish 7th in the Open Division 1 freestyle. He also competed in the U16 Freestyle Division 1 competition and finished in 6th position (28.59). Thomas Klingberg from Kimba Area School also nominated for the team and was offered the opportunity to swim in three individual races. He quickly acclimatised to competitive swimming protocols through marshalling and pool deck race preparations. He held his own in all three races recording a 47.60 in the U15 Division 2 backstroke, a 50.50 in the U16 Division 2 backstroke and a 38.73 in the U15 Division 2 freestyle. Representative school sport is an important opportunity that is fostered across the Eyre Peninsula. It is exciting to see students jump at the chance to interact with motivated and enthusiastic students with a similar interest in maintaining their health and fitness through their involvement in swimming from other Eyre Peninsula schools.
Secondary school students will again be invited to nominate for consideration into the 2017 SASSSA A grade swim team later in the school year. The Port Lincoln Pool has plenty of opportunities for interested students to improve their fitness through lap swimming or involvement in programs such as SwimFit. The West Coast Swimming Club also provides coaching support for students who are proficient swimmers and who hold a reasonable level of speed and aquatic fitness. For more information, contact westcoastswimming@gmail.com |
AUTHORSonia Ford is our publicity officer and would love to hear of noteworthy news items from our swimming community! |